While commercial films in our country are notorious for having no story, director Satyaprakash D seems to have taken it very seriously.
Man of the Match follows a rookie filmmaker who has no story for his film, throws an open audition to come up with a plot on the spot and makes a full-fledged film based on what happens during the audition with aspiring actors, film producers and bystanders.
The sadist filmmaker, played by Nataraj, uses every opportunity he has to exploit the passion of gullible actors, undeterred by the serious consequences on their lives. Nataraj only cares for a sellable story
It is almost like Bigg Boss, except that the actors are unaware and never consent to be a part of the filmmaker’s hidden motives. Who is the man of the match in this wild game of emotions? You will have to watch the film to know that.
Man of the Match speaks about misogyny, sexism, male gaze, misuse of technology, people's privacy in public places and women empowerment in the most understandable language. It is a unique satirical drama and the humour is on point.
There is no dearth of emotions in the film, as it has plenty of characters that are well defined. Despite the fact that every scene in the film is layered with sensitive problems that are relevant in current times, they are delivered with a comical twist, making it digestible and not very preachy. There are some really fascinating moments. For instance, there is an ironic action sequence near a character dressed as Mahatma Gandhi, who was an active follower of non-violence.
Right from the lead pair, the grumpy couple to an old wannabe actor, all the actors are flawless. Dharmanna Kadur, who plays a film producer in Man of the Match, shines with his comic timing, body language and dialogue delivery.
Scoring background music for films of this nature can be quite daunting, but Vasuki Vaibhav perfectly catches the meter to set the right mood. I hope you can relate it with Dharmanna’s ‘mood’ comedy.
One of the best things about Man of the Match is that it has a series of unpredictable moments. Just as one thing gets resolved, another one pops up. However, even though the film has a run time of under two hours, the screenplay doesn't keep you engaged with the flow of the story. There are some obvious loopholes. For instance, however angry, irritated or disappointed certain characters get, they never leave the venue even when they have strong reasons and the choice to do so. The characters linger around the audition building, disappearing and reappearing as and when they please.
Man of the Match mixes commercial staples in perfect proportion to present an interesting concoction of entertainment and social messaging. The film is certainly for you if you are up for a new experiment.
This Kannada film is backed by late actor Puneeth Rajkumar’s PRK productions and is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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