ಹಂಸಗೀತೆ /

In a country that makes the most number of musicals in the world, there are unfortunately few that feature Indian classical music. Even when they do, it is most often a populist, lite-classical version that one gets to hear. Hamsageethe is that rare movie that stays authentic on that count. Dire­ctor G.V. Iyer (who also made the first Sanskrit movie, Adi Shankara­charya) based his movie on a novel by the Kann­ada writer Ta.Ra.Su. which tells the story of an 18th century Carnatic singer, ‘Bhairavi’ Venkata Subbaiah (a young Anant Nag possesses the role feverishly). It is a melodramatic saga of devotion to art, ambition, ego, betrayal and sacrifice but the movie, filmed in the majestic ruins of Hampi, has an austerity that keeps the focus on the soul-stirring music. Vete­ran singer Dr M. Balamurali­kri­shna’s music direction and singing elevates the film to a transcendent level.