Tagaru Palya review: Will make you ‘nod your head’ for its value-added humour

The best way to convey an important message is to wrap it up with good humour. Filmmakers, especially those specialising in comedy, have been effectively doing so for ages.

The works of legendary Charlie Chaplin are fine examples of such genres. The master comedian did it with ease — making his audience laugh their hearts out and simultaneously cry their eyes out.

Tagaru Palya (a side dish made from sheep meat) tries something similar with rural comedy-drama at its centre stage.

Now, let’s find out what it is all about, and most importantly if it’s worth your precious two hours:

Synopsis

Set in a village, the film starts rolling with Rangayana Raghu playing the role of a father.

He is seen rushing everyone in his village to get to the place of worship to sacrifice a male sheep (meaning ‘Tagaru’ in Kannada) as an offering to the local deity.

He vows to do so if his only daughter Jyothi’s (debutant Amrutha Prem) marriage is finalised.

Cut to the place of worship of a local deity, located right next to a beautiful waterfall, is where the rest of the movie takes place.

By now, it is known that Jyothi loves someone else from her village and is not happy about her marriage being arranged with a man who lives in the city and is a total stranger to the rural lifestyle.

Even her mother (Thara Anuradha) accidentally finds out about her daughter’s love affair.

Who is Jyothi in love with, and why the ritual is taking so long and the sacrifice of the animal is getting delayed forever is the crux of this comedy drama.

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Deep-rooted

The major highlight of Tagaru Palya is the use of the dialect. This one is particularly close to the parts of dialects used in Kollegal and some parts of Mandya.

The lifestyle, culture, and traditions that the villagers follow, even to this day, make this one a special watch. It is a sigh of relief as most films and characters are of late heavily urbanised with hardly any rural touch.

It gives a good picture of why our cultural and traditional ethos is deeply rooted.

Tagaru Palya talks about the essence of relationship and bonding that has managed to sustain despite the great influence of modernity.

The character of Rangayana Raghu — a father who wants his only daughter to marry a guy from the city and live modern life and the luxuries it offers — has a solid reason for it. The director explains it in a scene that makes good sense.

Comedy is the soul

The film’s soul lies in its comedy, which keeps the audience interested in the sole subject of Tagaru Palya — the everlasting value of human relationships.

However, the movie, which runs at a constant speed by maintaining a tempo that neither goes up nor comes down, is the main drawback of this soul-searching humour.

Though the humour has some uniqueness, the same gets monotonous until the gap widens bigger and bigger. It is more or less an experience where the toy train runs on a small circular track forever with nowhere to go.

The whole scenario seems stuck with the animal — the male sheep the father has to sacrifice to the local deity — that never nods its head to complete the ritual.

As the patience runs out, Tagaru Palya hits the climax and ends on a high note rather than being an emotional take on the whole relationship factor.

Senior actors like Rangayana Raghu, Thara Anuradha, and Biradar shine the most. Their characters are tailor-made to showcase their excellence in acting.

Nagabhushana is a value addition and is true to his comedy timing skills.

The biggest surprise is Amrutha Prem; despite being a debutant, she impresses with her onscreen performance.

The music composed by Vasuki Vaibhav gels well with the village setup.

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Final take

Tagaru Palya is fresh and unique for its content and can be happily watched with your family members, including children.

The film is best enjoyed in parts as the tale moves on a single track, stopping briefly at a few stations that offer some fun and entertainment before it finally reaches its destination.

(Views expressed here are personal.)