Movie review 'Ring Road': An all boring tortoise race!

Director: Priya Belliappa 
Cast: Khushie, Sagar Puranik, Patre Ajith, Avinash, Duniya Vijay, Nikitha Thukral, Nethra, Neetu 
Rating: 2 stars

A well known proverb with reference to fable of the hare and the tortoise - 'slow and steady wins the race,' simply does not holds good to this Ring Road. The tortoise (the one in the fable) which managed to win, would easily lose to the pace at which this movie is narrated by an all-women crew spearheaded by the director Priya Belliappa. 

Though, for formalities, the ladies proclaim that it is purely a fictitious story meant for only entertainment, the epicentre of it seems to be largely influenced by the infamous murder incident of a techie in 2003, who was killed by his fiancé, just days after their engagement. After all the hype and controversies surrounding the movie, is it really worth taking this road for 162 minutes of journey seeking entertainment, driven by an all-women crew? The answer will be in negative. It starts off on the 'wrong' foot, and the first few minutes plus several unwarranted scenes can be easily chopped off, trimming it by at least half-an-hour and adding to its woes, the re-recording, expressionless acting and overacting at times by the main characters are an additional baggage which puts the audience to sleep, who would be already begging for some 'short-cuts'.

The best part of it is the blending of 'fictitious' characters to the core incident which revolves around Suma (played by Kushie), a young and aspiring girl who rules by her beauty. The other beautiful aspect which the women crew needs to be applauded here, is the creative way in which they have showcased the innermost personality of a woman through Suma, which is the actually cause in reality. It reminds a super hit song penned and composed by Nada Brahma Hamsalekha - 'Neeralli kande nanu aa meenina hejje.. kannige kanalilla aa bannada gejje' (translates as, though footprints of a fish inside water were visible to me but that those colourful footprint (refers to a woman) remained invisible).

The script which moves in reverse shows Suma badly injured in a road accident and it jumps to several characters. Of the many who are bold out by her beauty, her junior in college dares to propose her, but she soon gets engaged unwilling to another man, a techie who resides opposite to her house. Twist continues as she really falls for a third guy - a dancer. She gets rid of her fiancé by using her junior for the dancer. So what does fate hold in store for Suma thereafter is the storyline. The road could have been fixed properly, but in present condition, it is better to avoid this one.