Accident (1985)

Director:

Shankar Nag

Cast

Anant Nag
Shankar Nag
Ashok Mandanna
Sirnivas Prabhu
Ramesh Bhatt
Arundhati Rao

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

India

Language:

Kannada

Color:

Color

Company:

Sanket Productions

A great reflection of the Indian politics

Lost in the world of drugs, sex and alcohol Deepak (Ashok Mandanna) lives with his head stuck in the clouds. What only adds to his jingoistic reverence to such a lifestyle is being the son of a powerful political player Dharmadhikari (Anant Nag). Without a soul to care about Deepak and his friend roam the empty streets of Bangalore under the influence of ganja and race strangers on the road.

This so-called classy pair one night manages to do the unthinkable. Their imported car manages to get off the road and into the stomachs and necks of innocent villagers who sleep on the footpaths of the city at night. People with no shelter, no prospect and no one to ask for. People who have traveled hundreds of miles in search for a better life. But unfortunately find a ghastly death instead.

In what is quite possibly one of the best shot action sequences in Kannada cinema, Deepak manages to drive on dozens of these poor and helpless folk that night. As his car bumps off a panicky and screaming Ramanna (TS Nagabharana) off to one side and bangs into a pole, Deepak realizes the trail of horror he has just become responsible for. In the pursuit of "getting high" he has managed to kill.

Ravi (Shankar Nag) and Inspector Rao (Ramesh Bhat) get onto the hot chase of finding out the whereabouts of this 'mystery vehicle' which spelt doom for the desperate. As Ramanna heals in the hospital with the accident still fresh in his mind, Ravi is leaving no stone unturned to seek the truth and bring justice. Dharmadhikari returns to the city to realize this shocking incident and is immediately on task to start moving the pawns of his political game to try and fish out his son from this mess. Caught between his ethics and the stink pool we call 'the government' innocence stands to be punished while crime is poised to make a quick exit.

Will justice go unnoticed? Will Karma find a way? 'Accident' raises more questions than provide answers. We need such movies that are mirrors to the corrupt and dog-eat-dog power tussle that our country has become notoriously famous for. Shankar Nag brings to life talking puppets that showcase images of real life events on the celluloid. All the characters in the movie deliver a hundred percent with no exception. A brisk narrative and expertly dealt editing work makes the feature all the more engrossing.

An excellent movie with a very strong social statement. Features like 'Accident' are proof of the quality and class Kannada cinema is capable of.