Mari Tiger

Tiger is an orphan who lives in an abandoned train compartment near the Bengaluru Railway Station. He makes his living by taking on contract jobs for money and shows no loyalty, except to money. What happens when a girl named Ganga enters his life and seems like a ray hope?

For the average Kannada fans, Tiger Prabhakar is a name that evokes great respect and fanfare. This film was supposed to be one of the first films to propel his son Vinod as a rising star. The film, originally launched around half a decade ago, finally sees a release that is much delayed. Does it do justice as the launch pad? Not a bit. It is, in fact, far from being a celebrated mass entertainer. It ends up being a film that ends up seemingly longer than its actual screen time.

The film begins like any other mass film would. There is a tense situation of a woman in distress and the hero enters after a string of dialogues that sing his adulation. The hero then roughs up the goons and tells the woman to wear proper clothes. This sets the tone for the film, which has a lot of action and bombastic dialogues. A helpless woman named Ganga enters the life of the hero and things seem to be going well. But he is tempted with money and there is an unexpected twist around the interval.

Mari Tiger is the average commercial potboiler that seems at least a decade too late in terms of its content. Technically, it is blotchy and is not too pleasing to the eye. Vinod has a role that showcases his brawn and his fighting skill. One wishes the story was better etched and had more structured editing to ensure one could sit through and enjoy the mass entertainer that it originally intended to be. Watch this if you must.