Cast : Diganth, Aindrita Ray.
Director : Yograj Bhat.
Running Time : 2 hours 20 minutes
Rating : 4 out of 4
Release Date : 25 October 2009

Manasaare is less of a love story and more of a social commentary on how the society (filled with a majority population which is ‘normal’, apparently) treats individuals and groups who are different and unique in their own way as pure dirt. In the movie, the society calls them Huccharu (meaning they have gone nuts and need to be in a asylum).

Manohar (Diganth) is one such huccha. He is unemployed, does not take life seriously and did not finish college. He is not without talent though. He and his friend ( the cable guy) manage build a electric generator! Yep. However nobody has the ‘patience’ or ‘time’ to find what he can do, with a bit of support and encouragement. Which in spite of his genius, he is just another loser.

This makes Manahor wonder, why the heck is the world like this? He spends time thinking why is everybody running in the same track. A person is born, he goes to school then to college, grabs a job, gets married and eventually has a family and dies. Manohar keeps wishing that every person should take their own route. As if god heard his plea, a mishap on the highway, causes him to be mistakenly picked up by a asylum vehicle, and he ends up in asylum and then the story unfolds. I would rather not say what happens after this.

The movie itself has very good production values. Yograj Bhat, I must say, is a gift to Sandalwood. The songs, though not as good as Gaalipata or Mungaaru Male, are better than most other movies out there. The amount of characters that are filled in the asylum is just awesome. There is this character called dollar, who is a foreign return software engineer who is keeps planning his escape, gets caught but never gives up. Another character is ‘cured’ but comes up with schemes to stay within the asylum because the outside world is just too boring. There is also Devika who is genuinely ill, and the asylum never cures her but gets cured in a unconvential way. While most characters (each of them too many to mention too unique and too funny in their own way) are used for comedic effect, Devika as portrayed Aindrita Ray gives the movie the serious side.

Frankly, I walked into the theatre expecting a humor filled love story (which is what all the posters and marketing for the movie led me to believe) and I am glad that it is not a love story (we got enough of it already). The movie also sends out a clear message. If someone is different, he is not a nut, but is gifted. Treat him as a person. Also, I agree with the director. Why is everyone bent on following the same path of being born, school then college then job and family and death?