...Re (film)

...Re (If) is a 2016 Indian Kannada comedy film written and directed by Sunil Kumar Desai. The film has an ensemble cast consisting of veteran actors: Ramesh Aravind, Anant Nag, Master Hirannaiah, Loknath, Shivaram, Tennis Krishna, Ramesh Bhat, Vaijanath Biradar, Sharath Lohithaswa, Suman, G. K. Govinda Rao among others. Harshika Poonacha and debutant actress Suman play female leads in the film. Ananth Nag had revealed that the movie is thematically similar to Badal Sircar's play Ballabpurer Roopkatha.

Production
Pre-production of this movie started in 2013 with the title “Thandana Thandanaana”. The film has been produced by Lokesh R under Sujana Creations banner and has mostly been shot in and around Bengaluru.

Ace cinematographer G.S. Bhaskar who has previously worked for Hollywood technicians such as Richard Attenborough has handled the camera. Veteran music director Hamsalekha has composed the music for the film. The movie was initially titled Thandana Thandanana. Ananth Nag had revealed that the movie is thematically similar to Badal Sircar's play Ballabpurer Roopkatha.

In an interview with The New Indian Express, the director Sunil Kumar Desai said that the film revolves around the "'ifs' of our lives". Lead actor of the film Ramesh Aravind described the film as "an out of the box love story, which has deep meaning with weird characterisations". Anant Nag also felt that the movie had "serious messages" about Indian cultural heritage and Adi Shankara's Advaita philosophy. It has been touted as the comeback film of legends of Kannada cinema such as—director Sunil Kumar Desai, music director Hamsalekha and senior artists Loknath and Shivram. In an interview with the Times of India, Ramesh Aravind said that "Re" may seem like a film from the 70s or 80s and the "old world charm" of the film is intentional. The film makes a sweeping criticism at the state of open defecation in India.

Critical response
A reviewer of Kannada Prabha wrote"Sunil Kumar Desai, who weaves a story that takes place almost between the four walls, goes to build a hall of speech, is not a good drama and does not show excellence technically, Sunil Kumar Desai is disappointing". Sunayana Suresh from The Times of India says "While the soundtrack from Hamsalekha could have been a tad more contemporary, that can be forgiven given the old-world charm to the entire tale. Watch this for a dose of laughter, with some intelligent witticisms as the bonus". Shyam Prasad S from Bangalore Mirror says "Ramesh Aravind delivers another good performance and seems to be growing younger. It can be safely said that Harshika Poonacha is one of the best actresses in Sandalwood".