'Love Mocktail' review: This pleasant romcom strikes all the right notes

Review

The music and cinematography enhance this romcom that the audience will surely be able to relate to.

Aravind Shwetha

From Romeo and Juliet to Preetham and Nandini (of Mungaru Male fame) we have seen millions of couple fall, rise and die in love. So, a love story in a movie is no surprise. But what makes a movie different and watchable is the emotional quotient and the connect it has with viewers. Darling Krishna’s Love Mocktail gets this connect right as he takes a slice out of a common man's life. The movie takes off with a middle-aged Adi (Darling Krishna) driving to the coastal region and rescuing a woman on the way. She accompanies him through the journey where he opens up about his love, life and an array of emotions he has been through over the last few years. Adi (played by a teenager who looks very similar to Darling Krishna) has a major crush on his classmate (Reema). But like most boys, he is hesitant to approach her. But his antics like caring for her and dreaming of a future with her keep him busy. Once the bubble is burst, Adi wakes up to reality and gets into an engineering college where he meets Jo (Amruta Iyengar) who comes from a well-to-do family. Though her love is true, she has her own doubts about his ability to take care of her and provide the lifestyle she deserves. But this doesn’t keep them away from enjoying and living in the moment. After engineering, he joins an IT company and promises to fulfil her desires. But Jo, who is under pressure from her parents to marry a well-off guy, breaks up with Adi. Heartbroken, Adi meets Nidhi (Milana Nagraj), an IT employee and a down-to-earth woman, who enjoys the simple things in life. What follows is another interesting tale. Urban love stories are what the youth look for in romcoms these days. Ideal couple goals, a dream wedding, a cutesy love story and a bundle of emotions - Love Mocktail has it all. The music and cinematography enhance this usual love story which comes with a touch of reality. There are several takeaways from the movie - teens dreaming about marrying their school crush, pressure from parents to study in candlelight, cash/currency-strapped college days, waiting for hours to get back 100 free SMS (pre-Internet era), friends who stand by like rocks in tough times, the strong bond a husband and wife share, happy moments, and more. All these small elements of life, shown through a rose-tint, put a smile on one’s face. The movie, by and large, connects to the urban teens and youth and remains true to its genre - a romance saga. Throughout the movie, like most people, Adi looks for love. When he finds Nidhi, he is satisfied. But when she leaves him, he doesn’t look for love anymore. He has now leant to live with the bittersweet memory and all the love she has filled him with. This whole concept, freshly refurbished, stands out in the movie. Darling Krishna has managed both acting and direction with responsibility. He has got casting, music and the storyline right; he has made the right choices. The locations too have contributed to bringing the story alive. His performance is up to the mark, especially as a doting husband. Amruta Iyengar shows promise and potential. Milana Nagaraj has a refreshing character and plays her part well. Milana must continue to pick roles like these that bring the best out of her. A few VIPs have played a guest role in the movie, including Vijeth Suvarna, a well-known biker and restaurateur. Raghu Dixit’s music and Sri Crazy Minds’ cinematography are the biggest highlights. Raghu has inserted the right notes in every scene and the songs too bring out the feel-good factor. 'Love you Chinna' and 'Neene Yendigu' linger even after coming out of the theatre. Sri’s camera deserves special mention for showing the greenery and coastal Karnataka like never before. Love Mocktail, served ahead of Valentine’s Day, is a pleasant romantic experience for the weekend. Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the series/film. TNM Editorial is independent of any business relationship the organisation may have with producers or any other members of its cast or crew.

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Akshay Kumar shoots with Bear Grylls in Karnataka's Bandipur

Wildlife

The shoot took place two days after Rajinikanth had shot with Gryllis at the same national park.

IANS

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar filmed a Discovery channel programme with Bear Grylls in Karnataka's Bandipur Tiger Reserve on Thursday, an official said. "Akshay Kumar shot for a day in Bandipur on Thursday for a Discovery channel programme," Chief Wildlife Warden Sanjay Mohan said. Discovery channel had sought permission for shooting between January 28 and January 30.  The actual shooting with the actors, Rajinikanth and Akshay, was only for one day each on Tuesday and Thursday. "The Discovery team had come to my office. We told them they would have to follow the rules strictly. If they fail to abide by the norms, we will cancel the shooting," said Sanjay. The permission is needed from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and others. The Bandipur Tiger Reserve, an 874 sq km national park, was formed by integrating forest areas of erstwhile Venugopala Wildlife Park, which was established in 1941, and was later enlarged to its current size in the Chamarajanagar district, about 220 km southwest of Bengaluru. The tiger reserve lists 28 species of mammals, including Royal Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, leopard, bonnet macaque, Indian pipistrelle and barking deer. However, a forest official was unhappy with the channel for not recognising the department's role in nurturing the forest. "I told them you must include information in the programme and show how the forest guards are working tirelessly to save the forest," said the official. According to the official, Discovery should not just use Indian forests for shooting programmes but also recognise India’s efforts at conservation. Bandipur Tiger Reserve Director T Balachandra said the channel paid Rs 10 lakh for four days of shooting. The Forest department didn't charge Discovery anything more than the usual fees, Sanjay said.

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Mother of student, teacher arrested after Karnataka school stages play on CAA-NRC

CAA

Nazbunnisa, the mother of a student who played a role in the play and Fareeda Begum, the teacher who was involved in staging it, were arrested by police officials on Thursday.

TNM Staff

The mother of a student and a head teacher of a Karnataka school were arrested and booked for sedition on Thursday by police officials in Bidar in connection with a school play which was allegedly against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The arrests were made after the school authorities blocked the police from further questioning the students. Nazbunnisa, 26, the mother of a girl who played a role in the play and Fareeda Begum, 52,  the head teacher who was involved in staging it, were arrested by police officials from Bidar New Town Police Station. Fareeda is the teacher in-charge of the primary section of the school.  They were booked under sections 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 505(2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes), 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting, attempting to promote disharmony) and 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code. The arrests were made based on a complaint by Nilesh Rakshala, an activist of the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) after the play was staged by students of classes 4, 5 and 6 at the Shaheen Primary and High School on January 21. Following the complaint, three policemen, two of whom were in uniform and one in plain clothes, visited the school and questioned the students who were part of the play, including a 9-year-old child.  While the play was focused on the CAA, the school's CEO Tauseef Madikeri says it was one particular line in the play that caused trouble. Speaking to The Wire, Tauseef says that the line was a generic one, which was wrongly interpreted.  In a video reportedly of the same event, which has now been taken down, a child is heard telling another child, “The government is telling Muslims to leave India and go away.” In reply, the other child says, “Amma, Modi is saying show documents of your father and grandfather otherwise he is telling us to leave the country.” At this point, another child is heard saying, “Hit them with slippers if anybody asks for documents.” Police stated that Anuja Minsa's daughter delivered the dialogues 'insulting' Prime Minister Narendra Modi, The Hindu reported. The complainant had alleged that anti-Modi lines were delivered in the play.  Read: School in Karnataka's Bidar booked for sedition over children’s play on CAA-NRC

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Trump sticks embattled health chief with coronavirus response

Trump and his top aides are privately on edge about the global threat, ramping up their response as fear starts to spread across the U.S.

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Trump releases block grant plan that would transform Medicaid

The plan to cap Medicaid spending, rejected by Congress just three years ago, will face swift resistance from Democrats and legal challenges.

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JD(S) in talks with poll expert Prashant Kishor to revive party's image

Politics

JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is slated to hold talks with Kishor soon on organising the party for the days ahead.

TNM Staff

After facing setbacks in successive polls, the Janata Dal (Secular) leadership in Karnataka is in talks with poll strategist Prashant Kishor to revive the party for the future, party sources said on Thursday. JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is slated to hold talks with Kishor soon on organising the party for the days ahead. "Kumaraswamy will be meeting Prashant Kishor. The date and time is yet to be fixed but after seeing his strategy work out in Bihar and other places, the JD(S) wants to try it here," a party source said.  "It is to discuss the strategy to build the party. Kishor is also said to have expressed keenness to meet Kumaranna (Kumaraswamy), they will meet soon," another party source told PTI. JD(S) state president HK Kumaraswamy merely said there was nothing wrong in taking such help in the interest of the party. "We can take advice from such people to build and organise the party. We have already begun work towards organising the party from the grassroots level, and it will get a boost after the national level meeting of the party on February 10 and 11," he said. The JD(S) that bagged only 37 seats in the 2018 assembly polls and came to power in alliance with the Congress with H D Kumaraswamy as chief minister managed to win only one seat in the state during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Party patriarch and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda was also defeated in the parliamentary polls. The party also failed to win even a single seat during the December 2019 bye-polls to 15 assembly constituencies in the state. The Prashant Kishor-led Indian Political Action Committee (I- PAC) is currently helping the AAP in the Delhi assembly polls. The political advocacy group also helped in the electioneering campaign of Narendra Modi in 2014 when he was BJP's prime ministerial candidate. The I-PAC has worked on a number of successful campaigns since 2014, including the one that brought JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to power in 2015. The organisation also helped Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy win both state and Lok Sabha elections. Kishor, who was the Janata Dal (United) national vice-president, was on Wednesday expelled from the party following a bitter fallout with its chief Nitish Kumar.

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Karnataka cops arrest 2 Kerala men for trying to dump bio medical waste in Mysuru

Civic Issues

The police seized 2 tonnes of biomedical waste, which was brought to Karnataka from Kerala.

Theja Ram

Garbage trucks from Kerala dumping waste in Karnataka is a long-standing problem. On Wednesday, the police in Mysuru arrested two men from the neighbouring state for trying to dump two tonnes of hazardous bio medical waste in an empty site in Nanjangud. At around 3.30 am on Wednesday, two trucks bearing Kerala number plates crossed the check point at Mysuru district’s Nanjangud. The police, who were warned of garbage trucks coming in from Kerala, followed the truck from the check point. The truck stopped at the Adakanahalli Industrial Area and two men were allegedly trying to unload the bio-medical waste onto an empty plot of land, when they were caught red-handed. The Nanjangud Rural Police immediately arrested two men Afzal Muneer and Syed Mohammed, both residents of Kerala’s Kozhikode. However, the truck driver Kabir and two other accomplices Shoaib and Muneer escaped. Speaking to TNM, Mysuru SP Ryshyanth said that the Nanjangud Rural Police booked the five men under section 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the IPC. They have also been booked under the Motor Vehicles Act for illegal transportation of waste. SP Ryshyanth said that the residents had complained of incessant dumping of garbage and biomedical waste in the area, after which the check point was set up. The police are now trying to track down the other three accused. Nanjangud Rural Police said that the same group of five men had allegedly dumped bio medical waste in empty plots in the industrial area around 8 to 10 times in the past. “For so many years, people of Mysuru have been facing this problem where garbage from Kerala is being dumped in several of our taluks including Nanjangud, T Narasipura and HD Kote. Initially they used to dump mixed waste and plastic waste. Now they are dumping hazardous bio medical waste, which can cause major health problems for people living here,” a police official with the Nanjangud Rural Police said. The two truck loads of bio medical waste has been handed over to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, which will send the waste to an empanelled bio-medical waste disposal facility, where it will be processed. In January last year, the Mysuru City Corporation demanded that the police set up check point to stop Kerala’s waste from entering the state. Police check points were set up last year after several protests erupted in Mysuru over the issue. The Mysuru City Corporation and residents complained that the pits were dug up in jaggery manufacturing units in Mysuru and Mandya districts, which were being used to illegally dump the garbage being brought in from Kerala, thereby turning these spaces into landfills. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board had also conducted raids on these jaggery manufactures and found that the units were accepting money in return for dumping the garbage in their plots. Bio medical waste generated in Kerala has also been dumped in Tamil Nadu several times. TN authorities allege that for four years now, cutting edge hospitals in Kerala have been disposing their medical waste in an irresponsible manner in many areas in TN. On paper, these hospitals sell the waste to agents or brokers who promise to arrange for the disposal of the bio-hazardous material. Coimbatore and Tirunelveli are the most affected in this waste war, as they border the neighbouring state, allowing for easy and quick access. In Tirunelveli, tonnes of waste was being dumped in rural areas near Valliyoor and other parts of the district. The police and revenue department officials were ordered to be on vigil.  

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