‘Petromax’ review: A revival of sorts of an age old formula

At the beginning of the 90s, Kannada cinemawas dependent on double entendre. There have been a significant number of movies, especially with Umashree and N.S. Rao as pair, that drew huge crowds to the single screens. Kashinath made brilliant use of double entendre in Anubhava and achieved unbelievable success. But eventually, the audience got tired of the so-called formula and the attraction lost its charm.

This preamble is just to hint that the success of Petromax, directed by Vijaya Prasad, banks on the similar formula of double entendre. The director has attempted to blend social issues with humour and taken recourse to double entendre formula to engage the audience . In fact, the title Petromax itself is a pun but Prasad has used the title as a metaphor for ‘light and life.’

The story is simple. The film revolves around the protagonist (played by Sathish Ninasam), a food delivery person, Meenakshi (Haripriya) a real estate agent, Krishnamurthy (Nagabhushana) an advocate, , and Kavitha (Karunya Ram), a beautician . Sathish’s journey begins when he, along with his friends, sets out to search for a home to live independently. The film is all about the comical journey of these four characters.

In Petromax, Vijaya Prasad attempts to show the strained relationship in the current digital society between parents and their ‘ambitious’ children. Apart from humour and adult comedy, the director has touched upon certain issues that plague the society, especially orphanity.

Before the release, Petromax had kindled the curiosity of the Kannada audience due to two factors. Firstly, the trailer features the lead actors Ninasam Satish and Haripriya indulging in what can be described as a post-sex conversation. Secondly, the success of Vijaya Prasad’s previous venture Neer Dose that depicted human relationships philosophically with the support of double entendres.

Haripriya, who is known for her bold role in Neer Dose, effortlessly carries the character . Sathish, Karunya , Arun, and Ram infuse life into their finely etched characters. Sudha Belawadi, Achyut Kumar and Suman Ranganath (special appearance) have extended their support to the best of their ability. Anup Seelin’s background score adds to the humour quality of the film.

Vijay Prasad, in Petromax, tries to present his views on life and human relationships without being biased. He could have succeeded in his attempt had he not gotten preachy . While some may sense that it is a philosophical movie where the director is trying his best to present his perspective of life, the lack of a good and sensitive story lets them down. The film is entertaining in the first half, but starts losing steam in the second, and becomes too emotional . However, Vijaya Prasad’s film will not disappoint the pun-loving audience.