Director P Sheshadri has chosen to portray the impact of organised retail trade on petty shops and small kirana stores  With the Indian government opening its doors to foreign direct investment in retail, the director has tried to present the pros and cons of the decision that may affect small traders, without trying to be too judgmental.

 

Dattatreya comes up with a brilliant performance which is the soul of the film and he rightly deserves the special mention at the National Awards.Sudha Rani who plays a leading role after a long time, is impressive. Chi Gurudatt and V Manohar are adequate in their brief roles.

 

Cast: H. G. Dattatreya

DVD Features:Dolby Digital 5.1,Anamorphic WideScreen,NTSC All Regions, English Subtitles

Director: P. Seshadri

Producer: Basant Kumar Patil

Music Director: V.Manohar

 

The film starts with the arrival of NRI Bharathi (Sudha Rani) with her techie husband Sharath (Chi Gurudatt) to Bangalore from the US after nine years. The director narrates the changing face of Bangalore through Bharathi--the new international airport, the stretch leading to the airport, the metro rail line and the new skyline of the technopolis amidst the chaotic traffic.

 

Govinda Shetty (Dattatreya) runs a grocery shop, Bharath Stores, in a middle-class locality of Bangalore. He has a humane approach to his business. He has customers from before the supermarkets or the big marts entered the locality. But after that, his future is bleak--he has to sack his helpers as also face problems in his family.

 

Bharathi wants to pay back Govinda Shetty the loan that her father had taken for her wedding. She has a tough time finding Shetty’s whereabouts as the grocery shop he ran is closed. She finally traces him to an old age home with the help of one of his old time employees.