''Manaroopa'' ( Reflection of Mind) is a 2019 Indian

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

crime thriller film based on the philosophy of

Existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

language. The film also addresses the subject of

Nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...

and

Narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...

. The film is written and directed by Kiran Hegde. Produced by Kiran Hegde as well under the banner of CMCR movies, the music of movie is given by Sarvanaa and cinematography is done by Govinda Raj. Dialogues of this movie are given by Mahabala Seethalabhavi and Kiran Hegde. 90% of the movie has been shot in and around the hinterland of Sirsi and Siddapur forests of Western Ghats of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. Manaroopa's story is about the dilemma of

millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...

and their maskaphobia (fear of masks). The film also captures narcissist characteristics that are portrayed by people in virtual world. The film accommodates multifaceted human feelings from thinking perspectives of the new generation especially their inestimable contrasting attributes of ambiguity, obsessed with love & relationships,

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

loneliness Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perceived lack ...

and helplessness.

Plot

Five former college friends go for a night trek to a place in forest called Karadi Guhe. En route, they see many ominous signs. They decide to setup the camp and the group finds two people missing when they wake up. Another of their friend is gagged and tied up. They also find that all that they had was stolen overnight. There is a cryptic message on a balloon and they decide to split up to find their friends and go back to home. The story revolves on a two-day journey of a strange experience of all five friends. It keeps the audiences hooked as they too feel as if it is their own self-obsessions having a causal relation with the story of this movie.

Cast

* Dileep Kumar as Gaurav * Anusha Rao as Ujwala * Nisha B.R. as Poorna *

B. Suresha B. Suresha is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor who works in Kannada-language films. He is known for directing the films ''Artha'' (2003) and ''Puttakkana Highway'' (2011). Career B. Suresha made his debut as a child ac ...

as Psychiatrist * Aaryan as Shashank * Shivaprasad as Sharavan * Amogh Siddarth as Gumma 1 The film also has Gaja Ninasam, Prajwal Gowda, Ramanand Inakai, Satish Golikoppa, Pawan Kalmane, Yashodha Hosakatta and K.N.Hegde in the supporting roles.

Reception

Tanvi PS from Times of India gave ''Manaroopa'' 3 star out of 5. She said, "Manaroopa has the makings of a good psychological thriller - it is dark, eerie, a tad disturbing, and packs in some good thrills." Vijay Karnataka also gave it 3 out of 5 stars and called this film as 'a new age psychological thriller'. Kannada Prabha writes "Manaroopa film has a strange storyline which address on loneliness, self-destruction, psychological issues in the backdrop of forest in a good manner" and gave 3 stars.

Accolades

* Best

Experimental Film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

Award at Café Irani Chaii International Film Festival 2020,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

* Official Selection for Miami International Film Festival 2020 in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

* Best

Cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

Feature Film Award; Best Foreign Feature Film Award; Best Thriller Film Award and Best Music Director Award for Music Director Sarvanaa at Istanbul Film Awards 2020,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

* Best Debut Director Award for Kiran Hegde; Best Cinematography Award for Govinda Raj and Best Supporting Actor Award for Amogh Siddarth at 10th

Dada Saheb Phalke Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Pronunciation: ̪ʱuɳɖiɾaːd͡ʒ pʰaːɭke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke () (30 April 1870 – 16 February 1944), was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, known as "the Father of Indian cinema". His de ...

Film Festival 2020,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. * Best Thriller Film Award 2020 at The Out of The Can International Film Festival, United Kingdom *Best Experimental Film Award at 14th Ayodhya Film Festival 2020, India

Release

The movie is available on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 10257110 2010s Kannada-language films 2019 films 2019 directorial debut films 2019 psychological thriller films 2019 crime thriller films Nihilism Existentialism Narcissism Dark web Films set in forests Existentialist films