Film: 'Vaayuputhra'; Cast: Ambareesh, Chiranjeevi Sarja, Aindrita Ray, Ajay, Ramesh Bhat, Mukyamanthri Chandru, Padmaja Rao and others; Director: Kishore Sarja; Music Director: Hari Krishna; Producer: Arjun Sarja; Storywriter: Linguswamy; Camera: Sundaranatha Suvarna; Ratings: ** 1/2
'Vaayuputhra' aptly fits in to the real meaning of a remake film. Late Kishore Sarja, who has directed this film, seems to be so much impressed by its original 'Sandai Kozhi' and its director Linguswamy, that he has not dared to make any changes other than the music for the songs. You can see striking similarities in the way shots are taken and you get to feel that you are seeing the same original film with different set of actors in different locations.
Unfortunately director Kishore Sarja and actor-producer like Arjun Sarja should have borne in mind that 'Sandai Kozhi' was essentially a nativity film that perfectly fitted in the Madurai-Theni belt of Tamil Nadu. The characters in 'Sandai Kozhi' looked natural. More than anything else Linguswamy proved that he can make a good action film in the backdrop of paddy fields and rustic surroundings where the bravery and fighting skills are part of the family tradition.
But Kishore Sarja has set his story in a wrong location as Karnataka doesn't have a culture of Katta Panchayats. A big city like Mangalore cannot be compared with Tamil Nadu's temple town Chidambaram where swords and sickles are still used for fights. Therefore, the story in 'Vaayuputhra' looks out of place.
Secondly the narrative is slow in 'Vaayuputhra' and fails to create any interest in the proceedings.