A still from ‘Moda Kavida Vaathavarana’.
| Photo Credit: Saregama Kannada/YouTube
Director Simple Suni’s Moda Kavida Vaathavarana reminds you of his hit debut Simple Aagi Ondh Love Story (2013). Two strangers meet at a picturesque location, get to know each other, share their troubled past, and wait for destiny to unite them forever. Back then, the core idea felt refreshing. Today, the same feels uninspired.Two couples arrive at a resort. A series of mysterious events unfolds, putting their relationships at stake. At the centre of it all is Cherish (Sheelam M Swamy) and Sowparnika (Moksha Kushal). The film establishes them as unhappy individuals, caught in the web of a wrong relationship.Moda Kavida Vaathavarana (Kannada)Director: Simple SuniCast: Sheelam M Swamy, Moksha Kushal, Saathvika, Dhananjaya DidagaRuntime: 120 minutesStoryline: Two couples arrive at a scenic resort carrying their own emotional baggage. Unexpected events emerge, putting the relationships in danger.Just when we feel it’s an interesting attempt at relationship compatibility, Suni writes punchlines that are quite silly. Adult jokes make matters worse because they are unoriginal. The idea of quick-witted dialogues for the lead characters, which seemed refreshing in the early phase of Suni’s career, has become stale now.From being a drama on troubled relationships, the movie transforms into a psychological suspense drama. This is the real issue with Mooda Kavida Vaathavarana. It hops from genre to genre without delving deep into each of them.ALSO READ: ‘Gatha Vaibhava’ movie review: Suni directs an uneven reincarnation drama with few positivesThe movie doesn’t know what it wants to be. The psychological angle is so convoluted that it becomes difficult to take the film seriously after a point. The coincidences and illogical twists are laughable. Cherish is a psychologist and a meme creator who believes the two roles share a common purpose: bringing comfort to troubled minds, albeit through different approaches. This is the kind of bizarre reasoning that runs throughout the movie.In recent times, Suni doesn’t want his movies to be just relationship dramas. He wants to incorporate suspense elements in them. His writing makes it seem as though he is under compulsion to add twists at every turn of the plot, perhaps keeping the Gen Z crowd — his main target audience — in mind.The biggest twist in Moda Kavida Vaathavarana turns out to be its biggest letdown, as the story’s familiarity makes the reveal unexciting. A couple of hit non-Kannada movies dealt with the same subject, but with a more coherent script than Moda Kavida Vaathavarana.The movie keeps us in a confused state as we aren’t sure who to root for. Sowparnika opens up about her past, and we turn curious. However, the final act unravels a different shade of Cherish, forcing us to focus on his journey. Suni has tried dabbling in three genres, but a better script would have salvaged Moda Kavida Vaathavarana.Moda Kavida Vaathavarana is currently running in theatres Published - June 29, 2026 12:18 pm IST
