The ancient rhyming phrase Naale Rajaa Koli Majaa is popular in Karnataka, particularly by school-age youngsters. After a week of school, it suggests the thrill of spending a Sunday doing what you love, in this example, eating chicken curry. In keeping with his koli (chicken) universe, Abhilash Shetty’s second film is endearing.
In the Malnad region, his first film, Koli Taal (Chicken Curry), followed an elderly couple on their quest to locate the lost rooster so they could prepare a delectable curry for their grandson before he left for his town. The controversy around the lost chicken is also addressed in the second film.
In addition to being a holiday, 11-year-old Sneha (Samruddhi Kundapura) looks forward to Sundays because she gets to eat chicken curry, which is a staple meal at her house on the weekends. But when she finds out that her father purchased a bag of veggies rather than chicken because it is Gandhi Jayanti, a day when it is illegal to sell meat, her heart sinks.
The movie then turns into a sequence of events centred on Sneha’s struggle to fulfil her desire to eat her favourite food despite all the obstacles in her way. The film feeds on irony, and Abhilash’s passion of satire is evident. Sneha exposes her father’s hypocrisy as he asks her to follow the rules and abstain from eating meat, even as he is desperate to consume alcohol on a dry day (sale of alcohol is prohibited on October 2 in India).
On a day when people honour Gandhi’s nonviolent philosophy, a meat vendor complains that a one-day ban will cost him ₹5,000, calling it the largest hit on his business. The angry vendor laments, “Gandhi fought for freedom, but it’s a pity that I don’t have the freedom to do my business.” Naturally, illegal sellers profit from the dire needs of customers by charging outrageous prices for meat. The movie even examines how politicians use the Gandhi Jayanti day bans to corner and exploit their rivals.
Sneha relocates to her grandparents’ village in the hopes of consuming the elusive chicken curry after finding no success in her hometown. Since Mahabala Shetty and Vanaja, her grandparents, are from Koli Taal, Naale Rajaa Koli Majaa is a spiritual follow-up to the 2022 film. The movie gradually turns into a case study on the many kinds of chicken (domestic and grill) and the craft of making chicken gravy. Abhilash takes his time presenting these concepts, and the film’s deliberate, slow pacing complements its light-hearted tone.
Abhilash depicts the class gap and men’s patriarchal mindset in a matter-of-fact manner, so he doesn’t totally romanticise country life. Naale Rajaa Koli Majaa depicts how food affects people’s behaviour. Chicken is a source of joy for Sneha. But for her mother, it turns into a means of identity protection. Because she comes from a Christian household that only purchases meat from specific stores because of their religious convictions, she forbids Sneha from eating at her friend’s house. Light-footed, Naale Rajaa Koli Majaa strikes a balance between sophisticated socio-political critique and its pleasant comedy. The film’s attractiveness is increased by the accurate depiction of the stark difference between the urban and rural settings, but Samruddhi Kundapura’s performance is its main attraction. At the moment, Naale Rajaa Koli Majaa is showing in theatres.
