Raja Nanna Raja (ರಾಜ ನನ್ನ ರಾಜ)

Rating: 2/4 (Good songs, but pretty unimpressive Kannada classic)

Raja Nanna Raja (ರಾಜ ನನ್ನ ರಾಜ) is a 1976 Kannada movie starring Rajkumar and Aarathi. Geetha (Aarathi) is a rich kid on the lookout for a suitable husband. She keeps rejecting prospective fiancees since most of them are after the wealth bequeathed to her by her deceased parents. Just when she thinks she has found her perfect match in Moorthy, a guy named Raja (Rajkumar) starts stalking her. He tries to convince her that she and him were lovers in a previous incarnation and thus she should only marry him.

I find it pretty amusing to watch old movies! Not just the dressing, styles, cityscapes and jargon of that period, but even the painted credits and indoor sets are quaint. Raja Nanna Raja is a big hit in Kannada, but I found it to be pretty unimpressive. It is an alternate twist of the common reincarnated-lovers plot that has appeared every few years in all Indian movies. FWIW I am not a big fan of Rajkumar, he is just okay here. Beautiful Aarathi is wasted in her pretty damsel role. The music by G K Venkatesh is good and the songs Ninade Nenapu and Thanuvu Manavu are my favorites. Raja Nanna Raja is watchable just to catch up on classic Kannada movies.