Vikrant Rona
Starring Sudeep ,Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok, and Jacqueline Fernandez
Directed by Anup Bhandari
Rating: *** ½
More than anything else, Vikrant Rona is a treat for the fans of Kannada star Sudeep who is cast a mysterious plainclothed cigar-smoking single-parent cop in a remote village in an indeterminate part of the country at time when there were radios , vintage cars and item songs by Jacqueline Fernandez.
I am guessing this is the 1970s . Although Sudeep’s swag is timeless. He enters the plot a good fifteen minutes after the start of the startling theatrics. And what a grand entry! The introductory fight sequence on board a swaying lurching ship is shot with the panache that the 3D technique craves for but seldom gets.The climactic action sequence where Sudeep[ takes on two supernatural adversaries is shot in the spirit of lingering lunacy. The madness will just it you from every corner. There is no getting away from it.
Technically, Vikrant Rona is on solid ground.Anup Bhandari’s direction has the scale and sweep of Rajamouli and Prashanth Neel. But he could have toned-down the performances which frequently seem designed as a street-play rather than a slick motionpicture experience. Also Bhandari’s screenplay, though based on caste oppression, seems incoherent at key plot points, sacrificing celerity for clarity.
All the shortcomings fall by the wayside when weighed against the film’s technical cockiness. This is an arrogant imperiously selfconfident work that knows its audience. The frames are saturated with a glow of overripe colours. The sequences , not always coherent, are more into being trippy than commonsensical.
In one sequence two youngsters, twins if you must know, are seen in a darkly-lit home where they are chased by an old evil spirit.Why are they in that place? Why is evil spirit chasing them? Anyone asking these questions know nothing about the anti-logistic movement of a film where the audience is asked to be swept into a tidal wave of visual experiences. Jump right in. You won’t regret it.