Srikanta

Srikanta, who does odd jobs for 'social justice', meets a journalist enroute to Agumbe. The duo get talking when they exchange stories. We get to know Srikanta's tale of romance, activism and more through the journey, where there are many twists and turns that lead to a climax that stumps the audience.

Srikanta by Manju Swaraj brings back the Shivarajkumar seen in films like Kaddipudi. His acting is mostly subtle and the film deals with many relevant social issues. While the film begins with a few mandatory commercial elements, it then moves towards narrating the actual tale. The film touches upon many topics that are seen but not spoken about, but the clever narrative sees a slight dampener in the end, with an over-stretched climax.

The protagonist's behaviour and actions are unlike most commercial heroes and it is hard to imagine someone as detached as Srikanta. The romantic track, too, is rather unbelievable but eventually adds to the screenplay. The film has some interesting scenes and sequences that are touched upon. These also hint at some of the oft spoken controversies in recent times, like the Hublot watch episode and other such scandals of politicians. The only bit is that these seem too rushed.

Shivarajkumar is in top form and delivers a good performance. Newbie Chandni does a good job. Vijay Raghavendra has a small but pivotal role to play. The film doesn't go jingoistic and play to the gallery like Shankar's films that touch upon such topics of social reforms, but is rather subdued in its style. There are scenes that do look unreal but one needs to hand it to director Manju Swaraj for coming up with a story that retains the star value but isn't loud and over the top. This film is for fans of commercial cinema, who want change but still have some masala.