Anjadiru Movie Review

Anjadiru – Film Nodu!

Movie Review By Raju Shanbhag

From the outset, Anjadiru has everything going against it. The film is a remake, it does not have a great assemblage of star cast and it has a senior actor (Producer Krishnegowda) who was trying to launch his not so good looking son (Muralidhar) in the movies. But as this story of two friends and a rapist gang unveils in front your eyes, you’ll forget all about stars and star casts.

We always love pleasant surprises in life, don’t we?

The first thing you notice about Anjadiru is the downplaying of the narration to an almost surprising extent. We don’t know if debutant director R. Janardhan has copied the original film in its narration too. But if he hasn’t, kudos to his neat direction and controlled narration of a subject that could have easily turned the film into a “B” grade masala flick.

Consider this; the story has a rapist who rapes at least five girls. But the rapes are never shown in the film. The hero gets a job as a sub inspector (by using influence) and unknowingly cheats his deserving best friend from getting that post in the process. His first day in the office as a trainee sub inspector is hardly something that’s seen before in Kannada films. There are usual fights and dance sequences too, but even they are handled well, as a bearded Prashant looks every bit as bullish as he is supposed to be in the first few sequences. His body language is aggressive and it changes when required.

R Janardhan shows great restraint in handling actors like Dwarakish, who is probably playing a villain for the first time. He never allows Dwarakish to scream at the top of his lungs and allows him to be at his usual self. The same is true with Adi Lokesh. The guy is a rapist but is the epitome of calm and composure throughout the film! The same restraint is shown in the technical departments such as camera and editing; never too loud, never too lousy. Yet, the film is a gripping journey, especially in the second half.

Among newcomers, Prashant impresses and Mulari is strictly ok. Shubha Punja, although starts off uncomfortably, does well as the film progresses. Adi Lokesh looks like a professional rapist (ha, that’s a complement!) Veterans such as Krishnegowda (who also produced the film), Ravi Kale, Padmaja Rao and company do a neat job. Special mention to Avinash who has a small but meaty role. He exudes every bit of emotions of a helpless father whose daughter is in the clutches of a rapist.

On a whole, Krishnegowda has taken up an interesting subject and got it handled well through Janradhan. Congrats Mr. Krishnegowda, we expect more such efforts from you and your team in the future.

And next time around, we hope you chose an original story!