Keshava is one movie that tries to emulate many revenge dramas but with a difference. The greatest battle of a person trying to establish his future but tangled in past is what director tries to establish with the movie. But in his penchant to serve the dish cold he fails to create an engaging thriller.
Plot:
Keshava Sharma (Nikhil Siddhartha) kills a person late night on a lonely road. The man he killed is a Sub Inspector of Police and entire Police department tries to nab the killer as soon as possible. But they fail to stop him from committing another murder. A special investigation officer, Sharmila (Isha Kopikkar) is appointed to catch him. Can she successfully stop him? What is the reason behind Keshava targetting Police department?
Performances:
Nikhil Siddhartha looked completely in character but he doesn’t give it any new twist from his earlier roles. He tries to keep a serious face through out to represent the cold and calculated attitude of the character. But he misses at few points to enact the right emotion on screen.
Ritu Varma doesn’t get a run of the mill kind of role but she fails to impress. She continues to act in the same way she did in Pelli Choopulu. The actress need to come out of the hangover of her popular movie soon. Isha Kopikkar impresses in her role. She looks highly presentable and her performance is flawless. Vennela Kishore tries hard to induce laughter but the comedy looks too forced in this screenplay. There are many more good actors like Rao Ramesh, Jeeva, Ajay and Brahmaji but none of them are given good character to go with.
Technicalities:
Cinematography by Divakar Mani helps Sudheer Varma in creating a consistent tone for various kills. His camera is restlessly cold and staged perfectly to capture the visual essence the director is going for. But he loses out on letting the drama take over the style at many occasions.
The movie moves on a flat line without giving you a high or a low. It feels too distant for an audience member to invest his time to understand why things are happening as they are on screen. Writer-director Sudheer Varma concentrates on style than substance. He looks to develop the story with out any core emotions. Trying to let audience member to feel the coldness like the protagonist he misses out on creating good enough environment on screen that will help the story to progress in a free flow.
He tries to create a character for his protagonist but the unnecessary comedy and few hammed up sequences dilute entire seriousness of the movie. While it is good to have a comic relief from high serious elements, director fails to use the medical condition of the hero to the fullest. He tries to engage you with a strong visual but they don’t help in understanding the depth of the pain the main lead is going through. In trying to keep it simple, he misses out on creating exciting sequences that can add a fresh feel to this age old revenge saga.
Music by Sunny MR lacks any innovation and BGM by Prashanth Pillai tries too hard to sound in sync with the scenes. While it sounds good enough at times deviates away from the proceedings on screen. Editing SR Shekar could have been better.
Analysis:
Film lacks in innovation that it promised in the trailers and posters. Being a too old saga the movie needed some fresh elements to make it engaging. While Sudheer Varma had lofty ideas to represent the inner conflict of a young boy who needs to keep his calm in every situation he lacks in giving them the required depth. On the whole, this cold revenge become predictable after a point and strong technical elements only make the movie a watchable attempt.
Rating: 2.5/5
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