RX100 fame Karthikeya, who disappointed with his last outing Chaavu Kaburu Challaga is back with an action thriller titled, Raja Vikramarka. Being helmed by a debutant named Sri Saaripalli, the movie is out for the public viewing today. Let’s see how it goes.
Story: Raja Vikramarka (Karthikeya), an NIA officer will be appointed as a undercover security agent for the state home minister (role played by Sai Kumar) by his higher officer(Tanikella Bharani) as the politician has threat from a Naxalite group. Raja, who is easy-go-luck minded guy falls for the Home Minister’s daughter Kranti( Tanya Ravichandran). But as a twist in the tale, Kranti will be kidnapped by the Naxalites. Rest of the story is how Vikramarka and team face-off with the Naxalites and save Kranti.
Performances: Kartikeya’s physical appearance and his body language are decent. Acting-wise, though Kartikeya’s performance lacks a solid impact, his screen presence brings depth to the proceedings to an extent.
New girl Tanya Ravichandran is adorable on screen. Her chemistry with Karthikeya is decent but she needs to improve a lot in terms of acting.
Tanikella Bharani as NIA chief is decent in his role. Sai Kumar is convincing in his character as a sincere politician.
Kollywood actor Pasupathy is okay as a Naxalite.Sudhakar Komakula is decent in his negative shaded cop role.
Technicalities: Cinematography by PC Mouli explores the mood of the film nicely. Framing and lighting setup was done perfectly.
Editing by Jesvin Prabhu is alright. Music by Prashanth Vihari is decent as his background score adds weight to the proceedings in the second half.
Production values are adequate for this limited budget movie.
Analysis: Written and directed by a debutant named Sri Saaripalli, Raja Vikramarka has a ages old storyline but the premise he created is good. Taking wise, Sri Saaripalli’s treatment is filled with cliches in the narrative part.
Though the concept of rescuing the state Home Minster and family by NIA agency is appealing, the screenplay version fails to attract the audience. Adding to it, the entire film runs on a same meter and lacks high moments in the presentation.
To summerize, Raja Vikramarka has some appealing performances but lack of proper scene order and lack of gripping narration makes the film a below-average fare.
Verdict: Fails to engage!
Rating: 2/5
