Film: Kismat
Director: Vijay Raghavendra,
Cast: Vijay Raghavendra, Sangeetha Bhat, Chikkanna, Sunder Raj
Kismat, the long-pending film directed and produced by Vijay Raghavendra may not make a dent at the box office, but will surely make the audience sit up and contemplate. The story of middle-class lives with sprinkles of joy and uncertainty blended with gallows of humour, makes it a relatable one.
The story inspired from Alphonse Puthren’s 2013 Malayalam film Neram, the film revolves around an unemployed middle-class youth, Vijay (Vijay Raghavendra) whose life is bogged down by uncertainty. His responsibility towards his family impels him to take a loan with high interest rates, which lands him at the mercy of Badi Badhra, a rowdy money lender.
After returning it in instalments, for two months, Vijay is unable make the third. Along with a looming deadline to return the money, Vijay gets entangled in a knotty situation with his love interest Anupama (Sangeetha Bhat), her father (Sunder Raj), his brother-in-law (Naveen Krishna) and the money lender— all at the same time. The complicated twists and turns coupled with much uncertainty leads to the climax of Kismat.
Puthren’s original story has been handled with care by Vijay, who has included hints of local flavours, and manages to introduce a whiff of freshness to the story. However, the film loses out only because of its delayed release.
Vijay, as an actor has rendered nothing short of an exemplary experience. He gets into the skin of any character effortlessly. Even though he had other responsibilities to manage, when it comes to screen presence, he gets it right. While Sangeetha as the love interest to Vijay has a small role to play, she, along with Tabla Nani, Saikumar, Girish Shivanna and Sunder Raj lend credible support. In an extended cameo, Chikkanna and Dharma gets the audience giggling.
Vijay has lent his voice and penned lyrics for a couple of songs, while the film’s music is by Rajesh Murugesan. Rajesh Yadav’s cinematography comes handy. With its perpetual uncertainty and twists,
Kismat tactfully keeps the audience engaged. While some would say, better late than never, we feel that the film would have scored a notch higher had the filmming and post-production process been swifter.