Film: Rudratandava
Cast: Chiranjeevi Sarja, Radhika Kumaraswamy
Chikkanna, Krishna
Director: Guru Deshpande
With the first half of the film dedicated to family moments, budding love, and the villain’s growing influence followed up by a second half dedicated to vengeance, Rudratandava follows the classic storytelling format. However, what works for the film and sets it apart are the smart twists that director Guru Deshpande has woven into this obviously commercial plot. A faithful remake of the Tamil film Pandiya Naadu, Rudratandava also scores because of its absolutely perfect casting.
Set in Kolar, the film revolves around the family of Guru (Girish Karnad), a retired government employee, who leads a simple life with his two sons — Nagaraj (Kumar Govind), a government officer, who oversees mining legalities and his brother Shivaraj (Chiranjeevi Sarja), who owns a mobile sales and service centre. Shivaraj falls for a school teacher called Jhanvi (Radhika Kumaraswamy), but is unable to express his love because he has a stammering problem. Even this apparent problem is solved by his friends who come to his rescue.
A family scenario with a doting father and brother, a lady love in tow and a handful of good friends form the premise as well as act as the perfect beginning for the film. At this point enters the villain, who is unrelated to their otherwise happy story.
Narasimha (Ravi Shankar) is a goon who wants to be the king of Kolar’s rich mining business. Their stories get entangled when Nagaraj dies in an accident and it his family discovers that his death was a murder. Shivaraj hears about his brother’s fate and is enraged as well as infuriated. This starts off a chain of events whereby both father and son prepare for vengeance. Whether they succeed in putting an end to Narasimha’s power forms the rest of the story and it is lifted from the mundane with various twists, violence, deaths as well as high-octane chases.
Though the storyline is not new, Guru has added elements to keep the audiences hooked and his effort shows. Supporting him in his endeavour is Girish Karnad, but the show stealer is undoubtedly Chiranjeevi Sarja who undergoes a superb transformation from mild-mannered fellow to a vengeful brother. Ravi Shankar, as the villain, has played this kind of a character before, but the audience can’t seem to get enough of him. Radhika does justice to her character and her simple look is sure to add value to her portfolio. Chikkanna brings in good comic relief, while Krishna is placed well in his cameo. The Kolar locations have been picturised well by cinematographer Jagadish Wali. The songs by V Harikrishna work quite well with the plot. On the whole, it is in the surprise twists that Rudratandava’s magic lies. Go with an open mind and be ready for a journey from a serene life to a violent frenzy of vengeance.