‘Shakthi’ (Kannada)
Director: Anil Kumar
Cast: Malshree, Ravishankar, Sayaji Shinde, Sharath Lohitasva, Ashish Vidyarthi, Avinash, Radhika Gandhi, Kiran, Hema Chaudhary, Sadhu Kokila, Vijaya Prakash
One more action flick for Malashree’s fans who have been waiting for more than a year to see their ‘action queen’ has finally hit the silver screen. Malashree, who acted in movies like 'Lady Commissioner', 'Chamundi', 'Durgi' and 'Kiran Bedi', has once again proved her mettle in her latest film, 'Shakthi'.
Five stunt masters — Ram Lakshman, Ravi Varma, Thriller Manju, Palaniraj and Mass Mada —have succeeded in bringing out the best performance from Malashree. The stunt sequences are indeed a treat to watch. Cinematographers Sudhakar and Rajesh have done a neat job behind the camera. Their contribution in picturising the action sequences is immense.
Hat trick hero Sivarajkumar too has rendered a song for the movie. The film is all about Shakthi (Malashree) who works at a wholesale market as a coolie. In an unavoidable situation, Shakthi embarrasses Anjanappa (Sayaji Shinde), a money lender. To avenge his humiliation, Anjanappa ensures that she works as his servant. However, Shakthi rescues Anjanappa’s daughter Swathi (Radhika Gandhi) from a rowdy. And, impressed by her muscle power and loyalty, Anjanappa asks her to be Swathi’s bodyguard.
Swathi eventually falls in love with Vijay (Kiran). Her father opposes the relationship but Shakthi tries to help the lovers unite. Meanwhile, the director introduces a flashback scene where Shakthi and the lovers are admitted at a hospital. Police Commissioner Garuda (Ashish Vidyarthi) reveals that Shakthi in reality is Chamundi, a strict police officer. He also explains how Chamundi tried to teach a lesson to Betagappa, Minister for PWD (Sharath Lohitasva) for his involvement in a road accident where more than 30 students were killed.
As usual, the Chief Minister transfers Chamundi to Rayadurga where Rudramma (Hema Chaudhary) rules the roost. Again the director introduces a flash back and explains that Rudramma and Chamundi are relatives and how the former had killed latter’s father (Narendra Babu), a philanthropist.
Most of the dialogues are punchy and some of them are too powerful especially — only wife suffers if her husband is an impotent but the country suffers if policemen become useless people.
Sadhu Kokila has made an attempt to entertain the audience. It is not advisable for children to focus on him in a nude scene.
Among artistes, Ravi Shankar and Sharath Lohitasva have vied between themselves in dialogue delivery and gestures. There is not much scope for Ashish Vidyarthi in this film to showcase his acting skills. A few scenes where artistes imitate former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah deserve appreciation.