Several years after the success of his debut feature, Care of Footpath, Kishan proves that he has grown, but has some way to go for critical acclaim. He is good , but should be working on refining the art, and of course, for sometime give up acting.
Returning to crime drama as a sequel to the first, Care of Footpath 2 has more commercial elements to it; a familiar story experimented in a new way, but it lacks in maturity. With Kishan as director, actor, editor and doing the background score, the film explores the lives of juveniles Krishna (Kishan), Viji (Deepp Pathak), Dingri (Dingri Naresh) and Geetha (Avika Gor), who grow up in a slum. As adolescence approaches, they go through social and emotional changes. While Krishna aims to be a police officer, Viji opts to be a mechanic. Dingri prefers to be a streetsmart odd-jobs guy and Geetha plans a future with Viji. Love blossoms between the two. In the midst of their personal aspirations, situations lead Viji and Dingri to attempt to murder a policeman (Jayaram Karthik). They land up in a juvenile court and are helped by a lawyer, a role played by Esha Deol. Will they get justice and will the system allow them to reform forms the rest of the story.
With Care of Foothpath 2, Kishan tries his best to fill the frames with love, comedy, violence and drama but it fails to be engaging and is far from realistic. No doubt, he is still learning and has a long way to go. Maybe he should not have tried to bring the film out in many languages; it only distances it from the original version.
Except for his role as Krishna, all others, Deepp Pathak, Dingri Naresh and Avika Gor look much too old to be juveniles. Since a few are not well-versed in Kannada, they fail to be convincing in their roles.
Deepp Pathak and Dingri do their job well though they don't look the age they are meant to be playing, while Avika Gor is a pretty picture and is highly emotive. Esha Deol does not come out strong. Jayaram Karthik has done justice to his role as a corrupt police officer.
The background music is jarring and irritating. Nothing notable about Manoj Santhoshi’s music. Cinematographer has failed to shoot realistically and the film could have been edited better, for a a slicker version. Overall, this footpath needed a little more care.
As of now, an Oscar might be too ambitious a thought, but Kishan’s attempt should be encouraged and not dismissed