'Vishnuvardhana' (Kannada)
Director: V Kumar
Cast: Sudeep, Bhavana, Priyamani, Sonu Sood, Dwarakeesh, Sangeetha, Karisubbu, Arun Sagar, Muni, Ninasam Aswath, Chethan
It is one of those films that not only created a lot of buzz in Sandalwood but also controversy.
This is also a film for which fans of Dr Vishnuvardhan and Sudeep waited with lot of enthusiasm. As far as Sudeep’s performance is concerned, he tried to showcase his acting skills to prove that he too can play a role that focuses on comedy, romance and action. His performance in stunt sequences is scintillating. And, he also deserves a lot of appreciation for his dancing skills. However, his performance in comedy sequences requires improvement.
Arun Sagar, as an astrologer, complements Sudeep. ‘Jackie’-fame Bhavana puts in a lot of effort. To retain her glory but disappoints the audience. Her height is unsuitable for her to be cast opposite Sudeep.
Priyamani plays a different role and she needs a pat on her back for accepting such a role because she had proved her dancing skills in ‘Ram’ but ‘Vishnuvardhana’ offers no such opportunity for her. It is not clear what Dwarakeesh tries to convey to the audience with a scene where he makes futile attempts for a liquor bottle and lands instead on a hefty artiste and also indulges in a discussion that is aimed at the front benchers.
It is about Vishnuvardhana (Sudeep) son of Puttaswami (Karisubbu) who maintains a laundry. Motivated by an astrologer (Arun Sagar), Vishnuvardhana starts building castles in the air about his future. He happens to see Bharathi (Bhavana), the younger daughter of retired colonel (Dwarakeesh). Smitten by Bharathi’s beauty, he falls in love with her. He even pretends to be a doctor.
Under unexpected circumstances, he happens to see Adishesha (Sonu Sood) and gets the latter’s cell phone. He collects Rs 50 lakh that was supposed to be given to Adishesha. The more Adishesha tries to trace Vishnuvardhana the more the latter becomes elusive. At this juncture, Vishnuvardhana receives a phone call from Meena (Priyamani) asking him to eliminate Adishesha within 24 hours or face consequences.
The director explains how Meena joined hands with Adishesha and tried to reform him and how he made her share a bed with a police officer. Will Vishnuvardhana succeed in his mission? See it on the silver screen.
Songs are good and music director V Harikrishna has done a neat job.