After his directorial stints in Tamil, cinematographer-turned-director Vijay Milton makes his Kannada debut with an adaptation of his 2017 Tamil film, Kadugu. Credits to the filmmaker for envisioning a mass star like Shivarajkumar in a character-driven role.
The movie, which begins with an energetic song followed by an action sequence, introduces Shivappa (Shivarajkumar) as a folk artist who specialises in hulivesha. He is a man of principles and is known for his helping nature. An untoward incident lands him at the police station, and he ends up making a living by doing errands for the area inspector (Shashikumar). The inspector at one point gets transferred, and Shivappa goes along with him.
Here, he befriends Vaathapi (Pruthvi Ambaar) and gets to meet Karna (Dhananjay), a boxer with political aspirations who wield clout in the town. A teacher (Anjali), who has a bad past, finds goodness in Shivappa and develops friendships on Facebook.
A triangular love story brews between Vaathapi, Shobina (Yasha Shivakumar) and Karna. However, the soul of the film is Keerthi (Saptha Poorvi), a school girl, who becomes a victim at the hands of an MLA.
Bairagee is then about how the calm and docile Shivappa turns violent and goes about exacting justice. Points to Vijay Milton for adapting Kadugu to the Kannada sensibilities and injecting freshness into the narrative. He has made full use of Shivanna’s abilities and brings out the best from him as an actor, a dancer, and an action star. Shivarajkumar convincingly pulls off the role of a hulivesha artist and gives a stellar all-around performance. Shivanna takes us back to the classic characters that he played in films like Om, Jogi, and Kaddipudi.
The equal effort comes from Dhananjay, who excels in a negative role. Pruthvi Ambaar’s role and his on-screen chemistry with Shivarajkumar make for a delightful watch. Anjali, Saptha Poorvi, Kalpana Naganath, and Yasha Shivakumar make their prominence felt. Shashikumar, as an inspector, and Sharath Lohithaswa as MLA play their part well. A special mention should go to dialogue writer, Guru Kashyap, who has penned some strong lines that help in elevating the characters.
Bairagee comes with a good mix of songs, and a wonderful background score by Anoop Seelin. Vijay himself being the film’s cinematographer has given a realistic approach to the visuals. With the right kind of cast, good performances and a neat approach in the making, Bairagee is a film that will appeal to the masses and the family audience.
BAIRAGEE
Cast: Shiva Rajkumar, Anjali, Dhananjaya, Pruthvee Ambaar, Yasha Shivakumar, Shashikumar, Sharath
Lohitashwa, Vinod Alva, Anu Prabhakar, Chikanna
Director: Vijay Milton