Vikrant Rona Review: Sudeep caught trying to be Chulbul Pandey, murder mystery mixed in fantasy cinema
Jul 28,2022
Director Ram Gopal Varma has been very active in the past in launching the stars of South Indian cinema into Hindi cinema. In the year 1990, in the film 'Shiva', the same Telugu cinema star brought Nagarjuna. He gave Kannada actor Sudeep a chance in Hindi cinema in his 2008 release 'Phoonk'. Sudeep later acted in films in the series 'Rakt Charitra' apart from its sequel and film 'Run'. Kicha is not part of his name. It is associated with his name after the name given to his character in one of his films, similar to the practice of calling Vijay Dalpati Vijay and Rajinikanth Thalaiva Rajinikanth in South Indian cinema. Sudeep was last seen in Salman Khan's Dabangg 3. And, it was around this film that the film 'Vikrant Rona' came out of the fusion of adventure and fantasy.
Chulbul Pandey of 50 years ago
The film 'Vikrant Rona' is a fictional story of those times when there was not much progress in the country. Adivasis camped around the settlements of the forests. Away from mobile and television, children used to sit in groups and narrate fantasy stories to each other, and children used to read books from Indrajal Comics' Phantom series. The name of the film 'Vikrant Rona' was also earlier 'Phantom'. The legend about the Phantom is that this character is passed down from generation to generation. When one dies, the next generation takes his place. In this context, Chulbul Pandey of Hindi cinema also seems to be a descendant of Vikrant Rona. The story revolves around a police inspector who comes to a densely forested village in search of his missing wife and child and solves the ongoing kidnappings and murders of children there. There are many more characters in this murder mystery set in the fantasy world and the suspicion of murders keeps swirling from one to the other.
Story fine, luscious in the script
Director Anoop Bhandari has also come into filmmaking from engineering like his film's hero Sudeep. He also wrote the songs for the Kannada version of Salman Khan's film Dabangg 3. Well, he has been writing and singing songs for his films. Anoop Bhandari's film 'Vikrant Rona' was originally made in Kannada and released in Hindi along with all other Indian languages. The film is in 3D and according to the background and geographical location of the story, it also seems right to be made in 3D. The story of the film is also well written by Anoop, just if he had taken the help of some more people to expand the film, the result would have been better. The film's script initially holds on but once the hero's goal is set, the film starts to wander. Elements of horror have also been added to the fantasy film along with murder mystery and it also scares the audience at times.
Sudeep became a victim of overacting
The film 'Vikrant Rona not only beats with its script, but the acting of the film's hero Sudeep also does not help much in this. He talks throughout the film just like Chulbul Pandey. Smoking cigars in front of elders, being rude, and twirling his entire aura with a desi liquor shop dancer are the weaknesses of Vikrant Rona's character. The premise of the film is caste conflict. The real mystery of the film lies in the outcome of this struggle between the upper castes and the Dalits over untouchability. The story follows the journey of 28 years and fails to establish a relationship with the hero's daughter at one point at which the vengeance of the villain of this story is hidden. The disclosure about this girl in the climax of the film makes the audience zero the return of time invested in the story of the film.
Jacqueline's weakest link in the film
Most of the other actors in the film are from Kannada cinema. Director Anoop Bhandari's brother Nirup has tried to play the role of a lost son who ran away from home on the charge of stealing the jewels of gods and is now back after 28 years. Nirup Bhandari shows acting potential but he will have to work harder to bring out the expressions on his face. Neeta Ashok looks beautiful and so does her work in the film. At the same time, the setup of Shiva's picture on the elder brother's chest in childhood does not even make its payback properly later. Jacqueline Fernandez is the weakest link in the film. Salman or Sajid join a film and Jacqueline is not there, it is less possible. Here, Jacqueline's character in the film 'Vikrant Rona not only weakens the pace of the film but in the process of keeping this character, a strong character Vikrant Rona also starts looking frivolous.
see not see
The film 'Vikrant Rona' is technically better. The art of the film is directed by Shiv Kumar and he and his team have been 100 percent successful in creating the best atmosphere for the film. The cinematography of the film is done by William David and that too proves to help create the juice of the story. The music of the film 'Vikrant Rona', which was weak in story, screenplay, direction, and acting, is also not of interest to the Hindi audience. If this fantasy film had been made properly, it could have proved to be a wonderful adventure film for children and family audiences, but the real juice of the film has become tasteless in the pursuit of shining Sudeep or say Kicha Sudeep. You can watch the film as time pass but it will take a lot of patience to watch the film.
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