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Rakkasapuradhol Puts The Spotlight Back On Old-Fashioned Investigation

Rava Saranga’s taut whodunit follows a troubled cop guided by instinct and evidence, elevated by sharp writing and standout performances from Raj Shetty and Anirudh Bhat.

Subha+J+Rao

Feb 07, 2026

Promo poster for Rakkasapuradhol.

THE BEST THING about Rakkasapuradhol is that writer-director Ravi Saranga has his eye on the end target, and does not deviate much from the core plot. Every side story, barring one, leads up to the big reveal or serves that thread. And that is why when the movie ends, the appreciation is mostly stunned silence, not rapturous claps. Because you know you’ve been taken for a ride of the director’s choosing, and it takes time to get off the high of the sumptuously shot climax.

Starring Raj Shetty, Archana Kottige, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Swathista Krishnan, child actor Nisha and Anirudh Bhat, all of whom are in fine form, the film hits the sweet spot because the story lands well, and you feel the fear and nervousness. The technical crew — cinematographer William David, editor Majunath Ganesh, art director Mohan B Kere and composer Arjun Janya contribute to this. If this had been another time, I’d have probably loved a less-loud BGM, but this one seems to work with the masses, and in the state Kannada cinema is in now, getting the audience back to the theatre takes precedence over certain artistic preferences.

What I loved most about Ravi’s writing (co-writer: Kranthi Kuma) is the empathy and curiosity with which he approaches the subject — 90 marks, especially, for not belittling mental illness and for reiterating the importance of medicine. Some minor characters do refer to the word ‘mental’ but are shut down soon enough. The 10 marks that got taken away are for the colour shaming of the cop, the snide remarks, the initial scenes in the police station that needed less flab, the mental health angle of another character, and the unfinished tale of the person handling the graves.

Raj Shetty plays Shiva, a troubled cop with schizophrenia who is back after a hiatus. He loves his alcohol, and his seniors give him a low-crime station so that a good officer like him bounces back fast. He arrives in the village of Rakkasapura, steeped in superstition and the lore of the Kolli Devva, and equal adoration for a local swamiji who presides over a temple dedicated to Shiva. There are very few cases, because the Swamiji takes care of most issues, and for the rest, there are coconuts wrapped in red cloth, and brooms placed in front of houses. The police station is there, in name. The cops don’t know how to write a report, and call for an ambulance or the forensics team, because, so far, there has been no need to.

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Since it has been established that Shiva has issues, you keep wondering whether he really sees people and things or imagines them. But, it is the nature of this very illness that ensures he does not give up. At one stage, he uses the side-effects of his condition to help him crack the puzzle of perfectly fine young women found dead, dressed as brides.

Is Rakkasapuradhol just a taut whodunit? Not quite. It also explores the human condition — a principal lusting after a teacher, a student’s mother, and yet being afraid when confronted; a girl taking on her powerful MLA father; the said young mother sticking to her stand, and the young child Belli putting the Principal in his place with just one line. It is also this child that aids Shiva in his healing process — he yearns for a child, and she fills that void in his life.

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William David’s camera captures the dark beauty of the terrain while infusing it with a layer of fog and smoke, because eventually, everyone is working in the dark with zero clarity. The VFX falters in places, though. Editor Manjunath Ganesh keeps the momentum going with scenes that cut back and forth, smoothly and abruptly, in keeping with the character’s thought process. Both songs by Arjun Janya — ‘Neena Neena’ and ‘Siddayya Swamy Banni’ — are earworms and bound to have recall value.

Shiva could have been written as a cop who knows it all and who makes no mistakes. But, he’s as vulnerable as anyone else here — everyone seems to know of his condition, and everyone seems to empathise, never ridicule. And Raj plays him beautifully with a fine mix of grief and the urgency to get on with life. He’s never a cop in uniform; he’s one among the others, but still stands out. With this film, he also finally makes the transition to a pan-Karnataka hero, as much loved in Mandya and Mysuru as his hometown of Mangaluru.

As for Anirudh Bhat, what can one say, except that he wears the crown, effortlessly. Hopefully, this film will pave the way for him to get more roles befitting his talent.

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Rakkasapuradhol Puts The Spotlight Back On Old-Fashioned Investigation

Subha+J+Rao

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