Ajai Rao: Yuddhakaanda is about a woman’s fight for justice and what happens when it is delayed

Kannada actor Krishna Ajai Rao’s next, Yuddhakaanda, which will be in theatres shortly, is a courtroom drama , the subject of which follows – justice delayed is justice denied. “Yuddhakaanada is about the delay in justice when a woman falls prey to abuse. The failure to get justice on time results in another crime. This crime occurs in her pursuit of justice,” explains Ajai, who has also produced the film. Directed by Pavan Bhat, the film also stars KGF fame Archana Jois, Prakash Belawadi and TS Nagabharana, among others.

Does that make Yudhakaanda a revenge drama then? Ajai does not think so, explaining further, “By the time justice is eventually served, if the victim or whoever deserved to see it, is not around anymore, there is no meaning to it anymore. When the person then seeks out her own justice, a crime is committed and the whole cycle of justice plays out again. Was she right or wrong in committing that crime? That’s the question addressed in the film.”

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Yudhakaanda will also shed light on the need for women and children receiving timely justice and the concept of fast-track justice. What happens in fast-track and how it is implemented is what Yuddhakaanda is all about, according to Ajai. In choosing the film, the actor was clear that it could not be too much about preaching morality to society. “If there are ethics attached to the story and it is still entertaining, that is what I like to present,” says Ajai.

The film will have Ajai playing a lawyer for the first time in his career. “Yuddhakaanda is a subject that moved me emotionally and the aim was to be able to create a revolution with it. The hope is that after seeing the film, men will increasingly want to stand in support of women in trouble,” says Ajai.