Garuda movie review: Srinagara Kitty steals the show in Siddharth Mahesh’s revenge drama

3/5

Story: Ram (Siddharth Mahesh), runs a restaurant in Goa, along with Shankaranna (Rangayana Raghu) and Anu (Aindrita Ray). Goa is also the hotbed of nefarious activities, including smuggling of arms for terrorist activities, by Kalinga (Adhi Lokesh). While an anti-terrorism squad is trying to get to the bottom of it, an unknown entity is hard at work at rooting out Kalinga’s operations. Who is this ‘vigilante’ and what is his agenda?

Review: Garuda is a film that was ready for release well before the pandemic, but was then delayed and finally gets its theatrical outing only today. Lead hero Siddharth, who has also written the script of the film, had often said that part of the story was based on certain events that had transpired at the time, so, I wondered if the narrative would age well, considering the film was made in 2017-18. Interestingly enough, it passes muster, as they are told in flashback within the film.

At its core, Siddharth’s film is a revenge saga, involving baddie Kalinga’s beef with ACP Sampath (Srinagara Kitty) and family, including the police man’s brother and aspiring cop, Vikram (Siddharth). Years later, Vikram re-surfaces as Ram, a small-time restaurateur in Goa, who in the public eye is someone who believes in doing no harm unto others. At other times, though, he is on a mission to take down Kalinga, which he doesn’t even bother to do under cover. What gives Vikram/Ram this impunity?

Garuda is Siddharth’s film, but it just as much belongs to Srinagara Kitty. It’s a pity that Kannada cinema does not exploit this man’s talent more. Kitty not only looks fantastic in khaki, but also brings in the right amount of gravitas to ACP Sampath, aided immensely by the depth and tone of his voice. Siddharth had, apparently, written the role for Kitty, which the latter absolutely owned. The ladies – Ashika Ranganath and Aindrita Ray – have minor roles in the larger scheme of things, but aren’t just there as tokens. In a commercial film, it’s rare for heroines to get much to sink their teeth into. Siddharth, whose debut film Sipaayi was panned for not having enough family drama and emotions in it, balances that out with Garuda, which is also perhaps why the ladies get more screen time. As for his role as the leading man, well, Siddharth’s got a fairly good screen presence and shows promise. The script, of course, could have been better, but it’s not a bad attempt. What was bad was the CGI, but that can be overlooked.

Verdict: Garuda is old wine in a new bottle as far as the revenge element of the story goes. Although there is family drama, romance, comedy and action, this one’s for those who like their staple fare of commercial cinema. If that is not your cup of tea, you may not want to invest two-and-a-half hours on this film.