Kranthi Movie Review: This Rakendu Mouli and Inaya starrer is a lazy thriller with dragged narration

2/5

Story

Ram (Rakendu Mouli) and Sandhya (Inaya Sultana) are a couple. One fine day, Sandhya requests Ram to talk to her father and ask for her hand. But in a tragic turnaround of events, Sandhya gets murdered and this leaves Ram in a massive depression. A year later, a girl named Ramya (Sravani Shetty) goes missing in similar circumstances. Ram finds out that there is a connection between Sandhya's murder and the missing case. The rest of the story is about how Ram solves the case and finds out who is behind these murders.

Review

Aha's latest outing, Kranthi deals with the atrocities that women are facing in the country of late. The film is based in one small town where women go missing. Though the plot looks old, the manner in which it has been set up looks quite interesting. The film starts with a scene where a woman's body is dumped into a river in a chilling manner. This gives the idea that a killer is on a loose and he is targeting women. When the second victim becomes the film's female lead, the story takes a turn and makes things interesting.

But what follows is a series of boring scenes which show the hero Ram in a depression. These scenes are handled in a very silly manner and do not make any sense. The way the hero reacts to the situations around him is outright bland. The director Bhima Shankar should have made the screenplay interesting during this time and rather than showcasing the heartbreak, he should have added more scenes related to the heroine's murder.

The story of Kranthi has also been dealt with in many films before. So, novelty-wise there is nothing new that has been showcased here. The plot is sidelined by redundant scenes that create no impact. Also, the film moves at a slow pace even though it is only one and a half hours long. There are so many scenes that could have been chopped to make things better but that does not happen. The thrills which are a must in such films are completely missing in Kranthi.

Kranthi is front lined by Rakendu Mouli and Inaya Sultana. Rakendu is good in parts but there are also scenes where he overacts for no reason. There are so many scenes during the investigation part where Rakendu hams and takes things overboard. But in the last fifteen minutes, he was impressive. Inaya Sulthana of Bigg Boss fame has a small role but she creates an impact. The dubbing used for her is bad but still, Inaya stands her ground in her key role. Sravani Shetty and Yamuna Srinidhi are just about okay.

As the film is set amidst a beach backdrop, the camera work is decent barring a few weird angles in the latter part. The lyrics are okay and the BGM is not that great. A more impressive background would have elevated the film to a decent level. The dialogues about women's safety are thought-provoking and are nicely used in the narrative. The editing part is horrible but the production design was neat. The supporting cast is also not up to the mark in Kranthi.

Director Bhima Shankar has chosen a social subject that has the chance for him to showcase the proceedings in a gripping manner. But the most essential screenplay goes for a toss. There are no standout moments in this film and also the tension that needs to be generated goes missing. The last fifteen minutes of the film are engaging but the part leading to it is dragged and does not engage you that much.

Verdict

Bhima Shankar's Kranthi deals with the atrocities women face in today's world. While the plot is relatable and is also introduced decently into the proceedings, boring scenes, dragged narrative, and lack of thrilling moments bore the audience thereafter. The film makes sense in the last fifteen minutes but the damage is already done leaving the viewer in distress.