'Raja Vikramarka', which is produced by '88' Rama Reddy and presented by T Adi Reddy, is out in the theatres. Is it worth a watch? Let's find out.
Story
Vikram (Kartikeya) has to save Home Minister Chakravarthy (Sai Kumar) and his daughter Kanthi (Tanya Ravichandran) from an imminent threat posed by an ex-Maoist, Guru Narayana (Pasupathy). It's not an easy operation for the NIA agent because there are black sheep and the antagonist has got a major plan up his sleeve.
Performances
Kartikeya is slowly emerging from the shadow of an 'RX 100' and a 'Hippie'. Even '90ML' and 'Guna 369' had him in typical roles. After doing a semi-dark comedy like 'Chaavu Kaburu Challaga', he comes into his own in this film. Despite the poor script, he shows promise.
Kollywood actress Tanya Ravichandran debuts in a fairly well-written part. Sai Kumar is seasoned. Recently, he has done well in 'Ardha Shathabdham' and 'SR Kalyanamandapam'. But this film doesn't offer him as much space.
Sudhakar Komakula, who has been waiting for his moment under the sun since 'Life Is Beautiful', is impressive. Tanikella Bharani overshadows even the main villain, played by Pasupathy. Harsha Vardhan is seen as a client-hungry LIC agent who teaches dance to the heroine.
Technical aspects
Prashanth R Vihari's songs are able. 'Sammathame' and the classical-sound song are well-placed. His BGM works in the more substantial parts of the story. PC Mouli's cinematography is a mixed bag. Where the scene is staged well, the technical aspect shows promise. Otherwise, it's not out of the ordinary. The production design is humble and is in keeping with the medium-scale range of the movie.
Analysis
While 'Raja Vikramarka' was touted to be an action thriller with comedy as its forte, it is less about the thrills. After the villain's motivations are established, there is not much going for the movie in terms of suspense. As such, the action directors (Subbu-Naba duo and Prudhvi Sekhar) were supposed to do the heavy lifting. Since director Sri Saripalli (a newcomer) doesn't visualize the film as a true-blue actioner, the potential is not milked.
The majority of the first half's run-time is spent on the romantic-comedy track. Harsha Vardhan and Kartikeya share some banter and the same reminds us of some known segments involving comedians like Brahmanandam and Late Venu Madhav. The second half sidelines the comedy track for good. The film once again acquires humour in the final segments.
If you go in expecting a serious-minded thriller, 'Raja Vikramarka' will disappoint you more than it otherwise would. But if you are okay with the NIA being trivialized, you might have some laughs and walk out in a forgiving mood.
The emotions between the characters don't draw us in. For the most part, the love story feels not-so-integral to the story. The shoot-out episode in the forest doesn't thrill us.
Closing Remarks
'Raja Vikramarka' doesn't realize its fullest potential. The actioner is bereft of logic. Its humour is dry after a point.
