'Kranthi' is currently streaming on Aha Video. In this section, we are going to review the latest OTT release.
Story:
Aspirant cop Ram (Rakendu Mouli) goes into a state of depression after his girlfriend Sandhya (Inaya Sultana) is found brutally murdered. A year passes. Just when a young girl named Ramya becomes close to him as his 'Rakhi' sister, she goes missing. An enraged Ram now takes up the cudgels and decides to investigate the missing case. It goes without saying that Ramya's missing case and Sandhya's murder are interlinked.
Analysis:
At about 90 minutes, this web show is a crime thriller that takes the form of a social drama after the first hour. Rakendu Mouli, a lyricist and dialogue writer, dons the greasepaint and plays the role of a change agent with the conviction of a jeans-wearing R Narayana Murthy.
Director Bima Sankar draws lessons from AR Murugadoss' style of story-telling and a soap opera-style execution. Apparently, 'Kranthi' was shot in just nine days, and the hurried making shows. If you take out the episode where the male lead literally rides a bike to test the time taken to travel a certain distance, the film could have been wrapped up in eight days. The scene was redundant and exists just to build needless tension.
Coming back to the AR Murugadoss reference, there is this scene in 'SPYder', where our hero inspires housewives to display their heroism for 30 minutes. They rise to the occasion as if they were trained military personnel in their previous birth. Fortunately, 'Kranthi' is not that senseless. Unfortunately, the staging and narration are so weak that the 'SPYder' miracle looks more convincing in comparison.
For a film that doesn't last beyond 90 minutes, the pacing is far from perfect. And then the portrayal of the typically lethargic and indifferent cop, who is shown literally gulping down alcohol while on duty. Surely, there are less unbelievable ways to show that he is irresponsible?
The conversations between Ram and his mother (Yamuna Srinidhi) feel so put on. For the most part of the running time, Rakendu Mouli comes across as someone who knows what is going to happen next. He delivers a Mahesh Babu-esque lecture to the media and men at large - a monologue that has the same effect as a WhatsApp forward.
On the technical front, 'Kranthi' is sub-par in every respect. The editing, the cinematography and the background score drag down the film.
Verdict:
'Kranthi' is a half-baked thriller with borrowed ideas and derivative dialogues.
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