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Saturday, September 7, 2024
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KANNADA LAKSHMI (KANNADA)
EDITOR'S PICK
`Lakshmi`
strictly for Shivakumar`s fans
Rating: ***
"Lakshmi" is Shivaraj Kumar`s 102th film. Nearly two years went into
its making. Despite the delay in production and release of "Lakshmi",
it stands out as a better product than the actor`s two previous films, which
were backed by big hype, but ended up as total dampeners. Director Raghava Loki
has been able to craft an interesting screenplay for "Lakshmi", where
suspense and thrilling elements keep you on the edge of the seats. The project
has rich production values and fantastic action and chase sequences shot in
Macau and Hong Kong.
"Lakshmi" will surely be a treat for the actor`s fans. Despite being
tagged as an action-oriented film, the movie has some emotional sequences which
touch your heart. The director offers a good package of action, sentiment and a
little dose of patriotism in his film, which certainly stands for its strong
visual strength.
The film`s story is around a journey undertaken by CBI officer Lakshmi Narayan
to trace his missing wife. Since he follows cases of mining mafia and internal
cells supporting terrorist activities in the state, Lakshmi feels that his wife
has been kidnapped by terrorists. His search takes him to Hong Kong, where a don
is in control of all terrorist activities in the country.
Surprisingly, Lakshmi finds his Priya to be working as a trusted aide to the
don. He decides to kill his wife and the don in the big operation centre,
maintained by the don. Finally, the suspense is revealed that Priya is part of a
counter terrorist wing of CBI and is being used to crush the terrorists`
designs.
The film is not without its set of flaws. It starts off well but loses track
later only to come back with renewed twists before the interval sequence. The
beginning of second half, which has many sequences of Rangayana Raghu, fail to
make an impact. There is no comedy element in these sequences, though they were
designed to add the comedy ingredient to the film. The second half has many
dragging sequences, but somehow the plot gets interesting overtones twenty
minutes before the climax.
The climax sequence is well shot with absorbing visuals. It is only in the
climax that the film gets a big twist, when the suspense is revealed. Loki could
do well by snipping ten to fifteen minutes of the film in the second half.
Shivaraj Kumar has delivered an all-round performance in the film and excels in
dances and fights. His punchy dialogues are sure to please his fanbase. He shows
lot of energy in carrying his role convincingly. Priyamani has also given a top
class performance in the film. Ashish Vidyarthi who plays the role of a don is
quite effective in his role.
All other major artists who have worked in the film appear in one or two
sequences of the film but have performed the roles with ease.
K.S. Chandrashekhar`s camera work is fantastic, and the Hong Kong sequences are
shot with rich frames. Ravi Varma`s work in the action department is also
commendable. Guru Kiran provides good background score, but his compositions
could have been better. The work of art department is very good.
