Roopanthara

I'm late to plug in this review since I caught the film in theaters during the release week and held my review, giving it another chance on OTT to see if my reserved thoughts would change. But they didn't.

Those familiar with anthology films will know how the narrative thread connects all things, even if it doesn't seem like it at first. In Roopanthara (2024), a genuine debut from director Mithilesh Edavalath, the engaging segments were half-baked, while others were more limited but ultimately came full circle. I wish the director had stuck to the arthouse tone and made this an OTT film. Somewhere, the mix of keeping it mainstream and going bleak didn't blend well. It could have gone full-on bleak and dark or catered more to the mainstream.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad in any way, but I felt this concept was a little darker, and I expected the thread to follow the same line. However, it was engaging in parts. I loved the briefly and violent scenes, which were done really well. Raj B Shetty nailed it during his sequence, acting with a subliminal touch.

While I did enjoy this film to an extent, I feel its key notion could have been better conveyed, and the genre hopping was too much.

It's a good watch and a worthy addition to the list of Kannada cinema this year. Some were meh but still okay efforts. I won't say which were meh, but I'm thinking Moorane Krishnappa, Chilli Chicken, Shakhahaari, Hejjaru, Family Drama, Blink, maybe Juni, which was a mixed bag and more on the pretentious side and the recent hit Ibbani Tabbida Ileyali. I know we had Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe and Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi, which could be included here, but they're more on the feel-good side.

In closing, Roopanthara is worth a shot, but don't expect a masterpiece. It's more like a decent indie film that's worth a watch if you like something different.