Weak screenplay mars 'Jarasandha' (Kannada Film Review)

Film: ' Jarasandha'; Producer: B.K. Gangadhar, Basavaraju; Direction: Shashank; Music: Arjun Janya; Cast: Vijay, Praneetha, Rangayana Raghu, Roopa Devi, Sampath, Swayamvara Chandru and others; Camera: Shekhar Chandru; Rating **1/2

Director Shashank has made some award winning and critically acclaimed films in the past and has shown immense potential and maturity through his work. Hence, when he zeroed on an action flick and that too with the well-known action hero Vijay, the expectations were different. The songs and the promos had raised a lot of curiosity around the film, but did it actually meet the expectations?

Well, the answer is both - yes and no. Yes, because 'Jarasandha' excels in its action and song portions. No, because the screenplay has a lot of flaws and the concept of the story goes against the accepted social norm that criminals are not born, but are made out of the circumstances.

The pace of the 'Jarasandha' is able to hold the interest of the audience from the very beginning. There are many situations that keep the audience glued to their seat. Coupled with the visual beauty of the songs picturisation and thrilling action scenes; the twists and turns in the movie are its USP.

The most impressive scenes are before interval which begin when the hero's group enter a temple till the last shot where the hero's real identity is revealed. Even, the pre-climax portions are equally entertaining, especially when the police officers attack the hero and his family members. It is well shot and creates a lot of curiosity.

With such long list of plus points, 'Jarasandha' should have been a classic action film. Unfortunately, this is not the case here because of the weak screenplay.

Shashank's screenplay has always been his strength. In fact, he had won best screenplay awards for two of his previous films. The first half of the film has too many loopholes and the comedy sequences fall flat.

Krishna Murthy alias Kitty (Vijay) wants to become Mr. Universe and is sponsored by Burra Naidu (Rangaraya Raghu). He is closely attached to his mother who is an asthma patient. Samantha (Praneetha) is an orphan who likes Kitty and has tried her best to attract him.

Meanwhile, there are clashes between two gangs - the Poojari gang, headed by an underworld don staying in Dubai and the Z gang. In fact, the members of Z gang assassinate the members of Poojari gang.

Kitty agrees to marry Samantha and before marriage she wants to visit her family deity. In the temple she is shocked to see Kitty killing a few people and the films throws in a lot of questions like Why did Kitty do such a thing? What is his agenda to carry out such a heinous act? The second half of the film, reveals it all.

Vijay is very impressive in action sequences, but poorly written screenplay doesn't do justice to his acting skills.

The real surprise of the film is Praneetha, who has grown as an actor from her first Kannada film 'Porki', which was released two years ago.

Rangayaan Raghu overacts in this role and his Telugu dialogues are quite irritating. Roopa Devi too fails to make an impact in the role of the mother. Sampath and Karthick as villains are quite good.

Shekhar Chandru's camera work raises the bar in many sequences. Arjun Janya's musical work is excellent including the background score.

Despite its loose story and screenplay 'Jarasandha' impresses for its high technical standards.