Roopanthara Movie Review: Roopanthara review: A marvellous metamorphosis
Roopanthara Movie Review: Critics Rating: 3.5 stars, click to give your rating/review,Raj proudly embraces his mass avatar and has thoroughly enjoyed playing the character. His character
Critic's Rating: 3.5/5
Plot: In a dystopian future, an old man is held at a gun point to narrate a story to save his own life.
Review: In Roopanthara, the future is ugly and hopeless and the reason for it is the past deeds. When thugs hold a gun against an old man, he is forced to tell a story to save his own life. And he offers to tell not just one but four stories. Thus begins Roopanthara.
The first story is about a goon (Raj B Shetty). A petty squabble between the goon and a corporate employee (played by Shivamma director Jai Shankar), spirals out of control and ends tragically. The second is about a poverty-stricken old man and his wife (Somshekhar Bolegaon, Hanumakka), who visit the city to fulfil the latter’s wishes. In the third story, a beggar woman (Lekha Naidu) is falsely accused of kidnapping a child and is dragged to the police station. A new joinee young constable (Bharath GB) is dumbstruck by the way the police station works. In the last story, we meet a young adult (Anjan Bharadhwaj), who is addicted to drugs and online gaming, akin to Blue Whale. The four converge at one point by the end of the film. Are their stories intertwined?
A worm has to go through four different life cycles to become a butterfly and not all worms can become butterflies; these four stories in the film represent the same cycle. The beauty of Roopanthara is, besides the wonderful writing and dialogues, the characters in the film don’t have a name, which means they can be anyone or everyone. Powerful storytelling, combined with outstanding dialogues and stellar performances, Roopanthara is a well-knit tale that showcases the importance of metamorphosis and the role it plays in life and death. However, the biggest let down in the film is the stories don’t conclude as effectively as they should. Considering that the old man’s life depends on the story, the ending is vague and it somehow is not very convincing.
Debutant director Mithilesh Edavalath shows immense potential with his well-crafted film, combined with realistic portrayal of characters by Raj B Shetty, Lekha Naidu, Somshekhar Bolegaon, Hanumakka, Bharath GB, Gireesh Jatti among others. Lekha steals the show with no dialogues and just powerful acting. Somshekhar Bolegaon and Hanumakka as a bickering couple in love are heart-warming. Raj proudly embraces his mass avatar and has thoroughly enjoyed playing the character. His character is stuck in a conundrum of his own making and knows his way out too. But, the Roopanthara (transformation) is painful. Raj has also written the dialogues and additional screenplay, thus proving once again that he is a master story-teller. The silence in the film is equally powerful as the dialogues. Bharath GB and Gireesh Jatti have the best dialogues in the film and their segment stands out. Chaithra J Achar’s Kittale, which plays out throughout the film at various junctures, is soulful. Midhun Mukundan’s music has a trajectory of its own and seamlessly blends with the film.
Overall, Roopanthara offers a metamorphic experience, sans a bogged-down climax.
Review: In Roopanthara, the future is ugly and hopeless and the reason for it is the past deeds. When thugs hold a gun against an old man, he is forced to tell a story to save his own life. And he offers to tell not just one but four stories. Thus begins Roopanthara.
The first story is about a goon (Raj B Shetty). A petty squabble between the goon and a corporate employee (played by Shivamma director Jai Shankar), spirals out of control and ends tragically. The second is about a poverty-stricken old man and his wife (Somshekhar Bolegaon, Hanumakka), who visit the city to fulfil the latter’s wishes. In the third story, a beggar woman (Lekha Naidu) is falsely accused of kidnapping a child and is dragged to the police station. A new joinee young constable (Bharath GB) is dumbstruck by the way the police station works. In the last story, we meet a young adult (Anjan Bharadhwaj), who is addicted to drugs and online gaming, akin to Blue Whale. The four converge at one point by the end of the film. Are their stories intertwined?
A worm has to go through four different life cycles to become a butterfly and not all worms can become butterflies; these four stories in the film represent the same cycle. The beauty of Roopanthara is, besides the wonderful writing and dialogues, the characters in the film don’t have a name, which means they can be anyone or everyone. Powerful storytelling, combined with outstanding dialogues and stellar performances, Roopanthara is a well-knit tale that showcases the importance of metamorphosis and the role it plays in life and death. However, the biggest let down in the film is the stories don’t conclude as effectively as they should. Considering that the old man’s life depends on the story, the ending is vague and it somehow is not very convincing.
Debutant director Mithilesh Edavalath shows immense potential with his well-crafted film, combined with realistic portrayal of characters by Raj B Shetty, Lekha Naidu, Somshekhar Bolegaon, Hanumakka, Bharath GB, Gireesh Jatti among others. Lekha steals the show with no dialogues and just powerful acting. Somshekhar Bolegaon and Hanumakka as a bickering couple in love are heart-warming. Raj proudly embraces his mass avatar and has thoroughly enjoyed playing the character. His character is stuck in a conundrum of his own making and knows his way out too. But, the Roopanthara (transformation) is painful. Raj has also written the dialogues and additional screenplay, thus proving once again that he is a master story-teller. The silence in the film is equally powerful as the dialogues. Bharath GB and Gireesh Jatti have the best dialogues in the film and their segment stands out. Chaithra J Achar’s Kittale, which plays out throughout the film at various junctures, is soulful. Midhun Mukundan’s music has a trajectory of its own and seamlessly blends with the film.
Overall, Roopanthara offers a metamorphic experience, sans a bogged-down climax.
