Raj Vishnu: Comedy duo delivers right punch

With Raj Vishnu, director Madesh aims to debunk the perception that a hit comedy film can not remade for the better. He shows that if the nativity isn’t tampered with and popular sentiments are maintained, the protagonist and his sidekick are lovable and laughable, the dialogues induce laughter, the flow is unaltered, then a comedy movie can retain the freshness of the original, probably even surpass it. After Madesh saw the Tamil hit film, Rajini Murugan, he instantly realised that the film suited Kannada nativity. Just a tweak here and there, and the film was ready. Raj Vishnu follows the original to a T.

Cast: Sharan, Chikanna, Srinivas Murthy, Vaibhavi Shandilya
Director: K Madesh

The romantic comedy is about Raj Vishnu, an unemployed youth with a close bonding with his landlord grandfather (Srinivas Murthy). His only ‘occupation’ is to try and woo his childhood sweetheart Lavanya (Vaibhavi Shandilya), and he takes the help of his close friend Shankar Nag (Chikkanna) to do this. But her father, once a close friend of Raj Vishnu’s father, is strictly against the two meeting. In parallel, his grandfather wants to see Raj settled and decides to divide the property. But, a problem arises when his family, residing abroad, is not ready to visit their hometown and sign the property papers. Will Raj get his love and will his grandfather be able to divide the property? The film ends with a relevant social message, which is strongly delivered by actor Sriimurali, who makes a cameo appearance.

Bringing freshness to the film is the combination of Sharan and Chikkanna, making for a laugh riot. Another plus is the comedy-laden dialogues. However, owing to some sentimental drama, the second half becomes slow, but picks up towards the end.

Vaibhavi Shandilya’s debut shows promise and she adds the glam quotient in a song sequence. Loki is seen as the young antagonist and has worked on enacting anger well. Senior actor Srinivas Murthy stands out in the role as the grandfather. Overall, the film gets good support from Suchendra Prasad, Mimicry Gopi, Sadhu Kokila, and the other supporting cast.

The film’s peppy songs by Arjun Janya has the front benchers dancing to the tunes, while cinematography by Rajesh Katta takes us right into the local environs. For a fun ride with Sharan and Chikkanna, this one is worth a watch.