Pentagon Anthology Review: Life and death get interesting perspectives in this omnibus

Death ties together the five stories that are part of Pentagon, the latest Kannada anthology. Directors Guru Deshpande, Akash Srivatsa, Raghu Shivammoga, Chandramohan, and Kiran Kumar deliver a portmanteau film that attempts different genres like thriller, dark comedy, emotional drama, and caste-based drama. Powered by good performances, these shorts are compelling, with a couple of them really standing out from the rest.

Chandramohan’s short, Mr. Goolgy Cafe, revolves around a man who wants to end his life, and goes to the extent of employing the services of a contract killer. The episode has a strong premise but fails in its execution. The ending of the story of a young man’s death wish doesn’t really leave an impact, and that acts detrimental to the short.

Directors: Guru Deshpande,   Akash Srivatsa, Raghu Shivammoga, Chandramohan, and Kiran Kumar

Cast: Kishore, Pruthvi Ambaar, Prakash Belawadi, Ravi Shankar,  Pramod Shetty,  Sagara, Tanisha Kuppanda, Pritika Deshpande, Prerana Kambam
 

Mysore Pak by Akash Srivatsa is more realistic and revolves around a retired teacher who is unhappy with home food and craves sweets. Incidentally, in a hunt to fulfill his cravings, he comes across a stranger, who introduces him to the Swiggy app and he begins to order his favourite food. However, this happiness is cut short, bringing a hard-hitting message and a universal truth.

Raghu Shivamogga’s Kamaturanan Na Bhayam Na Lajja is a thriller that is about the murder of a middle-aged woman. A boy in the neighbourhood becomes the suspect as the case is investigated by the area police officer. Although the narrative strolls through some sleazy sequences, Raghu’s episodes highlight a relevant topic of honey trapping and blackmail.

Doni Sagali Munde Hogali by debutant Kiran Kumar discusses the topic of love, relationships, hatred, violence, and death keeping caste-based hierarchy as an underlying theme. The social drama makes it interesting, which sees a good set of performances and is captured well by cinematographer Abhilash Kalathi.

Guru Deshpande’s Karma uses Kannada activism as the backdrop. While it manages to offer many twists and turns, the overall impact is underwhelming. The attempt to surprise the audience comes at the cost of the subtext, which is ultimately a revenge drama.

Anthologies are definitely different from the regular commercial entertainers being made in Kannada. Among the five, Raghu Shivammoga’s story about honey trapping is bold and thought-provoking. In fact, it is more like a wake-up call. The best of Pentagon is reserved for the end, and Karma is bolstered by an exceptional performance by actor Kishore along with Pruthvi Ambaar coming as a good support.

Prakash Belawadi and Ravi Shankar put up a good show in their respective stories while Pramod Shetty, Sagara, Tanisha Kuppanda, Pritika Deshpande, Prerana Kambam, among many others have delivered convincing performances.

The score of Kadri Manikanth elevates the underlying theme of Pentagon.

There are a lot of stories, a lot of characters, and a lot of takeaways from Pentagon, which highlights the importance of life, and the consequences of death, and leaves the audience with the envious task of picking the best of the lot.