The Task Movie Review: Chase against time and truth

Director Raghu Shivamogga’s The Task opens like a procedural. An awards-stage interview is shown, that has the anchor (Tanisha Kuppanda) questioning a retired police officer (Achyuth Kumar) and a lawyer (Sangeetha Bhat) about their 'celebrity status.' The irony is clear. Those who became popular for serving the public are now remembered more by social media than by society. The film tries to maintain this half-truth, half-theatre tone, with mixed results.

At its core, the story springs from speculation that rose during the post-Covid confusion. Were covert medical experiments conducted on unsuspecting citizens? Raghu builds his narrative around the growing chatter on post-Covid cardiac issues. Instead of a slow-burn investigation, the film often feels like scattered footnotes stitched into a chase thriller.

Director: Raghu Shivamogga

Cast: Raghu Shivamogga, Shree Lakshmi, Jaya Surya R Azad, Sagar Ram, Achyuth Kumar, Sangeetha Bhat

The plot moves like a relay race. Siri (Shrilakshmi Bhat), a Kodagu-based schoolgirl raised by middle-class parents (Gopalkrishna Deshpande and Harini Sundarraj), suddenly becomes the center of unwanted attention. The girl, still in Class 10, believes it carries some strange importance. One side insists she must stay away from Bengaluru, while another demands she be brought there immediately. This tug-of-war forms the story’s moral hinge.

Vishnu (Sagar Ram) and Kanthi (Jaya Surya R Azad) take up the task of bringing Siri (Shree Lakshmi) to the city on instructions from the retired officer. The intervention is sought by the lawyers. They come from a place where idealism survives on borrowed time. Kanthi, an orphan raised by Vishnu’s parents, has seen the inside of jail. Both youngsters are martial arts enthusiasts and social workers who try to do good without documenting it online. Every family sees doctors as gods during a crisis. When those same people turn into a threat, the ground shifts violently. These two young men rise to confront those who exploit the system. Their camaraderie works, but the writing rarely gives them room to breathe, keeping them constantly on the run.

Once the narrative enters Kodagu, the film becomes a non-stop chase, and that is where the cracks appear. Boys run with the girl, villains run after them, police chase the villains, and a corporate doctor (Balaji Manohar) pulls invisible strings. Raghu wants the terrain’s winding roads to mirror the narrative’s twists, but many of these turns feel engineered rather than earned. Some moments land, especially when the film slows and lets fear gather in the silences. Many others feel like detours added merely to sustain tension.

Balaji Manohar exudes cold corporate menace in the film. Achyuth Kumar lends weary moral weight to the retired-cop role. Sangeetha Bhat complements him with quiet resolve. Shree Lakshmi, stays grounded, even while most of her scenes bring with loud emotions and rush. The young actors, Jaya Surya Azad and Ram Sagar, follow the director’s instructions with discipline. Raghu Shivamogga’s own performance as Burmappa, a deranged hunter with a gaze that curdles the frame, slices through the film. A chilling encounter with Siri stands out, raw, uncomfortable, and brutal. In that moment, the actor overtakes the filmmaker in him.

The final reveal about Siri’s kidnapping links the post-Covid medical conspiracy to the film’s social concerns. But the explanation comes too neatly, softening the tension built through the first half. Thrillers must earn their truth. Here, the truth feels narrated rather than uncovered.

Technically, the film moves with confidence. Arjun Raj’s stunt design gives the action its muscle. Pradeep’s cinematography uses Kodagu’s canopy with intent. Judah Sandy’s background score tries to keep the trail alive.

The Task is a brisk, well-meant chase thriller, constantly running even when unsure of where it wants to arrive. Raghu Shivamogga’s ambition is clear, the intent is honest, and the social concern is timely. The real question is this: do films like The Task show us the cracks in society, or do they let us run alongside the story without ever catching up? The film wants to warn, question, and provoke, yet its impact depends on how much the audience chooses to carry home.