In all fairness, nothing that you encounter in Kranti should come as a surprise. The film was meant to be a bona fide Darshan Thoogudeepa vehicle that his fans, or 'celebrities' as he refers to them, have been waiting for quite some time. And Kranti offers just that and not a shred more. Slo-mo walks, cheesy self-referential punch lines, SUVs tossed in the air every other minute, and a wafer-thin plot to tie this all up—V Harikrishna's second outing as director brims with cliches. But should you be watching it as a ‘Challenging Star' fan, the film is a satisfying big screen experience.
Yet, if you were to spare a thought for the plotline buried under the frenzy, you are likely to walk out of the cinema hall feeling puzzled, not knowing what just transpired, or why it did in the first place. That is if you can make sense of the film through the thumping hoots and cries. Kranti is a lazy attempt that uses the superstar's fandom to offer a film devoid of nuance or authenticity. To make things worse, it uses a social issue to drive the story, but the insincerity in the approach is so glaring.
Kranti Rayanna, the owner of a group of multinational enterprises, returns home from Europe to take part in the centenary celebrations of the government school he studied in. Despite having lived abroad for more than 20 years, the Kannada patriot in him is still alive. Should the timely flashbacks fail to enunciate this, take a look at Darshan's screen name—'Kranti' meaning revolution and 'Rayanna', after the real-life revolutionary, Sangolli Rayanna. But Kranti Rayanna isn't aware of the threat looming over a few thousand government schools in Karnataka. Salatri Educational Institutions, owned by an appropriately evil businessman, is out to acquire all the 12,000 government schools in the state to remodel them as lucrative private schools. Salatri is aided by a ganglord and a template MLA, which means that the acquisition is likely to happen through unruly means. Government schools crumble down, a few innocent students die as a result, and more than 75,000 teachers lose their jobs. Enter Kranti, the brawny messiah.
As much as the conflict allows the director to elevate his hero, V Harikrishna and co-writers fail miserably in imbuing the script with the thrills that one seeks in a film of this kind. We know that Kranti has all the resources to tackle the problem. But the film fails to build the tension or give the villains equal weightage. Granted one doesn't watch a film of this sort expecting a solid character arc, but that isn't to say that a mass film must be completely lacking in logic. What kind of enterprise does Kranti Rayanna own? How does the villain, as diabolical as he may be, get away with the destruction of more than 10,000 schools? Kranti, the film, is silly both in writing and in execution, and is not bothered about offering its audience the fun they deserve. Instead, what Darshan fans get is a sluggish rehash of a film that robs you of three hours from your life.
Rachita Ram, despite being a star in her own right, is replaceable because her character Usha, Kranti's childhood crush, adds little to the film. That's true about most other characters in the film, with the only exception being V Ravichandran. The veteran actor plays Kranti's father Bhargava Rayannaand a tiny spark appears in the film every time it tries to explore the father-son dynamic. Senior actors Umashree and Mukhyamantri Chandru, too, are part of the cast but have no bearing on the narrative. B Suresha (co-producer of the film) who plays Kranti's school teacher and the crusader against the private school mafia, puts on an adequate performance.
Tarun Arora, best known for playing Anshuman in Jab We Met, makes his Kannada debut as the villain in Kranti, but is mostly only spelling out outrageously predictable lines. His accomplices P Ravishankar and Tamil actor Sampath Raj are likely to have come on board without having read the script.
But does the film deliver on the promise of a Darshan-spectacle? The answer could be a reluctant yes. Right off the bat, Harikrishna announces that he is offering his version of fan service. As a music composer, he does well in the mass scenes. Darshan, well aware of the expectations, highlights those moments with his quintessential swagger. Every time he exudes that confidence, the cinema hall would get energised. I even saw fans running up to the screen with large diyas to worship the superstar—the clock was yet to strike 6.00 am. To make things better, the 45-year-old shows off his newly beefed-up physique. Even though his face suggests that he is worn out, fans are enthralled that he hasn't given up yet.
It isn't that Darshan cannot hold his own as a performer. His previous film Roberrt was testament to the fact that he can pull off a tricky role when under the right supervision. But in Kranti, you see the star in him clinging fervently to a glory that is threatened by the onset of the pan-India phenomenon. As much as he is entitled to do so, his insistence to serve only the people of Karnataka comes at a time when superstars around him are claiming nationwide recognition. One hopes to see him strive harder and better, and not mindlessly pick projects that offer nothing new to his fans. Although Kranti works as a mass entertainer, the film is an injustice to his fans who deserve better.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film’s producers or any other members of its cast and crew.