Life was never this valuable

Edegaarike
Kannada (U/A)
Cast: Aditya, Atul Kulkarni, Achyut Kumar, Akanksha
Director: D Suman Kittur

Agni Sridhar brings yet another slice of his life as a don with Edegaarike, based on his book with the same name.

Edegaarike explores the mindset of the hunter and the hunted with searing precision. That there are slight deviations from the book are obvious but they do not take away from the disturbing realisation of what the human mind is capable of, eventually.

A minor episode of bumping off a contract killer who’s out laying the ground for killing a don at the behest of another, unravels the complexities involved – a love affair that’s tainted with lies, a career about to end as it has lost its sheen and the sheer professionalism that allows a person face death calmly.

It’s a minor triumph to find that this episode could be stretched into a full length feature film. However, it cannot escape lecture-baazi sprinkled generously throughout. Atul Kulkarni is subdued, as befitting his character.

Srujan is angry and loud (was it necessary?), Dharma means business while Sharat Lohitashwa as Antony Kaalia is menacing. But the real danger lurks in Achyut Kumar’s eyes, who as a planner of killings, is fanatical in his devotion to Bhai in Dubai.

Amidst the different facets of cruelty, there flows the essence of purity, of innocence in the form of Akanksha’s Rashmi, killer Sona’s girlfriend. Her very being is saturated with righteousness, an anti-thesis to all that’s perceived as right but is very wrong at the root.

That this very virtue of hers causes Sona’s mind to change in an unexpected way is one of life’s ironies. Sona’s story also creates conflict and distress in Sridhar’s mind along with that of the viewer.

Tension is maintained throughout the film and scenes of Muthappa Rai’s father advising Sridhar, his accident etc serve only as distractions. Or are they really that?

The dialogues emphasise this tension very well. Rakesh’s camerawork is excellent. Sadhu Kokila single-handedly lends that much-needed balance to a taut drama with a soulful rendition of Kittur’s lyrics.

A clean effort. Reserved for a leisurely watch when pondering over life’s mechanics.