Leader who takes on the corrupt

Mass Leader
Kannada (U/A)
Cast: Shivarajkumar, Prakash Belawadi, Vijay Raghavendra, Gururaj Jaggesh, Sharmiela Mandre, Pranitha Subbash, Vamsi Krishna
Director: Narasimha

Mass Leader is indeed a film for the masses — specially made for Hatrick Hero’s loyal fans. Here, Shivarajkumar reprises the titular role of a Border Security Force man.

From fighting the corrupt CM Sudarshan, the inept police force led by Commissioner C K Uday Kumar, supari killer Yasin, to thwarting trafficking of Bangladeshi women and children, driving out illegal Bangladeshi migrants, to taking on ultras on the Kashmir border, Shivarajkumar does it all with military discipline and the dogged determination of a valiant soldier.

The man is assisted by his two trusted lieutenants — Guru and Vijay.
Mass Leader has stylised action sequences from the first frame to the final freeze, with machu, langu and AK 47s in full flow.

Yes, director Narasimha leaves no stone unturned. Weaving into his narrative all the recent happenings across India for a meaty movie, he tries to drive home the message that corruption is not only eating into the country’s civil and administrative life, but also the incorruptible armed forces. The film comes down heavily on corrupt politicians who call for respecting the armed forces and their sacrifices, but engage in mere tokenism and sing their praises once they are dead.

In a nutshell, the film is about how a happy family is slayed by a terror plot, leaving behind a handicapped child, and how father Shivarajkumar avenges the deaths of his parents, wife and sister. Despite his age and physique, Shivarajkumar does full justice as Mass Leader. Prakash Belawadi as the scheming politician is a caricature.

Vijay Ragh­av­e­n­dra and Gururaj lend able support to Mass Leader, while Pranitha is consigned to fluttering eyelids at her brave husband. Sharmiela Mandre, as the investigative journo infiltrating the foes, hots up the screen with her belly dance item number.