'45' movie review: Intriguing premise, shaky narrative in Arjun Janya's ambitious multistarrer

Well-known music composer Arjun Janya’s directorial debut, ‘45’, was eagerly anticipated since he announced it in 2022. The film boasts three big stars, but is hardly an audience pleaser.

Vinay (Raj B Shetty) accidentally runs over a dog, killing it on the spot. The dog, Rosie, happens to be Rayappa’s (Upendra) most prized possession. Grieving his pet, whom he calls ‘mother’, he tells Vinay that he will kill him in 45 days. 

Parallely, Vinay comes across a documentary about the ‘Garuda Purana’, a Sanskrit text. The documentary shows what happens to the soul after the death of the person embodying it — a 45-day journey in purgatory before reaching its final destination. Vinay notices eerie similarities between the documentary and what is happening in his own life, leaving him unsettled.

Although Janya has tried to explore a unique concept, nowhere does the 150-minute film feel like an original. The scenes feel way too familiar — and look inspired by various Hollywood movies and Korean dramas. And by the end, it leaves you emotionally untouched.

‘45’ is billed as a visually rich film with VFX ‘amplified by an Oscar-winning team from Hollywood’. Unfortunately, the visual effects are underwhelming, and, in several places, outright shabby. The background score is excessively loud for most of the runtime, and the songs are just passable. Music and sound, being Arjun Janya forte, fail to leave a lasting impression.

Shivarajkumar’s character, Shivappa, looks fully ‘inspired’ by Korean fantasy dramas. His costumes, antics, and the ‘know it all’ sweet face will perhaps remind you of the Goblin in 'Guardian'. And Upendra's performance is similar to what he did in ‘UI’, which he also wrote and directed. None of the stars, including Raj, are at their best. The supporting characters (Pramod Shetty and Rajendran’s characters for example) are half baked. The extremely long action sequences make no sense and the sets look artificial. 

A mass commercial film reportedly made on a Rs 80 crore budget and featuring three stars fails to deliver even a technically sound experience, let alone a progressive or thought-provoking one.

(The movie is currently running in theatres)