JOIN US‘Ravi Bopanna’ review: A visual treat and nothing else
Ravi Bopanna
Kannada (Theatres)
Director: V Ravichandra
Cast: V Ravichandra, Radhika Kumaraswamy, Kichcha Sudeepa, Kavya Shetty, Mohan Shankar
Rating: 3/5
‘Ekangi’ (2002) marked a fresh phase in V Ravichandra’s filmography as the ace filmmaker experimented with narration and plot. This approach was partially repeated in ‘Crazy Star’ (2014). He went couple of steps ahead, in the technical treatment of a film, with ‘Apoorva’ (2016).
These films had his signature touches, which majorly includes lavish presentations of songs. However, they miserably failed, indicating how audiences weren’t interested in his new offerings. Critics believed that either he had failed to understand the changing demands of fans or his innovative attempts were ahead of its time.
‘Ravi Bopanna’ inspired by the 2018 Malayalam runaway hit ‘Joseph’, is on the lines of the above-mentioned films albeit with improved music. The film is about a retired cop with sharp investigative skills. So much so that the department falls back on him when needed.
In a major case, he sets out to investigate if his ex-wife was murdered or killed in an accident.
This reveals a horrifying disclosure about the system. How he exposes the truth and at what cost from the climax.
‘Joseph’ was an intense watch as it remained faithful to the thriller and crime genres. In this film, Ravichandra tweaks the plot considerably. He adds glamour to make every scene a visual treat.
As against a sense of loss, the protagonist in ‘Ravi Bopanna’ is haunted by guilt, regret, repentance and past memories.
Ravichandra stuffs memories of his bitter experiences in life, lessons he learnt in the industry and his philosophy of life and relationships in the plot. He imposes them on the audience. He justifies this by saying the audience will understand only if they make up their minds or possess the ability to perceive what he is trying to convey.
The attempt goes haywire as critical aspects of the story are overlooked.
‘Ravi Bopanna’ confuses the audiences as they can’t make out if they should understand Ravichandra’s philosophies or enjoy the film. Ravichandra and other artistes are impressive so is the cinematography.