'Royal' review: Dinakar Thoogudeepa’s film struggles with cliches

What happens when a small-time crook discovers that he is the sole heir to a huge business empire? Writer-director Dinakar Thoogudeepa’s comeback film Royal takes this familiar storyline and attempts a trendy spin on it. It employs picturesque locations, Charan Raj’s catchy background score and a young central cast to get the job done. However, the writing lacks the flair to make the time-worn premise work for today’s viewer.

Viraat plays Krishna, the said crook who scams Goan tourists to make a living, all the while dreaming of leading a luxurious ‘royal’ life someday. Sanjana Anand (as Sanjana) enters his life as one of his victims but quickly falls for him owing to a bizarre prediction made by a tarot card reader. Veteran actor Achyuth Kumar plays the role of a businessman, while Raghu Mukherjee plays the antagonist, who schemes and scowls to no end. Chaya Singh plays one of the best roles in the film — of a venerable orphanage worker.

One of the main issues is the film’s dated and hackneyed treatment. The gags don’t add any value to the narrative nor do the romance and action portions although the central storyline fleetingly promises something exciting underneath.

The writing remains distracted, pulling a few extraneous tricks like the classic ‘mother sentiment’ trope when nothing else works. The humour, too, feels crass and sexist at times.

Viraat gets the bulk of the screen time but he struggles to justify the platform lent to him. Ultimately, ‘Royal’ is undone by its uninspired execution that wishes to mindlessly entertain more than engage.