'Viratapura Viraagi' review: A well-researched biopic

Viratapura Viraagi

Kannada (Theatres)

Director: BS Lingadevaru

Cast: Suchendra Prasad, Samarth Hombala, Samarth Ayarahalli, Jadeya Shantalingeshwara Mahaswami

Rating: 3.5/5

Biopics rarely find makers and takers in Sandalwood. Once in a while, personal loyalty of a director or producer results in the creation of a movie on a personality they revere. Hanagal Kumara Shivayogi, who lived a century ago, is admired and honoured as the modern-day Basavanna in the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community. 'Viratapura Viraagi' is a biopic that chronicles his life.

To the director’s credit, a lot of research has been applied in making this biopic as authentic and unbiased as possible. The portrayal of the Shivayogi’s life is not a flattering tribute but a surprisingly honest saga that holds a mirror to the present as well.

Great men, of course, don’t live their lives with their biographies in mind. But Kumara Shivayogi’s life and achievements are quite overwhelming. Lingadevaru manages to pack this lifetime of spiritual quest, a constant reformative zeal and community service in a three-hour narrative. Without overtly dramatizing incidents and sticking to a plain factual rendering of events, he delivers a film brimming over with information.

Quite often however, the director strays into documenting Veerashaiva-Lingyat philosophy and rituals which stick out like unnecessary appendages. The dialogues, which are natural in the rest of the film, tend to fly over the head in such sequences. In a movie, they needed to be explained in simpler terms, if at all. The screenplay is guilty of being plain and trying to just load everything on the screen. The director may not have wished to unnecessarily dramatise a revered figure’s life. But it makes the movie experience ordinary.

Suchendra Prasad as the protagonist is a perfect cast. His subtle performance and truthful expressions make for an endearing watch. Two other actors who play his younger self are also apt. Real-life monks who play the various characters give a sense of authenticity to the looks, but it is too much to expect them to act.

The film is resourceful but manages to convey the period it is set in. Though not visually striking, Ashok V Raman creates the sense of time and place with his camerawork. Manikanth Kadri’s music is a big bonus the film rides on. Some of the Vachanas are beautifully set to music by him.

'Viratapura Viraagi' is a straightforward, no-frills account that deserves a pat for its honest effort.