Runtime: 154 minutes
Directed by: Prashantha Neel
Starring: Yash, Srinidhi Shetty, Ramachandra Raju, Archana Jois, Anant Nag
From: A number of different Indian companies
As I have stated too often through the years, my apologies for not viewing as many movies from India as I should. Besides that universe containing a wide variety of different films from different regions in different languages, several Letterboxd mutuals only follow me due to previous reviews of their cinema. It’s hit or miss whether the unique flavors & the mix of different genres will work for me or not; in this case, I more liked this than loved it. A unique novelty for me was that this was in the Kannada language; that was a first for me.
After an opening in 2018, the rest of the film is a flashback to a young boy calling himself Rocky who became a hoodlum than worked then as an adult in the 70’s and 80’s, became involved with the “Gold Mafia” and was tasked with assassinating someone involved with a gold field in the country. Of course, it’s more complicated than that; the keystone detail for me to note is that Rocky is yet another unstoppable Indian hero who easily wrecks dozens upon dozens of dudes. The action beats are of the modern variety; I mean that pejoratively as in meaning “not always decipherable” and “quick editing.”
Yes, there’s musical numbers-as always, at least they’re catchy tunes and well-choreographed-and like in some recent pictures from that part of the world, there are constant graphics that appear which tell the viewer that smoking and drinking is bad whenever a character is shown smoking and/or drinking. Then there’s the slow-motion… someone I know on a messageboard has fatigue when it comes to those modern cliches; I can’t even blame him.
All that said, I was still amused and bemused by this film which in fact has multiple chapters; the second came out in ’22 and the third is still forthcoming. As bombastic as KGF was, the film becomes a rousing underdog story as Rocky attempts to help impoverished people. It won’t be another six months before viewing another picture from India; heck, by the end of 2025 there are hopes to see at least one theatrically.
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