Vishnuvardhana - Movie Review

Dwarakish's Vishnuvardhana, which was rumoured to be a biopic of Dr Vishnuvardhan, has no connection with the late Sandalwood matinee idol except the names of the lead stars - Vishnuvardhana and Bharathi. In fact, the movie is a tribute to the superstar and the makers of the film have tried to attract his fan following for commercial reasons.

Sudeep, Bhavana and Priyamani starrer Vishnuvardhana is a complete family entertainer with all the masala elements. The film kick-starts with a lookalike opening fight scene of Aapthamitra, where Kicha will be seen in Vishnuvardhan's avatar in the first 20 minutes.

Vishnuvardhana (Sudeep) is the son of a washerman but does not want to be like his father rather dreams of earning million bucks. His friend Shastri (Arun Sagar) predicts his future and claims that his fortunes will change soon. As his sidekick said, his luck changes and he accidentally gets a mobile phone of don Aadishesha (Sonu Sood).

The cell phone brings him Rs 50 lakhs instantly and the cat & mouse game between Vishu-Aadi begins from now. The frustrated baddie is after Vishnu's blood but the latter continues to give the former hard times. Meanwhile, the hero falls in love with Bharathi (Bhavana) and their love blooms in no time. When the audience think that the movie is heading in a conventional way, Priyamani brings in a twist to the tale. In the second half, there is an interesting sub-plot that connects with the main story in the end.

The movie tries to appeal all sections of audience. With the good content and direction, Vishnuvardhana manages to entertain the viewers all through. The movie completely belongs to Sudeep and he shines in every frame. Be it in comedy scenes or serious, the actor brings out every expressions from the book. The other actor to match his calibre is Arun Sagar. In fact, in the sequences that they share together, Arun overshadows Sudeep with his one-liners.

Actress Bhavana looks cute and she is good in her role. Priyamani, in her brief character, has given glam quotient. Sonu Sood was not required for the role of the antagonist as any other Kannada actor could have done the same. Rest other characters are okay. Technically, two songs and the background score are good. Cinematography by Raja Rathnam is okay. But Gautham Raju's editing is poor. He has completely failed to give a flow in the narration and he could have reduced the movie duration by at least 15 minutes. Finally, debutant director Kumar has done an excellent job. Though, there are quite a few jerks in the screenplay and some minor mistakes in the story telling, his neat presentation makes it a worth watch.

Verdict: Vishnuvardhana has a good story and dialogues that engage you till the end. Watch the movie with your family.

Cast: Sudeep, Bhavana, Priyamani, Arun Sagar, Sonu Sood, Ninasam Ashwath, Sangeetha, Dwarakish and others.
Director: P Kumar
Music: V Harikrishna
Cinematography: Rajarathnam
Producer: Dwarakish
Released on: December 9