Kavaludaari movie review: An engrossing work by a promising avant-garde filmmaker

Kavaludaari movie cast: Anant Nag, Rishi, Achyuta Kumar, Suman Ranganathan
Kavaludaari movie director: Hemanth M Rao
Kavaludaari movie rating: 3 stars

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Every work of art invariably reflects the society of its time. The countrys volatile political situation, rapidly increasing frustration against a system that is clogged by a corrupt power structure, politicization of every institution, hopelessness, indifference to others suffering, decaying of civility, innocence and depleting morality have directly or indirectly crept into the themes of many films that have come out of late. Director-writer Hemanth M Raos Kavaludaari (Crossroad) is also not immune to the effects of the confusing times that we live in.

Inspector Rishi (Shyam) is tasked with a most challenging job: managing the never-ending traffic woes of Bengaluru city. He does his job faithfully at the traffic control department. However, his heart lies in the crime-fighting unit of the police force. At a very vulnerable juncture in his life, he stumbles on a case that takes him down a rabbit hole of mystery, deceit and a series of inner conflicts.

During a road widening project, the construction workers unearth skeletons. Rishi takes an interest in the case as nobody else would. He begins an independent investigation, in spite of the orders from his superiors to drop the case. He feels a strong connection to a bunch of skeletons that were buried even before he was born. And theres a mystical reason behind it.

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Hemanth uses expressionism techniques to take us through the inner struggles of Rishi, who is consumed by his obsession to get to the logical conclusion of the mystery case. Rishi is not the only one to have had this obsession. Anant Nags Muttanna has been there and is still playing the price for his obsession with the case. Muttanna was the first investigative officer in the murder case that unfolded on the heels of emergency.

Every character in the film is haunted by the ghosts of the past. While some succuRead More – Source

The Indian Express