Puneet Rajkumar starrer "Rana Vikrama" is a high-voltage action film directed by Pawan Wadeyar of the "Googly" fame. The powerstar will be seen in dual roles, romancing with Anjali and Adah Sharma at different times.
To begin with, making action movies with a strong story and engaging screenplay with punch dialogues is an art and only a few have mastered it. The right mix of all the commercial ingredients can only make the film click at the box office. When a star actor is part of the project, extra care needs to be taken as he has a huge fan following to satisfy. Well, has director Pawan Wadeyar delivered an impressive "Rana Vikrama"?
The answer is yes! "Rana Vikrama" is a vulgar-free action movie without an item song. The action parts keep you entertained and the story, though lacks freshness, is good for a one-time watch. The movie has very few songs and there is no forced induction of songs in the storyline.
A place named Vikrama Theertha is not in the records of either state government or the central government. An aspiring cop, Vikram (Puneet Rajkumar), gets directly appointed by the Home Minister of Karnataka (Girish Karnad) as an apprentice police to investigate the case after a journalist, who had gone to find out about the place, goes missing.
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Once Vikram enters the place, he fights with goons to discover that he has a personal connection with the place and the matter. What follows next is the fight between the good versus the evil.
The movie has two storylines. While one is set in present day, the other is during the last days of the British Raj. Both the stories are interlinked. Pawan Wadeyar has churned out a good storyline and has exploited Puneet Rajkumar's talent to the maximum. He delivers what the powerstar's fans expect from his films.
But the screenplay lacks strength to keep you entertained the entire time. Some parts of the story is predictable and the lack of comedy elements is the biggest drawback of "Rana Vikrama". The story could have been presented with twists and turns, but it seems like the creative team had little time to think and banked too much on the action quotient.
Nonetheless, "Rana Vikrama" is an average entertainer and plays to the gallery. No doubt, the powerstar's fans will love it. Coming to performance, Puneet Rajkumar is a hunky dory. His fight scenes are a treat to watch, Anjali is satisfying but Adah Sharma is disappointing. Girish Karnad as a duty-bound Minister gets full marks, Mukhya Mantri Chandru as remising Chief Minister is good, Rangayana Raghu, Vikram Singh, Avinash and others have performed well in their limited roles.
Technically, Ravi Verma's stunts are top notch, V Harikrishna's background misses the magic, though a few songs are good, Vaidhy S's cinematography is excellent, and Suresh SA's editing is good.
Rating:3
