‘Head Bush’ movie review: Dhananjay shines in a promising but caricatured gangster drama

Who doesn’t love a gangster drama that reveals a bloody criminal underworld, elusive to the common man? Indian cinema has seen many biopics or fictional recaps about underworld personalities, some of which glorify the subject and others take a more objective look at their lives. However, the intention of the makers is to present the human side of the character.

In the Kannada film industry, it was Om, an iconic film directed by Upendra, which ushered in the genre of full-fledged underworld mafia in 1995. Later, with many Kannada films following in its footsteps and branding the protagonist, it has become a common, successful formula for filmmakers. Although over 100 such films have been made in the last 25 years, only a few like Saint, aa dinagalu, adegarikeAnd Kariya are noteworthy. Most Kannada films of this genre glorified anti-social gangsters, leading to an unhealthy society.

director zero’s head bush is the latest release in the genre, and even has a point for making interesting titles. It is an intended wordplay on the popular coin-flipping game of ‘Heads or Tails’; Popular star V Ravichandran appears as a professor to explain the concept.

head bush based on Dadagiriya Dinagalu, a memoir of former underworld don Agni Sridhar. The film explores the criminal underworld of Bengaluru in the 70s, and focuses on the life of MP Jayaraj, a well-known don and Robin Hood-like figure who enjoys political patronage apart from overwhelming public support. Although marketed as an underworld theme, head bush There is also an interesting political thriller.

The film begins with the then Chief Minister, Devraj Urs, following the instructions of his mentor, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, forming the Indira Brigade to help the oppressed communities. We are then introduced to Jayaraj as a young, violent boy who attacks a policeman. Most of the first part of the film is to introduce characters like Devaraj, his son-in-law MD Nataraja, his daughter Nagratna (named Ratnaprabha in the film), R Gundu Rao, FM Khan, Jayaraj and prominent politicians like him. Lieutenant Ganga, and Samson among others.

head bush A turning point takes place when differences arise between Ganga and Jayaraj over the Karaga dispute, and Kotwal Ramchand, another wise underworld don who enjoys the support of Khan and Rao, enters the scene. Urs’s ambitious idea of ​​the Indira Brigade comes to a head with a gang war between Ganga and Jayaraj, which ends with Jayaraj and his associates surrendering to the police after Ganga is attacked in the court hall in broad daylight. .

It appears, due to Sridhar’s initiative, the film shows the major development in Bengaluru between 1974 and the early 80s, rather than simply becoming a mundane take on gangsters. It focuses on how a city is built not just by politicians and officials, but by ordinary people, including major underworld characters. a little more nudge, and head bush Documentary can be made. But the effective retelling of facts along with the creative freedom exercised by the writer and director has resulted in the film becoming tolerable as an underworld film. It makes the audience understand what happened to Bengaluru at that time.

Uncovering the underbelly of Bengaluru, it has political elements of betrayal, friendship and love written from different perspectives. But, unfortunately, it glorifies Dhananjaya as Jayaraj, and many other characters live as caricatures without flesh and blood.

Because Agni Sridhar wrote the story, it is almost necessary to compare head bush with aa dinagaluwhich was written by him. However, the former is nowhere close to the latter. whereas aa dinagalu was almost a private film made on a small canvas, head bush The scale is set and the author has adapted his writing to match the scale of the film with stylized treatment. But the director fails to capture zero imagery and visual ideas, and neither the events (except in the Karaga episode) nor the characters make any impact on the audience.

Although, head bush A treat for fans of Dhananjay, as the star justifies his role with his acting style. Actors Raghu Mukherjee and Shruti Hariharan also live up to the expectations of the audience to a certain level. Raghu, in particular, brings to life his character, thanks to his homework on MD Natraj’s looks and body language.

Shruti Hariharan plays his wife Ratnaprabha (playing the character of Devraj Ursa’s daughter Nagratna), who was an idealistic and righteous woman. Ratnaprabha is someone who believes in equality and follows through. Although she looks weak, she is strong and brave. Shruti carries the burden of such a multifaceted character with great difficulty. Payal Malhotra also fits perfectly in the character of Jayaraj’s love interest.

While the film fails to transport the audience to ’70s Bengaluru – whose fault should go to the director, art director and cinematographer – it is important to remember that this is only the first of two parts. If they correct their mistakes with this film, head bush 2 can be good as a aa dinagalu,

Head Bush is currently playing in theaters