Dheekshith Shetty and Sanjana Doss in ‘KTM’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Comparisons seem harsh in cinema, but as a viewer, you seek a better (or at least a different) product than what’s considered the best in the genre. It’s natural for a coming-of-age drama to be measured against Premam or Autograph, while a hero’s self-destructive journey with substance abuse could remind people of Arjun Reddy or Vaaranam Aayiram.
So it’s impossible not to see the Dheekshith Shetty-starrer KTM as a film not influenced by the ideas of these movies. Directed by Aruna, KTM is a film marred by the cliches of a coming-of-age story. After suffering from a harmless heartbreak during his school days, Udupi boy Karthik moves to Bengaluru.
College life stereotypes are in plenty as you witness a friendship song and the hero wooing his girl in several ways. The director attempts to avoid blatant comparisons with Arjun Reddy using self-deprecating humour, as a character in KTM even tells the hero he looks like Vijay Devarakonda. But the scene, just like many other small segments, is not fleshed out with conviction.
KTM (Kannada)
Director: Aruna
Cast: Dheekshith Shetty, Sanjana Doss, Usha Bhandary, Prakash Thuminad,
Runtime: 149 minutes
Storyline: Karthik, an Udupi boys, moves to Bengaluru to pursue his studies. He falls in love with Mercy, but will they end up together or does destiny have something different in store for them?
With the use of close-ups, slow motions, and upbeat background scores, the director stages some pivotal scenes in an arresting manner. But you feel a sense of hollowness watching the proceedings, thanks to the uninventive writing. Mercy, Karthik’s girlfriend, and the film’s female lead, is shown as a fearless woman who hates getting sympathy from people. But how did she grow up to be such a person? Karthik, a gentle and mild-mannered boy, becomes aggressive when he loses a friend and is on the verge of breaking up with Mercy. Couldn’t the film have brought about this change in the character gradually?
Mercy tells Karthik that men must always be aggressive; this film is aimed at those who feel the same. It’s also a film for those who believe men suffer more than women from failed relationships. KTM is also for those who want to see an “ideal” man broken into pieces when his woman walks out of the relationship.
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But the director is appallingly unaware of the tonal shifts in the plot. You sense the impending melodrama involving the protagonist’s friend from the moment the focus falls on him. From a love story to a small and insignificant friendship drama, KTM turns family-friendly and message-heavy when it talks about youngsters disrespecting parents. The director slams today’s youth for squandering their money and lives by playing risky online games.
It’s natural for us to feel exhausted when the film delves into the transformation of the lead characters. If only the director had spent his creative energy on writing poignant and relatable scenes involving the lovers, this love story would have been more relatable than it is now.
Thankfully, the performances (Dheekshith, Sanjana Doss, Usha Bhandary) help us endure the movie. Dheekshith, whose last release was Nani’s pan-Indian action drama Dasara, delivers an affecting performance in emotional sequences, and even comes across as a ‘massy’ hero in a well-choreographed slow-motion fight sequence. But any actor can produce the desired effect only if the script is solid. Dheekshith will know this for sure.
KTM is currently running in theatres