Jaggesh in a still from ‘Raghvendra Stores’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Santosh in Anandram Raghavendra Store, The transition from one plot point to another is so abrupt that it is difficult to understand the central theme of the film.
You would think the film is about Hayavadana (Jaggesh), a hardworking cook at a traditional eatery called Raghavendra Stores, and his struggle to find a bride at the age of 40. Parallel track of Kumar (Achyuth Kumar), a corrupt political party worker. He pretends to be in a local mutt, where hundreds of orphans live, in order to get an MLA ticket before the elections.
juggling between these two tracks, Raghavendra Store, Humbel Films Production, Presents a quick commentary on a range of topics such as late marriage, infertility, surrogacy, adoption, hunger, and the inseparable combination of caste and politics. It is not a wise idea to burden the screenplay with excessive plot when the runtime of your film is less than two hours. Due to the director’s lack of focus, it’s hard to feel any character or conflict, as Raghavendra Stores A few bright spots become the hotchpotch of the film.
The crucial visuals of the film fail to make an impact. There are many, but if I have to choose, two clear evidence of Anandram’s poor writing and staging are how Hayavadana meets her potential life partner (Shweta Srivastava) at a wedding, and how the protagonist’s desperation to have sex convinces her. to seek a different position in a hospital.
Raghavendra Stores (Kannada)
Director: Santosh Anandram
mould: Jaggesh, Shweta Srivastava, Dattanna, Achyut Kumar, Mitra
runtime: 104 minutes
Story: A 40-year-old virgin cook, desperate to find a bride, goes with his father in search of a bride. After an arduous journey, he finds his soulmate, but life is not rosy for the newlyweds as they face one unexpected obstacle after another.
The relentless sexual desire of a 40-year-old virgin is realistic to portray, and this is where Jaggesh shines as he brings the character to life with his hilarious expressions and gestures. But the film goes beyond this idea, leading to crude comedy. The humor of the film, in general, is limited to some terrible one-liners. That said, Anandram’s handling of the characters, especially those portraying disabled people, could have been much better.
One can wonder how the film would have been if it had explored the many layers of the delayed marriage. We don’t often see such ideas in Kannada cinema. Anandram dismisses the idea of accommodating a political angle which gives us nothing new. Resort politics and leaders slapping party workers are sensationalist stories of Karnataka politics that are firmly ingrained in people’s minds, but the film does not give them new insights on these incidents.
Jaggesh in a scene from the film. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Like all his films, Anandram insists on punctuating the final act with manipulative melodrama. He prefers to categorize his films as ‘socially responsible’ to attract the family crowd. this method worked for me Princeand Yuvaratna, Thanks for the substantial build up to the emotional ending; In Raghavendra Store, The tonal shift is jarring due to the constant lack of rhythm in the plot.
Shweta Srivastava’s character deserved more agency and depth to give her the space to perform. Despite its familiarity, Jaggesh’s performance keeps us interested in the film, and Raghavendra Stores Will work for his fans.
It can also win over those who are looking for an inspirational message in a movie. Raghavendra Stores Wants to be virtuous – It ends with an appeal to people to embrace the joy of giving without expecting anything in return. Still, it lacks cinematic brilliance. The disappointment is all the more when you know that this is from a director who made his debut with a brilliant masala film (Mr. and Mrs. Ramchari,promises exciting content in the mainstream space.
Raghavendra Stores will hit the screens on 28th April