Vijay Raghavendra in a still from ‘Raaghu’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Debutant M Anand Raj’s Raaghu, a solo-actor film, is a thriller set in the backdrop of the second wave of the pandemic. The film is a gutsy attempt, yet it keeps you at arm’s length throughout its 93-minute runtime due to its poor entertainment quotient.
Vijay Raghavendra plays the titular character; a medicine delivery executive during the day and a thief by night. He robs the houses he delivers. One day, a call from a mysterious person leaves him staring at an uncertain future. Raaghu is ordered by the stranger to pull off a series of illegal activities overnight, failing which he won’t see his girlfriend Jenny alive.
Raaghu (Kannada)
Director: M Anand Raj
Cast: Vijay Raghavendra
Runtime: 93 minutes
Storyline: A medicine delivery executive loots the houses he delivers to make quick bucks. One day, a phone call from a stranger forces him to do a series of unlawful activities., failing which he could face dangerous consequences.
If this type of film has to work, the audiences must never complain about the lack of actors on screen. In Raaghu, the scenes are so long and staged sluggishly that you feel disconnected from the story. It’s an unconventional film with a conventional hero. He does the improbable by evading danger at a police station and graveyard with ease.
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Even as Raaghu tries to get closer to the truth behind the phone call, he is followed by a murderous person, who is an replica of him. This is the director’s ploy to test our intelligence, but it’s not hard to guess the secret behind this violent character.
Raaghu strongly needed engaging conversations, even better if they were coated with humour, for us to root for the solo character. An interesting backstory reveals the intention of the antagonist, only to be followed by a tepid climax. Notwithstanding the impressive cinematography from Uday Leela and compelling background score by Rithvik Muralidhar, the film is unexciting thanks to a weak material.
