‘Raja Vikramarka’ movie review: Refreshing narrative

A predictable plot notwithstanding, this Karthikeya-starrer is watchable

People haven't yet warmed up to the idea of going to the theatres and it is painful to see empty halls for all kinds of films. Raja Vikramarka that released this Friday has the all-too-familiar plot but presented in a refreshing manner. It isn’t easy to draft a script and execute a thriller that’s based on NIA agents and officers. A slight lapse in the understanding of a character can cause the collapse of an entire narration. Debutant director Sri Saripalli moulds the story with commercial ingredients meant for a Telugu audience and gives importance to just not the protagonist but every character; He also makes sure there are no gaps in the screenplay and the antagonist also leaves scope for intrigue and suspense.

Karthikeya, who was struggling with the selection of scripts, comes right here. He, as usual, works on just not his brawn but the brain as well and impresses as a romantic interest as well as an NIA agent. He works for Tanikella Bharani who impresses with his comic timing as well as being a no-nonsense superior officer. Vikramarka falls in love with Kanthi (Tanya), daughter of the home minister (Sai Kumar). Kanthi is oblivious to the fact that Vikrmarka is an NIA officer on a mission to protect the home minister who is wanted by an anti-social element Guru Narayan (Pasupathy). While the first half of the film is lively and keeps you engaged, the second half grabs your attention with a couple of twists to the story. You see it coming, but still find it engrossing. Songs are kept to the minimum, dialogues are well written and the film boasts of technical finesse. The action scenes have been shot well, giving credence to the thriller. The story has a good supporting cast like Harshavardhan and a surprise in the form of Sudhakar Kommakula who returns with a reasonably big role. The film is a good watch and full marks to the writing department.