vikrant rona movie review and rating

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VR: Vikrant Rona Reviews

What, pray, is Jacqueline Fernandez doing in the film? Not much.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 30, 2022

With so much potential, we wish this mysterious fantasy had risen to the occasion sooner.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 30, 2022

Low on entertainment, high on confusion.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jul 30, 2022

The film’s layered writing and the superb tech crew bring alive Anup’s vision.

Full Review | Jul 29, 2022

Vikrant Rona is held together by Kiccha Sudeep’s superhero swagger.

'Vikrant Rona' review: Sudeep unfurls unseen avatar in this engaging thriller

Right from the time of Vikrant Rona's announcement, the vibes surrounding the project were overwhelmingly positive. This was the first collaboration between Sudeep and Anup Bhandari. Sudeep's flair, sophistication, and style met Anup's originality in the film, which also starred the filmmaker's brother and actor Nirup Bhandari.

There was a lot of hype with the trailer, interviews, and songs, and after watching the film, it is clear that Vikrant Rona has indeed risen to the occasion.

With Sudeep in the titular role, Vikrant Rona is a page-turner that takes us a few decades back to the remote village of Kamarottu, which surrounds a rainforest. The village with a sordid secret has unexplainable events happening, which are attributed to the supernatural. Aparna Ballal (a) Panna (Neetha Ashok) arrives in the village with her Mumbai-based family. We are also introduced to Sanjeev Gambhira (Nirup Bhandari), the long-lost son of the village head. Then we have the entry of police officer Vikrant Rona (Sudeep), who is accompanied by his daughter Guddi. The film runs on two parallel plots while the attention remains on a haunted house with a mystery surrounding it. Every person living in the village is looked at as either a victim or a suspect.

The mystery unfolds in the second half when all the dots are connected. Will Vikrant Rona finally succeed in achieving his mission comes with frequent twists and turns, keeping the audience intrigued and ending with a surprise climax.

Anup, who brought in a fresh approach to murder mysteries with Rangitaranga, retains much of these elements in Vikrant Rona too. The thriller, which also comes with spooky effects at regular intervals keeps the audience engaged, with every move of Vikrant Rona and Sanjeev Gambhira being under the scanner. But the soul of Vikrant Rona is Guddi. You should watch the film to reason it out.

Of course, there are loopholes in the film, and the reason behind the revenge plot is believable but takes too long to get to the point. Some scenes are left inexplicably incomplete.

Although Sudeep owns the frame with his trademark style of mass elements, it is interesting how he has placed complete trust in the vision of Anup. Sudeep shoulders the commercial entertainer by delivering an excellent performance.

Nirup's performance is on point, and Neetha Ashok shines too as she makes a successful transition from tele serials to films. Milana Nagaraj's role is small but is very effective.

The film is technically brilliant, and Shivakumar's artwork is one of the biggest highlights of Vikrant Rona, a visual spectacle, which has also been released in 3D. Anup's Rangitaranga collaborators DoP William David and composer Ajaneesh Loknath too elevate Vikrant Rona at all the right times.

Although Vikrant Rona might remind us of Anup's own film, it does stand on its own merit, and with Sudeep in a completely new avatar, this will definitely pull in the audience.

Cast: Sudeep, Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok

Director: Anup Bhandari

Rating: 3/5

(This story originally appeared on cinemaexpress.com )

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Vikrant Rona (2022)

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Vikrant Rona Movie Review: A Bone-Chilling Murder Mystery Topped With Kiccha Sudeep's Swag!

Vikrant Rona is Kichcha Sudeep's most prestigious outing so far. The movie, which is made on a budget of Rs 95 Crore, was released in 3D format to spice up the cinematic experience of this action-adventure fantasy drama that hit the screens on July 28.

Written and directed by Anup Bhandari, the movie has been receiving great enthusiasm from fans and adventure movie lovers. Sudeep's portrayal of Vikrant Rona is most stylish and aptly set the tone and theme for this period drama, set almost half a century ago, in the tropical rainforest of a fictional village.

Story: The film's story is set in a haunted place called Kamorottu. The movie starts with the murder of a police officer, and the serial killing of kids follows. Vikrant Rona (Sudeep) is assigned to solve these mysterious deaths. Who is behind all these deaths and how Vikrant Rona finds the serial killer forms the rest of the story. Performances: Kiccha Sudeep carried the same swag throughout the film, whether it is action sequences, dialogues, acting, or dance moves. His acting in pre-climax will make you teary-eyed. Nirup Bhandari as Sanju is decent but he surprises in the second half. Neethu Ashok is cute and gorgeous and she will shine in Sandalwood in the future. Jacqueline Fernandez as Gadang Rakkamma will add more glamour to the film and the chart-buster song 'Ra Ra Rakkamma' is a treat to watch on the big screen. So many new faces performed well in this film.

Technical Aspects: Anup Bhandari played it safe by choosing his strong genre. He used the same template as Rangitaranga for Vikrant Rona. His writing in the second half is excellent. The emotional scenes are well written and will connect with the audience. Shiva Kumar's artwork is magical while William David's visuals are outstanding. Vikrant Rona will leave you with a hangover. The fights composed by A Vijay are excellent. Jani master's dance choreography was excellent, especially in the song 'Ra Ra Rakkamma'.

B Ajaneesh Loknath's songs and background music elevated the film to the next level. He is the biggest asset to the film, and his rerecording was excellent. But the editing in the first half could have been better.

Positives: Kichcha Sudeep's Performance Anup Bhandari's Storytelling Ajaneesh Lokanath's Songs & BGM William David's Top-Notch Visuals 'Ra Ra Rakkamma' Song Pre Climax And Climax Twists

Negatives: Runtime Slow-paced 1st Half Unwanted Characters

Final Verdict: Overall, Vikrant Rona is an emotional mystery thriller, which can be watched on the big screen for an amazing 3D experience.

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Vikrant Rona Is Held Together By Kichcha Sudeep’s Superhero Swagger

Director: Anup Bhandari Writer: Anup Bhandari Cast: Kichha Sudeep, Jaqueline Fernandez, Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok

Somewhere inside  Vikrant Rona is a surprising, spooky saga about a daredevil cop with a tragic backstory. But before you get there – roughly in the last half an hour or so – you have to endure an incredibly convoluted story about a remote village where murder seems routine. Children are found hanging from a tree. A decapitated inspector is found hanging in a well. There is a one-eyed smuggler who carries stuff across the border, but I never managed to unravel his connection to the plot. There's also an old woman who appears at regular intervals to provide scares. Is she real? Is she imagined? I have no clue. Phantom Comics play a key role. There are lines about Brahmrakshas, khoon ki Holi [a bloody Holi], Bhoothnath ka mandir [a Bhootnath temple] and shaitano ke bhagwan [a god of demons]… it's a lot.

Vikrant Rona is an ambitious attempt at creating a fantastical world with a homegrown superhero. Vikrant is a cop but there is little he can't do. Writer-director Anup Bhandari expends an inordinate amount of time building up his star, Kichha Sudeep . His muscles are showcased at every opportunity – he mostly wears capped-sleeve shirts that allow us to admire them. Vikrant strides rather than walks. He smokes cigars, which add to the swag. And he doesn't hesitate to put his life on the line. Like Indiana Jones, Vikrant wields a whip expertly. For one action sequence, he wears a black leather trench coat – the fight takes place in pouring rain and I couldn't help wondering how the weight of wet leather wasn't holding him back. When the situation demands, Vikrant can also do a nimble hook step with the local bartender, played by Jacqueline Fernandez. She runs the joint, but also occasionally breaks into dance to entertain her many customers.

Where is this village? We don't know. What is the time period? It's irrelevant because here time stands still. It's constantly raining. There is a thick jungle and mist. Art director Shivkumar who also did  KGF: Chapter 2  (2022)   and cinematographer William David create a rich, atmospheric world.  Vikrant Rona  isn't attempting realism. More than anything, Bhandari wants to spin a yarn that touches on injustice, revenge, loss and what grief can do to people. There are some impressive visuals and action sequences. But the painstaking effort, apparent throughout, is dissipated by the clumsy storytelling –  Vikrant Rona has too much plot and the characters are wafer-thin. The backstories are muddled and too many threads are left hanging. One about a boy named Sanju who ran away from the village is particularly bizarre – Bhandari's brother Nirup plays the role. Sanju has a fleeting romance with Panna who is visiting. But in her childhood, Panna was engaged to another man. When you discover who Sanju really is, this sub-plot makes even less sense. Even within its own logic, the narrative doesn't hold.

Through this narrative clutter, Sudeep stands tall. The actor's rock-solid screen presence helps to anchor the film to some extent. But for much of the film, Bhandari requires Sudeep to swagger rather than act. The 3D is done well but the best thing in  Vikrant Rona is the 'Ra Ra Rakkamma' song, composed by B. Ajaneesh Loknath, sung by Nakash Aziz and Sunidhi Chauhan and choreographed by Jani. Ajaneesh has also composed the high-decibel background score.

Bhandari clearly has the talent for world building, but it feels like in this film, he became so enamored of the hyper-stylised telling that the tale became unnecessarily contorted. Honestly, I'm still trying to connect some of the dots.

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Release Date : July 28, 2022

123telugu.com Rating : 2.75/5

Starring: Sudeep, Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ravishankar Gowda

Director: Anup Bhandari

Producers: Shalini Jack Manju, Alankar Pandian

Music Director: B Ajaneesh Loknath

Cinematography : William David

Editor: Ashik Kusugolli

Kiccha Sudeep has been waiting for the release of his biggie Vikrant Rona for a very long time. The film has finally hit the screens today. Let’s see how it is.

Vikrant Rona is a period drama and is set in the ancient village called Komarattu in Karnataka. A cop gets killed mysteriously and in comes inspector Vikrant Rona(Sudeep) to handle the situation. Upon investigation, he finds out that sixteen other small kids have also been killed and these murders have a connection with his life. What is that connection? Who is the killer? and how did Vikrant Rona solve it? That forms the rest of the story.

Plus Points

One of the biggest assets of the film is the production values which are amazing. The setup and world created look quite intriguing and create a tense atmosphere for the viewer. The camerawork showcasing the forest visuals and arresting BGM is the backbone of the film.

Sudeep is one more major asset as his performance is stunning. He has mostly solo scenes and needs to carry the film on his shoulders and Sudeep did a fantastic job. He looks super fit and did great action during the climax.

Jacqueline Fernandez plays a cameo and she is cute in the Rakamma song. The story is set up quite well during the initial fifteen minutes of the movie. The climax and the way the killer is revealed are also executed quite well in the end.

The director has created a new world to narrate a suspense drama and the VFX also plays a major role and it looks superb. The supporting cast also did well in their respective roles. Nirup Bhandari gets a meaty role and does well.  

Minus Points

One of the biggest drawbacks of the film is the excess length. The film needs to be trimmed for at least fifteen minutes straight and one song can be chopped off to make the viewing experience better.

Once the story is established quite well in the initial fifteen minutes, the proceedings go wayward. The love track and the way Sudeep investigates the case look confusing and bore the audience. Even the interval bang also does not create much impact.

The screenplay for suspense-based films needs to be gripping but that is not the case here. In key areas, it is very good but for the rest of the scenes, there is a lag created and sidelines the film after a while. There are some action blocks that were not needed at all.  

Technical Aspects

As said earlier, the production values are top notch and one cannot make out the forest locations are indeed setwork. The BGM, props used, costumes, and visuals are arresting. The editing is bad but the screenplay was just about okay. Telugu dubbing was decent.

Coming to the director Anup Bhandari, he has done a passable job with the film. His story idea is simple but the world that he created to narrate the suspense drama is amazing.

His characterization, actors, and technical team do a great job. But Vikrant Rona falls short when it comes to a gripping screenplay. In order to confuse the audience more, the narration goes haywire and creates more confusion for the audience. If he would have edited fifteen minutes and told the story in a simple manner, the output would have been even great.  

On the whole, Vikrant Rona is a suspense drama that has a great backdrop, solid performance by Sudeep, and amazing production values. The world created intrigues you but at the same time, the excess length and confusing screenplay sidetrack the attention of the audience. If you are okay with the above-said demerits, this film ends as a passable watch this weekend.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.75/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

Click Here For Telugu Review

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'Vikrant Rona' review: A classy Sudeep to the rescue

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Vikrant Rona Kannada (Theatres) Director: Anup Bhandari Cast: Sudeep, Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok, Rating: 3/5

What do you do when your sophomore film is a misfire? You go back to the drawing board to understand what worked in your debut effort and try to avoid the missteps of the second film.

Director Anup Bhandari, hit by the harsh truths of the film industry post the debacle of his ‘Rajaratha’ in 2018, has gone back to his preferred genre, that of a mystery thriller. Just that, it’s surprising that he has chosen to, almost, recreate the world of ‘RangiTaranga’ (2015), the debut film that put him on the map.

In his latest ‘Vikrant Rona’, starring Sudeep, the ‘RangiTaranga’ hangover looms over the thriller.

To begin with, Anup’s fascination with unusual names that sound like poetry is visible in ‘Vikrant Rona’. If we had Thenkabail Ravindra Kalinga Bhat and Angaara in ‘RangiTaranga’, this film has people with names like Moosa Kunni, Gadang Rakkamma, Panna, Gambhira, Lawrence Pinto, and more.

Anup made the fictional Kamarottu village a household name and we go back to the same place of picturesque mountains and a quietly flowing river. Nothing much has changed in the place known for mysterious happenings as the mention of Guddada Bhoota (the ghost of the hills), Brahmrakshasa (spirit) and Kamarottu mane (house) still give people the shivers.

We also witness a ‘RangiTaranga’-like tale as the protagonist is out to solve a mystery and wait, not to forget, he also has a past that troubles him. ‘Vikrant Rona’ is also shot in the dark and the comparison ends with the dreaded well in the house that sets the story rolling.

So what is the film’s central plot? Vikrant Rona (Sudeep), a cop, comes to Kamarottu, after his predecessor gets killed. Even as he gets on with the case, Vikrant Rona faces the challenge of nabbing the culprit behind the series of murders of children.

In all terms, the film is a somewhat return to form for Anup Bhandari. ‘Vikrant Rona’, has more lively drama and, is helped by a bigger scale of production than ‘Rajaratha’, which was slightly aimless and kept too much for the last.

But ‘Vikrant Rona’ carried more expectations as a new-gen filmmaker was joining hands with an established star. So, do their sensibilities match to offer us a balanced experience? Not entirely.

Anup sets up the film nicely in the first half. There are minor twists, some well throughout jump scares, and well-placed humour. The film’s visual chutzpah deserves accolades. Cinematographer William David shines bright, with his wizardry doing full justice to the genre.

As we are drawn into the film, Ajaneesh’s background score and sound design keep us on our toes with curiosity. However, the film isn’t benefited by his songs. Even the viral ‘Ra Ra Rakkamma’ doesn’t boost the film’s prospect because it’s mostly a standalone feature though the story might make you think otherwise.

It’s in the second half you start feeling the cracks in the plot. ‘Vikrant Rona’ never gets into the darker and unsettling territories that ‘RangiTaranga’ did. The horror elements aren’t bone-chilling either.

Today, the new-age commercial cinema is all about the astounding imagination. So the action set pieces and hero elevation scenes must be never-before-seen for us to go for the wolf whistles. ‘Vikrant Rona’ tries hard but fails to provide its hero with creatively designed grand entries and the fight scenes don’t go beyond the familiar template.

The biggest problem is how the film doesn’t allow the audience to relish the big reveals. The surprises seem overstuffed and the transitions hurried, leaving us slightly confused at the narration’s convoluted nature.

There is one juncture in writing where Anup has pushed himself and offerd a delightful plot turn. It’s the interval bang! It’s predictable but it carried an abundance of potential and wish ‘Vikrant Rona’ took that direction. Now, in hindsight, it appears like a lost opportunity.

Instead, the film turns sentimental and that’s the perils of a genre-special, new-gen director traveling on the commercial path. ‘Vikrant Rona becomes a drowning film reaching out for straws by trying to cater to all.

We still grudgingly sit through its slip-ups thanks to Sudeep. One always wondered why our stars don’t stop playing the mundane and choose something that dismisses all the ideas of the old-school ‘commercial cinema hero’. A huge star like Sudeep, opting to play a classy policeman, who doesn’t romance or isn’t shouldered the responsibility to save a city is a refreshing change. His controlled performance ensures the story always stays one step ahead of the hero. ‘Vikrant Rona’ is a brave film that doesn’t glorify its hero but tries to do full justice to his character.

Anup Bhandari, at heart, is a solid storyteller of the thriller/mystery genre. With ‘Vikrant Rona’, he shows what he is capable of than actually delivering it completely. One hopes, he continues to be better at balancing the content with the commercial cinema must-haves. For now, he has given his all for his biggest film yet but he has it in him to make a film that truly has his stamp.

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VIKRANT RONA MOVIE REVIEW CLICK TO RATE THE MOVIE

Vikrant Rona (3D )is an action thriller that runs in the vein of mystery and crime. It stars Kichcha Sudeep, Nirup Bhandari, and Neetha Ashok. The film is written and directed by Anup Bhandari. Kichcha creations along with Shalini Arts and Invenio films India has produced the film. Released as a multilingual, the Tamil rights of the film was roped by Zee Studios.

The film starts with a folktale and begins to spread itself on the conviction of the tale among the village people. Sudeep who plays the titular character enters the scene when an inspector is killed mysteriously. Following the trial of the murder leads Vikrant Rona to an even more convoluted maze. Will Vikrant be able to find his path in the wilderness?

Baadshah Sudeep does the heavy lifting for the film. The film revolves around him just like the mystery and clues of the crime. He is exceptional in this role which demands to shed every emotion that has been ever defined. Nirup Bhandari as Sanju convinces us with his naive looks. Neetha Ashok fills the screen with her flamboyance. While the other cast members perform according to their parts including Jacqueline Fernandez.

Vikrant Rona is a dark film not only in its storyline but also in its picturisation. William David captures the night mood to perfection. As too much of anything is good for nothing, the ever dark tone of the film ruins our experience. Songs of Ajaneesh Loknath lack the peppiness and could be easily forgotten. The background score gave chills to the spine, elevating the eerie atmosphere.

The new wave Kannada cinema is turning tables everywhere and this film could also be termed as a well made attempt towards progress. The movie creates a fictional world for itself which fascinates the audience. The composition of action sequences reflects the demanding efforts of the crew.

The plot of the film becomes a double edged sword for itself as it makes us fascinating and a bit confusing at the same time. This confusion detaches us from the film and makes us comfortable in our seats. The 3D effect only added an extra glass for the audience rather than enriching the experience. Anton Chekhov's setup and payoff is employed effectively on the script but is not transmitted on the screen. Twists and turns lose its value in the dense forest of the village. Technically strong film loses its grip with a convoluted plot. The highlight of the film is definitely the pre-climax portions where the story becomes comprehensible. The motive behind the crime does not justify the act committed by the perpetrators.

The film which could have been a perfect genre film enters into the cliched zone by involving songs of very less value. The dialogues of Sudeep shine timely while the others are let alone for the progression of the script. Contrived situations dilute the thrilling effect of the narrative.

A tweak of horror elements in the narrative adds flavour which in turn is reduced to nothing by the scenes that follow. Overall the film engages less, restructuring the screenplay could have helped better for the film which is sturdy in all other aspects.

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பிரேக்கிங் சினிமா செய்திகள், திரை விமர்சனம், பாடல் விமர்சனம், ஃபோட்டோ கேலரி, பாக்ஸ் ஆபிஸ் செய்திகள், ஸ்லைடு ஷோ, போன்ற பல்வேறு சுவாரஸியமான தகவல்களை தமிழில் படிக்க இங்கு கிளிக் செய்யவும்      

VIKRANT RONA NEWS STORIES

Kichcha Sudeep's Vikrant Rona teaser released by STR - check now!

விக்ராந்த் ரோனா: ”அவன் வர்றான்னு சொன்னாலே நடுங்குவாங்க” … சிம்பு வெளியிட்ட வைரல் டீசர்…

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Vikrant Rona Review: Take Kiccha Sudeep Out And It's A Washout, Sound And Fury Notwithstanding

Vikrant rona review: what, pray, is jacqueline fernandez doing in the film not much..

Vikrant Rona poster. (courtesy: jacquelinef143 )

Cast: Kiccha Sudeep, Jacqueline Fernandez,  Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok

Director: Anup Bhandari

Rating: 2 stars (out of 5)

Writer-director Anup Bhandari, helming his third feature film, puts all his eggs in two baskets in Vikrant Rona. One is represented by the movie's impressive technical attributes, the other by the star power and screen presence of lead actor Sudeep.

Both of them work just fine but never more than in a wholly superficial manner. One gives V ikrant Rona , a Kannada period action-adventure fantasy with a Hindi version presented by Salman Khan and released nationwide, its sheen. The other ensures that it does not lack in starry poise and insouciance amid the unbridled chaos generated by the script's conflicting pulls and pressures.

The twisted, overstretched tale blends social tensions, acts of revenge, haunted house scares, supernatural twists and police drama conventions to construct a universe in which secrets tumble out of every nook and cranny. The payoffs from all the scurrying around that the movie does in search of excitement are disappointingly limited.

Vikrant Rona plays out in a sparsely populated place named Kumarattu, where barring one palatial bungalow occupied by a local landlord, every structure, including a police station, is crumbling and shrouded in mystery.

The dense jungle makes for a visually striking setting. Its denizens are a bunch of confused people trapped in a screenplay that expends more energy on dazzling the audience with imagery than on giving the audience relatable material that it can grasp.

If only Vikrant Rona wasn't as disorienting and disjointed in terms of the way in which it juggles its multiple and confounding components, it might have been a palatable exercise in visceral excess. Since it is mumbo jumbo that holds sway all the way, it is never quite out of the woods.

The overall impact of the superficial gloss - it is considerable and does serve a purpose - is severely undermined by the overly convoluted storyline and the uncontrolled pacing. The film runs ragged over a terrain that evokes wonder and fear but is difficult to decipher and digest.

Sudeep is in his elements. His steady-as-a-rock performance is about the only aspect of Vikrant Rona that is consistent. The actor resorts to measured and stylized methods to play the titular policeman who excels in dodging projectiles no matter from which direction they come at him. He knows his onions irrespective of the layers that he has to unpeel.

It is only when the film has wended its serpentine way to a violent climax that Vikrant Rona lets it rip and turns into a man of unstoppable action forsworn to protecting Kumarattu from the malign designs of ghosts from the past. The movie takes its time - it runs for nearly two and a half hours - to reveal the nature of the ghosts and the secrets of the past. One needs lasting power to sit - and sift - through the obdurate obscurities of the plot.

The plainclothes cop-hero arrives in a village deep inside a forest where an inspector has been decapitated. Vikrant Rona has roots in the hamlet and, therefore, has a stake in its well-being. His return is part of a personal mission.

It isn't just the inspector before him who has lost his life in inexplicable circumstances. Several children have also been murdered in Kumarattu. Nobody has any clue who the killer could be. Occult practices are blamed for the tragic events.

Another young man, Sanju Gambhira (Nirup Bhandari), has returned after being incommunicado for 28 years. The boy's father (Madhusudan Rao) is a man who wields a great deal of power around here. The patriarch's childhood friend Vishwanath Ballal (Ravishankar Gowda), too, has made it back to the village from Mumbai (that is the city that is named in the Hindi dub) for the wedding of his daughter Aparna (Neetha Ashok).

But before the festivities can get underway, Vikrant Rona, unflappable and forever in superhero mode, has a bunch of hurdles to clear. The secrets that he himself nurtures and the ones that he is out to unearth are what the film centres on.

The Mumbai girl, who catches Sanju's eye and starts what looks like a fling, and her kid brother end up in places that are meant to give them and the audience the heebie-jeebies. One such foray ends in a surprise twist and signals the halfway mark of the film.

What, pray, is Jacqueline Fernandez doing in Vikrant Rona ? Not much. A scene and an item number are all that are apportioned to the Bollywood actress. Like everyone else in Vikrant Rona , she is in the film to support Sudeep, who gives her company in a key song-and-dance routine aimed at livening up - and lightening - the tone of the film. Not that it helps.

There is plenty of style on show in Vikrant Rona . The production design is elaborate and often eye-popping. It gives the film an ambitious scale that tends to overwhelm the turgid text. The 3D cinematography by William David (who also lensed Bhandari's Rangitaranga and Rajaratha ) is first-rate. The music (by B. Ajaneesh Loknath) does its bit to leaven the heavy-handed film a bit.

Once the surface glitter wears thin on account of over-indulgence, Vikrant Rona is a veritable slog, an exhausting film that lurches from one thing to another without ever achieving total clarity. Take Sudeep out of the film and it would be a complete washout notwithstanding all the sound and fury that it whips up.

The Hindi version, with an eye firmly on a pan-Indian audience, throws in a cop who speaks with a pronounced Marathi accent and even spouts a line or two in that language. Another man in khaki says he is from Chhapra district, to which the hero responds that his own native place isn't far from there.

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So, neither the film's location nor the period is something that is easy to figure out. In one scene, the sound of a transistor excites somebody, suggesting that the action is unfolding in a period when a radio was a rarity at least in a place as remote as this.

Eventually, it does not really matter. Vikrant Rona isn't interested in specificities. It seeks to overwhelm with the scale of its ambition. It falls well short of greatness but never stops trying. Whether one sees the film as a success or a failure depends on how one perceives the film's persistent pursuit of thrills and shocks.

Kiccha Sudeep, Jacqueline Fernandez,Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok

Anup Bhandari

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Vikrant Rona Movie Review: Sudeep in an unseen avatar stands out in this engaging thriller

Rating: ( 3 / 5)

Right from the time of Vikrant Rona 's announcement, the vibes surrounding the project were overwhelmingly positive. This was the first collaboration between Sudeep and Anup Bhandari. Sudeep's flair, sophistication, and style met Anup's originality in the film, which also starred the filmmaker's brother and actor Nirup Bhandari. 

There was a lot of hype with the trailer, interviews, and songs, and after watching the film, it is clear that Vikrant Rona has indeed risen to the occasion. 

Cast: Sudeep, Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok

Director : Anup Bhandari

With Sudeep in the titular role, Vikrant Rona is a page-turner that takes us a few decades back to the remote village of Kamarottu, which surrounds a rainforest. The village with a sordid secret has unexplainable events happening, which are attributed to the supernatural. Aparna Ballal (a) Panna (Neetha Ashok) arrives in the village with her Mumbai-based family. We are also introduced to Sanjeev Gambhira (Nirup Bhandari), the long-lost son of the village head. Then we have the entry of police officer Vikrant Rona (Sudeep), who is accompanied by his daughter Guddi. The film runs on two parallel plots while the attention remains on a haunted house with a mystery surrounding it. Every person living in the village is looked at as either a victim or a suspect.

The mystery unfolds in the second half when all the dots are connected. Will Vikrant Rona finally succeed in achieving his mission comes with frequent twists and turns, keeping the audience intrigued and ending with a surprise climax.

Anup, who brought in a fresh approach to murder mysteries with Rangitaranga , retains much of these elements in Vikrant Rona too. The thriller, which also comes with spooky effects at regular intervals keeps the audience engaged, with every move of Vikrant Rona and Sanjeev Gambhira being under the scanner. But the soul of Vikrant Rona is Guddi. You should watch the film to reason it out.

Of course, there are loopholes in the film, and the reason behind the revenge plot is believable but takes too long to get to the point. Some scenes are left inexplicably incomplete.

Although Sudeep owns the frame with his trademark style of mass elements, it is interesting how he has placed complete trust in the vision of Anup. Sudeep shoulders the commercial entertainer by delivering an excellent performance.

Nirup's performance is on point, and Neetha Ashok shines too as she makes a successful transition from tele serials to films. Milana Nagaraj's role is small but is very effective. 

The film is technically brilliant, and Shivakumar's artwork is one of the biggest highlights of Vikrant Rona, a visual spectacle, which has also been released in 3D. Anup's Rangitaranga collaborators DoP William David and composer Ajaneesh Loknath too elevate Vikrant Rona at all the right times. 

Although Vikrant Rona might remind us of Anup's own film, it does stand on its own merit, and with Sudeep in a completely new avatar, this will definitely pull in the audience. 

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Vikrant Rona Movie Review (2022)

• Vikrant Rona

Anup Bhandari's visually stunning 'Vikrant Rona', starring Kichcha Sudeepa, is underwhelming due to the unfocused writing

Vikrant Rona Movie Cast & Crew

Anup Bhandari's Vikrant Rona contains a few elements we found in the writer-director's first film, RangiTaranga . Supernatural happenings in a place named Kamarottu. A tragedy involving a well. References to a demon named Brahmaraksasha. An investigation into who or what is behind the mystery. And most interestingly, people who are not who they seem to be. But what's different is the presence of superstar Kichcha Sudeepa. This necessitates a "mass" flavour that results in a film that's half-and-half: about fifty present of Vikrant Rona is a fan-service vehicle, filled with sentimental songs, a badly placed item number, slo-mo action sequences, and a whip that is wielded with the panache of Indiana Jones. The other fifty percent of the film wants to be a genre movie, a horror-thriller. The result is an underwhelming experience, whose main problem is a lack of focused writing.

Let's put this differently. In genre films, the story is the star. The mood, the sustained atmosphere is the star. But here, the star is the star. Kichcha Sudeepa is the star. He is in fine form. He gets many more shades to perform than in his other films. I especially liked how vulnerable his character gets as the film goes along. This is certainly not your usual "mass" movie. But the excessive focus on him, which is inevitable, makes the movie lopsided. The Brahmaraksasha aspect is hardly addressed. A Muslim character is used for some random comedy. A romance angle makes little sense when you think back on it later, given the reveals that occur. A headmaster promises to become a major player in the proceedings but he doesn't. The interval twist is just a high that has no follow-up. A witch-like woman comes and goes without any logical reason – just to add a few scares. But then, there are hardly any scares. Because of the need to reach the star's family-oriented fan base, everything is toned down. 

And what's toned up is the swag quotient, which is at complete odds with the mood and tonality and atmosphere the main story needs. And what is this story? Our hero, a cop, investigates a number of murders, which seem to have a supernatural background. And when we learn what's behind all this, it is really underwhelming. The inciting incident itself is a powerful depiction of caste and class. But it all remains on paper. On screen, nothing touches us. Everything remains superficial. One minute we are seeing a "cute" song with little kids. And instantly we cut to a gruesome murder. There is no buildup, and the mood of the song undermines the mood of the discovery of the murder. Ajaneesh Loknath's tunes are lovely, especially a lullaby that has no percussion and sounds like early AR Rahman. But how can a film of this nature accommodate so many songs without losing its tightness?

Where Vikrant Rona really succeeds is in the making. The film looks fantastic. (The cinematographer is William David.) I have never seen such a clean, bright 3D conversion in an Indian film. Yes, there are a couple of things hurled at the audience, but mostly, the 3D is used to give the frames an extraordinary sense of depth. You may have heard of deep-focus photography, where the foreground, the middle-ground and the background are all equally sharp and in focus. That is the effect here. But I wish the writing had had some deep focus, too. This is the kind of movie where someone makes a big reveal and someone connected to this reveal just happens to be at the spot, listening to it all, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok and Madhusudhan Rao are all in here, but no one makes an impression because their parts exist solely on the surface. The visuals draw us in but the real star of any film, the writing, keeps us at a distance. We see a lot, but we feel very little.

About Author

Baradwaj Rangan

National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, former deputy editor of The Hindu and senior editor of Film Companion, has carved a niche for himself over the years as a powerful voice in cinema, especially the Tamil film industry, with his reviews of films. While he was pursuing his chemical engineering degree, he was fascinated with the writing and analysis of world cinema by American critics. Baradwaj completed his Master’s degree in Advertising and Public Relations through scholarship. His first review was for the Hindi film Dum, published on January 30, 2003, in the Madras Plus supplement of The Economic Times. He then started critiquing Tamil films in 2014 and did a review on the film Subramaniapuram, while also debuting as a writer in the unreleased rom-com Kadhal 2 Kalyanam. Furthermore, Baradwaj has authored two books - Conversations with Mani Ratnam, 2012, and A Journey Through Indian Cinema, 2014. In 2017, he joined Film Companion South and continued to show his prowess in critiquing for the next five years garnering a wide viewership and a fan following of his own before announcing to be a part of Galatta Media in March 2022.

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Vikrant Rona review: A well-packaged visual spectacle that stands firmly on Sudeep’s shoulders

This is a film that has engaging action, punch dialogues and a star whose does the talking. But the story narrative is a disappointment

With the success of south films this year, Kannada magnum opus ‘ Vikrant Rona ’, which has been released in five Indian languages is a film that has created a lot of buzz prior to release. This is probably one of the most ambitious Kannada films to be mounted and this is evident right from the first frame. Starring Kannada star ‘Baadshah’ Kiccha Sudeep and written and directed by Anup Bhandari , ‘ Vikrant Rona ’ is a dark fantasy thriller that is set in the fictional village of Kamarottu located in the dense jungles of Karnataka.

A series of deaths, including that of the police inspector, haunts the village of Kamarottu when in comes Inspector Vikrant Rona (Sudeep) to solve this mystery and crime. Vikrant Rona is a cigar-toting swag inspector who speaks less but is sharp as a needle and can fend off an army with his fighting skills. He is not a run-of-the-mill cop either - he reminds us a lot of Clint Eastwood in the Westerns where the tune he whistles is more haunting than the eerie village. Coming to Kamarottu, we find out that all the deaths, including those of the children, are related to a family who died suicide when they were accused of stealing the jewellery of a god from the local temple. But who is committing these murders? What is the intention? Is Vikrant Rona able to crack this tough case?

At the outset, while ‘ Vikrant Rona ’ looks like a crime thriller - it is but it’s also fundamentally a story about a father and his daughter. The movie seems like a children’s film but it is also a love story, drama, a supernatural and horror film. Essentially it is a mix of genres and its influences range from Indiana Jones to Westerns to Pirates of the Caribbean and others. As mentioned, it is a highly ambitious project and the beauty of this film is that this mix of genres is not confusing to the audience.

But what is slightly disappointing is the story narration. The first half of the film seems to be filled with a lot of elements which don’t take the story forward and is a bit directionless. It is in the second half that the story really unfolds but it’s a bit late. This makes the film slightly tedious. Had the director pushed the story in middle of the first half, it would have taken the film several notches higher. One could have also added more aspects of Hindu mythology when talking about the Brahmarakshas to make the film more rooted in the local beliefs and traditions. If the

Having said that, ‘Vikrant Rona ’ has really good performances, some excellent action sequences and stunning cinematography by William David. The film was shot mostly on set indoors and recreating the forest and ensuring the audience believes is real shows that the team has put in tremendous effort to achieve this.

As for the characterisations and acting, ‘ Vikrant Rona ’ stands firmly on the shoulders of Kiccha Sudeep and it is he who carries the film with swag, style, cigar and acting chops. He brings life to Vikrant Rona and the emotional quotient is amped up thanks to him. Jacqueline Fernandez as Rakamma is perfect for her role and the song with Sudeep sizzles up the film as well. Nirup Bhandari (the director’s brother) and Neetha Ashok essay their roles - as Sanju and Pannu respectively - well. Like I said, Sudeep owns the film and it’s definitely worth a watch.

Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)

Vikrant Rona is playing in cinemas

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Kiccha sudeep's ‘vikrant rona’ review: an underwhelming and convoluted film, kiccha sudeep's vikrant rona is directed by anup bhandari..

What is the structure of storytelling? I assume it's mostly about building a new world, setting the context, introducing the characters in this world, defining the plot, delving into the conflicts and resolutions, and finally, having an interesting plot twist at the end to surprise the audience.

But what if the creators only had a brilliant plot twist to start with?

Vikrant Rona makes you feel that the makers have reverse engineered the idea of storytelling which is exciting and out of the box, but it's just that they have chosen to do it haphazardly.

The story revolves around the mysterious deaths of children in Kamarottu village. Vikrant Rona (Kiccha Sudeep), the daredevil cop investigates the cases only to realise these murders have a supernatural connection. He unpacks one clue after another to finally chase the murderers.

Kiccha Sudeep in Vikrant Rona

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Vikrant Rona works partly as a comedy thriller. It sets the foundation for horror and the film also offers some good comedy barring the stereotyping of a Muslim character. Just when you are about to laugh it reminds you to be scared of the impending danger. While the audience’s mood goes through rapid fluctuations, the transition feels smooth and not abrupt.

The film scores big time in its presentation. All points to the cinematographer and the visual effects team who have excelled in capturing the aesthetic visuals of the village - dense rainforest, and beautiful waterfalls make it a treat for the audience's eyes. In addition to the technical brilliance, superstar Sudeep with his charismatic swag is the saviour for both Kamarottu, the village and Vikrant Rona , the film. He has performed exceptionally well in emotional sequences to prove his mettle as an actor.

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A still from Vikrant Rona

Photo courtesy: Twitter

Going against the norm of comparing heroes to conventionally majestic animals like lions and tigers, it was interesting to see how Sudeep owns being compared to a domestic animal (a dog) with his punch dialogue.

Vikrant Rona tries to be smart with its detailing in the plot. However, at some point, you start feeling why are we fed with so much information, especially when they are confusing and not so relevant? For instance, the storyline about the demon Brahmarakshasha, a sceptical witch-like-woman or the interval twist, none of them have a satisfying closure.

Moreover, it is quite evident that the film deliberately aims and also succeeds in a way to be the regular commercial entertainer with power-packed action sequences, romance, comedy, sentiments and most importantly an “item song”, ‘Ra Ra Rakkamma’ by Jacqueline Fernandez, just to cater to the male gaze but in their defence, they have used it as a distraction to convey important plot developments successfully.

Rating: 2.5 Quints out of 5

Vikrant Rona is running in cinemas now.

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‘Vikrant Rona’ movie review: Kichcha Sudeep’s latest is marred by logical loopholes and a faulty narrative

The film fails to connect with the audience, despite the presence of kichcha sudeep, his actions, punchy dialogues, and the imposing visuals of a tropical rain forest.

Updated - July 28, 2022 06:38 pm IST

Published - July 28, 2022 06:32 pm IST

Kichcha Sudeep in ‘Vikrant Rona’

Vikrant Rona , a 3D action-adventure mystery thriller, and one of the highly anticipated films in Kannada after KGF: Chapter 2, is a disappointing affair, even forardent Kichcha Sudeep fans. Originally titled Phantom , the film helmed by Anup Bhandari (of Rangitaranga fame) had created a huge buzz in South India through its chilling teasers.

However, the film fails to connect with the audience, despite the presence of Kichcha Sudeep, his actions, punchy dialogues, and the imposing visuals of a tropical rain forest that create an eerie ambience for the film. This is because of the loosely-knitted storyline and faulty narrative technique adopted by the director. It seems like Anup Bhandari could not come out of Rangitaranga ’s influence, even seven years since its release.

Vikrant Rona (Kannada)

Though both the films have no direct connection, they resemble each others in terms of the narrative technique. Both stories are based on unusual deaths in the dense forests of the Dakshina Kannada region. While in Rangitaranga , the victims are pregnant women, Vikrant Rona deals with the deaths of little children whose bodies are found hanging from trees.

For those who wouldn’t mind a middling horror-mystery that is high on drama and low on logic, Vikrant Rona might just do. It appears that Anup tried his best to realise Sudeep’s dream of making a movie along the lines of Jumanji and Indiana Jones . But in doing so, the filmmaker has failed miserably to connect with the audience.

Moreover, he borrows so much from the mystery films of the 80s’, that issues like superstitions, deaths, poverty, smuggling and the victimisation of lower castes seem forced into the narrative. If that’s not all, the film is also riddled with logical loopholes.

Firstly, a story such as this doesn’t warrant a 3D experience. The film opens with a scene that is straight out of Rangitaranga. The film is set in a time period from half a century ago, at a remote village in a rain forest. Here, fear is rooted to the core, with inexplicable occurrences often attributed to a higher supernatural power. Things change with the sudden entry of Vikrant Rona, a daring police inspector, culminating in a fiery finale.

Before its release, Vikrant Rona was termed the biggest entertainer in the history of Kannada cinema, only next to KGF: Chapter 2 . It is no doubt a visual spectacle, and it does entertain the audiences sporadically. However, Anup’s attempts to blend in the commercial elements to engage the audience fails.

While the first half of the film is wasted in character introductions, the second half moves at a snail’s pace. The filmmaker also misses out on using the kids in the film as the narrators, which could have attracted children to the theatre.

Through his Indiana Jones -esque entry on a ship, his iconic whistling, swinging from the trees, and what not, Sudeep offers his fans something to cheer for. Nirup Bhandari surprises the audience with his performance as the prodigal son who returns to Kamarottu. Neeta Ashok essays her character, Aparna, to the best of her abilities. Nothing much caan be said about the role of Jacqueline Fernandez, whose existence makes little difference to the storyline. Her dance number Ra Ra Rakkamma is the only solace for young souls.

The efforts of art director Shivakumar towards creating a realistic illusion of a rain forest through his magnificent sets fail to uplift the film, while Ajneesh B Lokanath, who previously worked with Anup Bhandari in Rangitharanga , has done his best to entertain Sudeep’s enormous fan base through the film’s music.

Vikrant Rona is currently running in theatres

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Kannada cinema / Indian cinema / reviews

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Vikrant Rona Review: More Ambition, Less Engaging

Movie: Vikrant Rona Rating: 2.25/5 Banner: Shalini Arts Cast: Kichcha Sudeep, Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok, Ravi Shankar Gowda, Madhusudan Ro, Jacqueline Fernandez, and others Music: B Ajaneesh Loknath DOP: William David Producer: Jack Manjunath, Shalini Manjunath Written and Directed by Anup Bhandari Release Date: July 28, 2022

After the massive success of “KGF 2”, the focus has shifted to big-ticket movies from the Kannada film industry. Sudeep’s “Vikrannt Rona” has successfully generated hype with its pan-India promotion. Has this film lived up to expectations?

Let’s find out.

Story: Set in a fictional town named Kamarottu in a bygone era, an inspector of police gets killed brutally. A cop named Vikrant Rona steps in. The village kids are being murdered one by one. Rona begins his investigation deeper.

Just beside Janardhan Gambhira’s house, there lies a haunted house where Rona resides. At the same time, Sanju, who ran away when he was a kid, returns from London to see his mother and father Janardhan Gambhira. 

Vikrant Rona slowly zeroes on suspects. How will he unearth the story behind the killings and what secrets Vikrant is hiding in his heart?

Artistes’ Performances: Sudeep is a big star in Kannada and he exhibits all swag and style that will appeal to his core fans. As a performer, he does his best. He exhibits both style and able performance. 

Except for Sudeep, none of the actors make an impact. Most of the actors exhibit theatrical expressions. Nirup Bhandari, brother of the film's director plays an important role and his romantic track with Neetha Ashok is clumsy.  

Technical Excellence: The film is lavishly made. The production values are top class. The visual effects, cinematography, and production design are the major strengths of this movie. The technicians have delivered the best. But the songs are poor. 

Highlights: A couple of episodes  Production design and visual effects Sudeep

Drawback: Much of the second-half Tepid climax Weak writing Poor Telugu dubbing

Analysis Of late, Kannada films are being produced on a grand scale. The ambition to attract the pan-Indian audience is visible in “Vikrant Rona”. The production design and the stylish taking the makers exhibited are part of this exercise. But style should complement the substance. “Vikrant Rona” is all sound and fury, but nothing else. 

The story takes place in a period when a liter of petrol was just Rs 6. It must be in the 1970s! And the backdrop is a deep forest. It begins much like an adventure thriller. Then it turns into a supernatural thriller. Once Sudeep enters the scene, it becomes an investigation thriller. Much later it turns into a revenge saga. Then there is a sentimental drama. 

Director Anup Bhandari has put all genres in a grinder and blended them.

In the first half of the film, all Sudeep does is investigation wearing a hat like a Sherlock Holmes. Then we see a boring romantic track between Anup Bhandari and Neetha Ashok. We also get to see a song shot on them. But despite the inconsistency, the first half of the film carries some mystery and is intriguing to some extent. Although the film is inspired by films like Aamir Khan’s “Talaash”, and Fahadh Faasil’s “Athiran”, it is watchable till the first half. 

The second half of the film goes haywire. When it becomes clear the real motive behind the killings, the film turns out to be a boring affair. Even the so-called item song featuring Jacqueline Fernandez fails to rescue it. The climax is a big letdown.

In a nutshell, “Vikrant Rona” doesn’t engage us despite having a top-quality production design. The style doesn’t help the film at all. 

Bottom line: Style Minus Substance

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Tags: Vikrant Rona Vikrant Rona Review Vikrant Rona Movie Review Vikrant Rona Rating Vikrant Rona Movie Rating

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Vikrant Rona Review

Average Ratings: 2.53/5 Score: 67% Positive Reviews Counted:9 Positive:4 Neutral:3 Negative:2

Ratings: — Review By: Anupama Chopra Site: Filmcompanion

Somewhere inside Vikrant Rona is a surprising, spooky saga about a daredevil cop with a tragic backstory. But before you get there roughly in the last half an hour or so you have to endure an incredibly convoluted story about a remote village where murder seems routine. Bhandari clearly has the talent for world building, but it feels like in this film, he became so enamored of the hyper-stylised telling that the tale became unnecessarily contorted. Honestly, Im still trying to connect some of the dots.

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Ratings: — Review By: Komal Nahta Site: Zee ETC Bollywood Business

Anup Bhandari has written a revenge story but it is so confusing that the audience gets put off. Adding to the viewers tale of woes is the fact that the actors are mostly unrecognisable faces (as they are from the Kannada film industry) and, whats more, the characters they play have such difficult names that it is a task to keep track of the characters and the actors. Anup Bhandaris screenplay is also written in a way that the drama goes back and forth €” slips into flashbacks and then returns to the present times €” a number of times, confusing the audience even more. On the whole, Vikrant Rona is too confusing for the Hindi film-going audience and, therefore, doesnt stand much of a chance at the box-office.

Ratings: 3/5 Review By: Renuka Site: Times Of India

If you can overlook the shoddy first half, the second half is quite engaging and fairly watchable.If you are up for a decent horror mystery told in a loud and dramatic style, with an extra focus on Kiccha Sudeeps swag, you wouldnt mind this one. Vikrant Rona could evolve into a decent mystery series ahead packed with more dark adventures if the makers get rid of the unnecessary fluff. With so much potential, we wish this mysterious fantasy had risen to the occasion sooner.

Ratings: 3/5  Review By: Nairita Site: India Today

For Vikrant Rona shifts gears and makes us shift in our seats in the second half. What appeared as too many loose plots in the first are perfectly stitched together in the second. But even as the film goes up in a crescendo post interval, valuable time is lost. The twist in the penultimate moments, right before the climax, even though you had decoded it perhaps in the very first scene, still breaks your heart.

Ratings: 1.5/5 Review By: Shubhra Site: Indian Express

All you are left with is a string of questions. How does the insertion of so much blood and gore mesh with a film meant for kiddos? If the violence is to do with caste, why so much fudging, why not just say it? The humour is forced. Out of the blue, Jacqueline Fernandez comes on for an item number in which her athletic bouncing leaves nothing to the imagination. And a location which is clearly somewhere in the south has characters speaking in Hindi heavily laced with a Marathi accent. Is this what they mean by pan India?.

Ratings: 3/5 Review By: Shrishti Site: News18

Having said that, the story of Vikrant Rona doesnt quite connect. Despite incorporating various comic, horror and thrilling elements, Vikrant Rona falters at several points. Not just that, the execution of the film also looks random at several places. The narrative goes overboard with avoidable and problematic humour. In the second half especially, Vikrant Rona appears to lose grip over the plot and the story goes haywire. Things become confusing and make the viewer restless and uneasy. Overall, Vikrant Rona is for hardcore Kiccha Sudeep fans who have been waiting for this film with bated breath. The film releases in theatres today.

Ratings: 2/5 Review By: Saibal Site: NDTV

Eventually, it does not really matter. Vikrant Rona isn’t interested in specificities. It seeks to overwhelm with the scale of its ambition. It falls well short of greatness but never stops trying. Whether one sees the film as a success or a failure depends on how one perceives the film’s persistent pursuit of thrills and shocks

Ratings: 2.5/5 Review By: Shubham Site: Koimoi

he dedication to create a movie that resembles a fantasy comicbook kind of world and even replicating it on the big screen. Also, Sudeep does have a unique charm. Whats Bad: Whoever wrote the dialogues for the Hindi dub needs to be finedVikrant Rona is indeed a unique film but with lot of things that can kill the impact. Maybe call this one a stepping stone to a comic book inspired universe that will be amazing someday.

Ratings: 2.75/5 Review By: 123Telugu Site: 123Telugu

On the whole, Vikrant Rona is a suspense drama that has great backdrop, solid performance by Sudeep, and amazing production values. The world created intrigues you but at the same time, the excess length and confusing screenplay side track the attention of the audience. If you are okay with the above said demerits, this film ends as a passable watch this weekend.

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Vikrant Rona Story:

Almost half a century ago, a remote village in the middle of a tropical rainforest starts witnessing a series of unexplainable events which they attribute to the supernatural.

Vikrant Rona Release Date:

July 28, 2022 ( India) straight to Theaters

Vikrant Rona Cast:

Sudeep Nirup Bhandari Neetha Ashok Jacqueline Fernandez Ravishankar Gowda

Vikrant Rona Director: 

Anup Bhandari

Vikrant Rona Producer: 

Shalini Jack Manju Alankar Pandian

Vikrant Rona Production Companies:

Kichcha Creations Shalini Arts Invenio Films India

Vikrant Rona Distribution Companies:

Shalini Arts (Karnataka) Salman Khan Films (Hindi) PVR Pictures (Hindi) Cosmos Entertainment through KFC Films (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) Zee Studios (Tamil Nadu) Wayfarer Films (Kerala) One Twenty 8 Media through Phars Films (Overseas)

Vikrant Rona Run Time: 

2 Hours 27 Minutes (147 minutes)

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‘Boneyard’ Review: There Isn’t Nearly Enough for Mel Gibson or 50 Cent to Do in Clunky Serial Killer Thriller

A real-life serial killing spree makes for mediocre pulp fiction in Asif Akbar’s exploitative take on the West Mesa Murders.

By Dennis Harvey

Dennis Harvey

Film Critic

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You might expect a film that begins with Mel Gibson announcing, “The Bible says we should rejoice in our suffering,” to be a little more high-minded than “ Boneyard .” But this trashy trawl through a fictionalized version of the “West Mesa Murders” — a still-unsolved southwestern crime spree in our century’s early years — is the kind of dubiously moralizing exploitation exercise that makes “Sound of Freedom” look like a noble class act by comparison. 

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Fitting that profile precisely is heavyset, bespectacled loner Caesar (Weston Cage Coppola), whom we see lurking ominously in the vicinity of various young women, “pros” and otherwise. But then suspicion also falls on Officer Tate (Michael Sirow), known as “the sleaziest cop on the beat,” who’s known to have had questionable exchanges with nearly all the late victims — as well as possibly drug cartels, human traffickers, etc. 

Mostly kept on the narrative margins — though he frequently windbags hard-boiled philosophical nuggets in voiceover narration — Petrovick tries to center himself by telling us, “This case was … personal.” He’d lost a daughter to a drive-by shooting some years earlier. But then this is the kind of cliché-riddled enterprise in which it’s “personal” for everybody , as nearly all the principal figures have some contrived backstory of similar tragic loss. The script’s jumble of subplots, flashbacks and digressions has scant binding structural integrity. It seems more focused on giving each featured player a Big Scene of crying or violent hysteria — even if their part is so brief, it gets practically nothing else. 

Prolific writer-director-producer Akbar, who’s had his name on a couple dozen under-the-radar films in the last few years, does not demonstrate much aptitude for handling actors. So the cast is pretty much left to its own devices, to wildly uneven effect. Gibson, co-writer-producer Vincent E. McDaniel (as Tate’s narcotics department superior) and several others maintain some degree of dignity and credibility. Zehetner and Van Holt’s teaming is defeated by poor writing, while those playing villainous roles are given way too much leeway to ham it up. A few participants seem completely hapless — perhaps the most conspicuous and bewildering among them being Jackson, who’s done way too much screen work in the 20 years since “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” to excuse a turn this stilted. 

Though kept watchable by Joshua Reis’ cinematography and R.J. Cooper’s editorial pace, “Boneyard” lacks momentum, tension and atmosphere — it has the approximate texture of a TV procedural episode, complete with faux-urgent shaky cam. Portentous percussive thumps from Andrew Morgan Smith’s original score only underline those lacks.

It’s perhaps a blessing that there are relatively few actual murder scenes, as Akbar mostly cuts from women getting into strangers’ cars to the assassin’s shovel digging graves. But while the actresses playing prostitutes or other prey here generally succeed in lending their roles some sympathy, the film lacks the expertise to actually generate a sense of mortal peril. It ends with a dedication “to victims of the West Mesa Murders,” yet leaves you with the tainted feeling that those unfortunate young women have simply been ill-used once again, by a B-movie that doesn’t even do them the favor of being good. 

Reviewed online, June 29, 2024. MPA Rating: R. Running time: 97 MIN.

• Production: A Lionsgate release of a Flix Financial production, in association with The Film Post, Dream Syndicate, Dream Team Prods., Busy Day Prods., Tetrad Studios, 120dB Films, Filmlens, One Dollar Studios. Producers: Colin Bates, Asif Akbar, Vincent E. McDaniel, Tamas Nadas, Marc Danon, Roy Scott MacFarland. Executive producers: Randall J. Bacon, Danny R. Carmona, Joseph Lanius, Dean Scheske, Paul Gneco, Niten Ved, Stephen Hays, Peter Graham, Samuel A. Levine, Ford Corbett, Ron Weisberg, Anovath Airr Phanthip, Zueli Zhang, Lance Kawas, Fadi Assaf, RJ Collins, Daniel Schultejann, Alexandra Schultejann. Co-producers, John Henry, Justin Griffin, Philip Tan, JJ Rogers, Jon Keeyes, Mandi Murro.
• Crew: Director: Asif Akbar. Screenplay: Vincent E. McDaniel, Asif Akbar, Hank Byrd, Koji Steven Sakai. Camera: Joshua Reis. Editor: R.J. Cooper. Music: Andrew Morgan Smith.
• With: Mel Gibson, Brian Van Holt, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Nora Zehetner, Michael Sirow, Weston Cage Coppola, Gail O’Grady, Gabrielle Haugh, Courtney Akbar, Kesia Elwin, Camille Collard, Jay Hieron, Vincent E. McDaniel.

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