Karnataka

Bringing out the extraordinary from the commonplace

Vamshi (Kannada)

Director: Prakash

Cast: Puneet Rajkumar, Ravi Kale, Avinash, Nikita and Lakshmi

Sri Chakreshwari Combines’ Vamshi is another hero-oriented film with a debatable note on the importance of family history in joining the police service, the questionable nexus between the police and criminals and the exploitation of the rules for covering their misdeeds.

The film deals with the tragic story of a young man, Vamshi, born to an affable mother, but an anti-social father. He has all the support of his mother and friends in his ambition to become a police officer. But he falls prey to his own righteous indignation. His ties to his mother and a girl, a conspiracy by the police and a set of anti-social elements to prevent him from joining the police service, and the inseparable bouts of violence form the plot and sub-plots of the film.

Despite its usual commercial ingredients, including fan-pleasing acrobatics by the hero, the film draws some attention due to its unusual treatment of the mother-son and public-police relationships.

The attempts to view the hackneyed theme afresh through simple narration, tight screenplay and unconventional characterisation provide an edge to the film.

Puneet Rajkumar with his angry expression and Lakshmi as his born-to-suffer mother, transform the otherwise drab film into something touching.

K.N. VENKATASUBBA RAO

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