Bhajarangi 2 movie review: Shivarajkumar is at his usual best in film that flounders along the way

3/5

Story: A story set across two timelines about the need to tap the goodness of natural medicines and their misuse, peppered with elements of fantasy

Review: The first thing I heard as I walked out of the movie hall after watching Shivarajkumar’s Bhajarangi 2 on Friday morning, was the unfortunate news of the passing of his brother, Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar. As fans and well-wishers processed the news, and theatres wer announced shut for the next two days, thoughts of a review were pushed to the backseat for several hours.

It is now time to discuss the film that took up nearly three hours of my life. A Harsha’s latest film with Shivanna traverses across two timelines that involve sub-plots about substance abuse, issues about inadequate healthcare and the need to give herbal medicines their due. In all fairness, the filmmaker has a point about natural sources of medicines being perhaps the better choice than big pharma, but to present this, he decides to mix fantasy into a very real-world problem. Therein lies the problem, and after a fairly interesting first half, that includes the beautiful number Nee Sigoovaregu and some attempts at romance by Shivarajkumar and Bhavana, comes the tedious second half and the ludicrous ending.

The crux of the story hinges on an ancient form of medicine in Ayurveda, Dhanwantari, practised by a small tribe and how greed gets the better of them. Bhajarangi 2 has too many issues, starting with the very urban Anji (Shivarajkumar) heading to a village that his sister, played by Shruthi, lives in, where he is looking for a suitable bride. Ahem! His sister is the local money-lender don, terrorizing the neighbourhood, until, of course, good-old bro comes to town and tries to mend her ways. It is not exactly clear why she has to walk, talk dress and look like a sophisticated tribal, despite her urban connect. There is also a track about herbs used to make a potent drug that sells like wild cake in town. But that is never addressed thereafter, as the narrative shifts to other plots.

The more I think about the sub-plots, the more confused I get, so, I leave it to you, the audience, to decide if you want to catch this film in theatres. For that, let me also tell you that the film’s rating is squarely because of the performances by key cast members and the graphic work. Bhajarangi 2 is a visually-pleasing film; hell, we even get Saurav Lokesh as Sudhindra, doing a Baywatch-Pamela Anderson, as he walks out of a river, bare-bodied, clad only in a flimsy white dhoti-pant, showing off his ripped physique. Most of the cast members do over and above their call of duty, which works for the film. Shruti and Bhavana only have a few scenes in the first half, but literally fill up the screen with their presence and antics.

The film, of course, is all about Shivarajkumar and putting him on a pedestal. Well, everyone addresses him as god even. The actor gives this role his heart and soul, quite literally, and his efforts are there for all to see, especially in the action sequences. Shivarajkumar had told the media ahead of the release that he shot most of Bhajarangi 2 after his return from London, where he had undergone keyhole surgery for a shoulder issue. Yet the 59-year-old actor powered through it, never once giving the impression that something maybe amiss.

What is also top-notch is the cinematography and the visual effects. One only wishes that director Harsha had used the resources at his disposal, both in terms of cast and crew, to better use with a more fine-tuned story and narrative.

Verdict: Bhajarangi 2 had a lot of promise, but doesn’t live up to the hype because of the pace of the narrative and the inconsistencies in the story. Shivarajkumar tries his best to bring life into this tale, but the end result does not do justice to his efforts.