CHOICE OF GOOD AND EVIL WITHIN US

“The battle lines between good and evil runs through the heart of every man,” wrote the Russian novelist and Nobel laureate, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. That deep, dramatic thought has a philosophical angle; but it reflects reality.

“ಕಿರಿಕ್ ಪಾರ್ಟಿ” (‘Kirik Party’) is a 2016 Kannada film is based on that theme. The romantic comedy-drama won a bunch of awards and was critically well received. A resounding success at the box-office, the movie was remade in Telugu (Kirrak Party).

Karna (Rakshit Shetty), the male protagonist, enrolls for an engineering degree. In his first year, he gangs up with his hostel mates for some monkey business on campus; and, lots of fun and frolic follows with all the mischief around.

Amidst lots of levity, frivolity and pleasantry, Karna befriends his senior, Sanvi (Rashmika Mandanna), who is the daughter of a strict, senior police officer. Half the college is mad though about the beautiful bombshell. Karna too takes a fancy for Sanvi, who gradually begins to reciprocate his overtures.

Just when Cupid is about to strike, an unpredictable plot reversal steals Sanvi away from Karna. So then, the boisterous, mischievous Karna turns into a Godfather-like student leader. Some internecine feuds and primate-dominance rivalry lead to a rift within Karna’s clique.

That is when bubbly Arya (Samyuktha Hegde) enters Karna’s life. Sparks do fly…but, they are unidirectional, for Karna is too preoccupied with his own shenanigans to notice.

At the end of it all, do Karna et al get reformed and become responsible engineers? Or, do they get rusticated from school?

That’s the rest of the story.

Director Rishab Shetty has cooked up an interesting dish of sweet love, bitter loss; and, spiced it up with the salt-‘n-pepper of friendship. Set against the backdrop of academia, the comic sequences in the flick split your side; the tragic ones give you the blues. The handiwork of a team named ‘The Seven Odds’, the story and script sizzle.

Rakshit Shetty’s screenplay captivates, save the pain of the film’s length and load of song-and-dance sequences. Cinematography of Karm Chawla is neat. Music of B Ajaneesh Loknath enhances the impact of visuals on celluloid― the quality of sound mix is rich.

Rakshit Shetty is spirited in the lead; he steals the show from the rest of the cast. Rashmika Mandanna and Samyuktha Hegde up the ante on the oomph-factor. Achyuth Kumar and Pramod Shetty play prominent supporting roles.

The film is a ragbag, refreshing mass entertainer…it delivers a satisfying punch at the end. As someone said, entertainment is in a movie like color in pictures. And so, this movie is right up there as it regales and relaxes…particularly, the young in its audience!

I rate this romantic drama, with a large slice of comedy in it: 7.5 on 10!