Review: Vijayanand

Producer-Anand Sankeshwar
Director-Rishika Sharma
Star Cast- Nihal Rajput ,Bharat Bhopanna, Anant Nag, VG.Ravichandran, Prakash Belawadi,Vinaya Prasad and Siri Prahlad
Genre- Biopic
Platform of Release- Theatres
Rating- ***

This film being released in Kannada , Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil as a PAN India film is the biopic of businessman-turned-politician, Dr Vijay Sankeshwar. and shows the rise of an ordinary man from North Karnataka to the heights as a transport tycoon and a media magnate.The film sets out to chart the journey of 19-year-old Vijay (Nihal R), who starts his transport business at a very young age from Gadag, a small town in the heart of north Karnataka and against all odds, succeeds to become the owner of 5500 vehicles.

Vijay Sankeshwar (Nihal Rajput) brings home a semi-automatic printing machine against his father the printing press owner BG Sankeshwar’s (Ananth Nag) wishes, thus establishing himself as a hot-headed, independent strong man.

The story revolves around Vijay’s journey - from taking care of a printing press to starting his business with a single truck to the establishment of the successful fleet of trucks. His journey includes Chandramma (Vinaya Prasad) his mother, Lalitha (Siri Prahallad) his wife and son Anand Sankeshwar (Bharath Bhopanna). Yesteryear Actor Ravichandran appears in a cameo.

The biggest drawback of this film is that it lacks the balance that a biopic offers and instead tends to lean towards becoming a hagiography. The film sets out to only talk about the rise of Vijay Sankeshwar, and does not make any attempt to shed any light on the grey areas of his life, which are known to the general public.

Nihal Rajput,who plays the role of Vijay Sankeshwar manages to impress though he ought to have not only shed his excess weight but also studied the character in more detail at length. Bharath renders a lot of promise as Vijay's earnest son Anand Sankeshwar, while Ananth Nag is impressive as BG Sankeshwar, the father of the transport tycoon Vijay.

Though writer-director Rishika has come up with a good script, she fails with her screenplay and direction, especially because she has taken far too many cinematic liberties to turn the film into a commercial potboiler, instead of an inspiring one.Though Vijayanand is an ex MP who is known for his jovial, amiable, and helpful nature and not for his macho looks and mannerisms, in order to generate interest, Rishika Sharma has included many action sequences and stunts featuring Vijayanand and one doubts whether in real life he has enacted even one of them.

As far as the performances go, all that I can say is that though Nihal looks good on screen his antics fail to impress the viewer, especially since there are no variations in his looks as a teenager, middle-aged person, etc. Siri Prahlad denacts her role well with her traditional looks while Anant Nag passes muster in a miniscular role which is below his stature. Prakash Belawadi passes through the motions and puts in his best effort though at times he is far too loud while Vinaya Prasad goes unnoticed. V.Ravichandran appears in a role where he is not able to leave his own inimitable mark.