Review: Dear Vikram releases directly on a streaming platform, one of the few Kannada movies getting a chance for the same. The film speaks about the helpless state of today’s society, where MNCs and political parties work hand-in-glove and make money while exploiting the poor. The attempt is brave with some pertinent points being touched upon too. But the trappings of commercial staples like songs break the flow of this narrative that could have been taut and more thought-provoking.
The film begins with the audience being introduced to Vikram, a Naxal. Similarly, there is also a juxtaposition of political and business heads trying to work towards depleting the natural resources with a deal involving a forest land that could displace tribals. The story then goes back and forth as it introduces the audience to varied characters, which include Vikram, Bharath and Karthik Swamy, the protagonists of the three threads connecting this story. We get to see their aspirations, hard work and heartbreak.
The interesting part about Dear Vikram is that it tries to address different ideologies and the pros and cons of them all. The film also tries to allude to the harsh realities in today’s world through some subtle and some not-so-subtle references to current political leaders and events. While all of this is good, the film ends up being a confused tale between a commercial film with regular song breaks and a more hard-hitting drama that moves at a quick pace. The other hurdle is the background score that is harsh and unnecessarily loud at times.
Sathish Ninasam, Shraddha Srinath, Vasishta N Simha and Achyuth Kumar deliver what is expected of them. Raksha Somashekhar scores in the emotional scenes in the second half. One gets confused with Sonu Gowda’s extended cameo.
Dear Vikram could have been a film that could have raised interesting debates on the current political situation, but it ends up falling short as the tale seems too rushed between some unnecessary songs and sequences.
