Film: Rider (Kannada)
Rating: 3/5
Cast: Nikhil Kumaraswamy,Kashmira Pardeshi, Achyuth Kumar, Chikkanna, Shivaraj KR Pete, Rajesh Nataranga, Shobaraj, Dattanna, and Ramachandra Raju.
Music: Arjun Janya
Cinematography: Shreesha Kuduvalli
Editor: KM Prakash
Producer: Chandru Manoharan
Directed by: Vijay Kumar Konda
Release Date: 24 December 2021
Director: Vijay Kumar Konda
The movie Rider is a romantic thriller with so many twists. It is fourth movie for Nikhil Kumarswamy. It has created a lot of buzz since it is directed by Vijay Kumar Konda.
Let us analyse
The movie begins with Chinnu alias Soumya, a missing girl, being brought to an orphanage. While there are many orphan children, Chinnu becomes closer to Kitty, an orphan. Meanwhile, Soumya’s parents meet a police inspector of Virajpet Police Station requesting to help them to find their daughter. Though it is the same police inspector who admitted Chinnu to the orphanage, he pretends not to know about her but later he restores Chinnu with her parents. While leaving the orphanage, Chinnu promises to Kitty that she visits the orphanage every year to celebrate her birthday. After a few months, Gangadhar (Achyuth Rao) adopts Kitty in unavoidable circumstances and names him as Surya who becomes a basketball player. Soumya returns to Bengaluru after pursuing higher studies in the USA. What happens to Soumya and Surya is the climax.
Artistes’ performance:
As far as the performance of the artistes is concerned, Nikhil Kumarswamy has improved a lot. Though he has to go a long way to get appreciation from mass as well as class audiences, he is at his best when compared to his performance in his earlier movies - Jaguar, Seetharama Kalyana and Kurukshetra. His dialogue delivery and body language deserve appreciation. He faced the camera with aplomb in stunt sequences and songs but his acting skills are not up to the mark in emotional scenes. For example, he looks stoic in a scene where an ashram gets inundated with water.
Kashmira Prdeshi, who makes debut in Kannada with this movie, looks glamorous. Chikkanna and Shivaraj KR Pete, as comedians, have acted well. Shobaraj as a corrupt police officer is convincing. Achyuth Rao and Rajesh Nataranga have provided good support. Veteran artiste Dattatreya has a brief role. Ramachandra Raju, who earned name and fame for his performance in KGF Chapter 1, has played a different role in this movie. He is a don in this movie but neither fights nor troubles the hero.
Music director Arjun Janya has scored lilting music. Cinematographer Shreesha Kuduvalli has done an excellent job behind the camera.
Highlights:
Nikhil Kumaraswamy
Cinematography
Music
Drawbacks:
The opening scene is not convincing. Scenes are expected to be cinematic but the particular scene where a six-year-old girl is not able to tell her parents name and address is too cinematic.
Analysis
It may not be an exaggeration to say that this movie is a treat for Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s fans. The specialty of Rider is that director Vijay Kumar Konda has succeeded in making Nikhil Kumaraswamy to act and follow the script faithfully without craving for more screen space. The director, who has proved his mettle in handling megaphone for successful Telugu movies Oka Laila Kosam and Gunde Jaari Gallanthayinde, has the potential to handle the megaphone for more Kannada movies in future. However, the title of the movie - Rider - has nothing to do with this romantic thriller.
Bottom-line: It is aimed at family as well as mass audiences.