A tribute to late Puneeth Rajkumar
Rating: 3.5/5
Movie: James
Cast: Puneeth Rajkumar, Priya Anand, Anu Prabhakar, Srikanth, Sharath Kumar, Hareesh Peradi, Tilak Sekhar, Mukesh Rishi, Aditya Menon, Rangayana Raghu, Avinash, Sadhu Kokila, Chikkanna, Suchendra Prasad, Raghavendra Rajkumar, Shivarajkumar and Dattatreya
Music: Charan Raj
Cinematography: Swamy J Gowda
Editor: Deepu S Kumar
Producer: Kishore Pathikonda
Directed by: Chethan Kumar
Release Date: 17 March 2022
Duration: 149.42 minutes
The movie James has created much hype and expectations among late Puneeth Rajkumar’s fans. It is Puneeth’s first movie to be released after his death.
Let us analyse
The story is about Santosh Kumar (Puneeth) who works as security officer of J Wings Security Company that provides security to prominent personalities in society. Santosh Kumar agrees to provide security to Vijay Gaekwad (Srikanth), a leader of the drug mafia in South India and his sister Nisha Gaekwad (Priya Anand). They have a threat to their lives from Rathan (Mukesh Rishi) and Joseph Anthony (Sharath Kumar). Santosh Kumar saves Nisha Gaekwad and her brother. Nisha falls in love with Santosh Kumar and her brother also agrees but Santosh Kumar says that he has other ideas. What happens to Santosh Kumar and Nisha Gaekwad is the climax.
Artistes’ performance:
Puneeth Rajkumar is at his best in stunt sequences. He walks away with all honours for his hard work and efforts in stunt sequences. Shavarajkumar has provided voiceover for Puneeth Rajkumar in this movie. Though it is difficult to digest the voiceover, there is no other best option as Puneeth Rajkumar died of cardiac arrest before completing the dubbing for this movie.
Priya Anand looks beautiful. Her dialogue delivery and body language are good. Rangayana Raghu, Sadhu Kokila, Chikkanna and Suchendra Prasad provide comedy. Anu Prabhakar appears in a few scenes. Srikanth is not convincing as a villain but Mukesh Rishi has acted well. It is difficult to see Tamil actor Sharath Kumar in such a pathetic role that has no relevance with the story. Veteran artiste Dattatreya’s performance makes the audiences have a hearty laugh.
Highlights:
Puneeth Rajkumar. Background score by V Hari Krishna and cinematography by Swamy J Gowda. Among the songs, Salam Soldier and Bolo Bolo James are good.
Drawbacks:
Too many fight sequences and too many artists and the duration of the movie.
Analysis
It is quite disappointing to see director Chethan Kumar giving importance to huge sets and foreign locations rather than the script and screenplay. Chethan has already handled the megaphone for movies such as Bharjari, Addhuri, Bharate and Bahaddur but failed to meet the audiences’ expectations.
Bottom-line: There will be nothing wrong with watching this movie as a tribute to the late Puneeth Rajkumar.