‘Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi’ movie review: Vijayashanthi, Kalyan Ram’s film withers under the weight of a dated tale

Vijayashanthi and Kalyan Ram in the film
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A scene in the final portions of the Telugu action drama Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi offers a moment of shock, establishing how far the protagonist would go to protect a loved one. Barring that moment, the film is an outdated relationship drama of a mother and son who find themselves at opposite ends of a flawed system. Had the makers approached the story with a new narrative style, perhaps the story’s emotional crux would have had the necessary impact. Instead, the film squanders the potential with its formulaic approach and gets tiresome with each passing action sequence. Vijayashanthi’s formidable presence and Kalyan Ram’s earnestness are in vain.

The film unravels with a series of introduction sequences. Vijayashanthi’s introduction sequence doffs its hat to her iconic, tough-as-nails police officer characters in the 1990s. It establishes how she does not buckle under pressure, putting her own safety at risk. As the action sequence unravels, the film, written and directed by Pradeep Chilukuri, is aware that audience will not question how her young son reaches her in the forest even before the rescue team.

The second sequence introduces a dark character who, figuratively, rises from the depths to unleash a trail of destruction. The third, or rather the third and fourth, sequences are dedicated to the film’s protagonist, Arjun (Kalyan Ram).

Once the slow motion episodes are done with, the narrative gradually unravels the circumstances under which the relationship between the mother and the son have soured. Birthday cakes act as markers of time. Eventually, however, these cakes contribute to unintentional humour.

Put together staid sub plots of goons baying for the blood of officers and black sheep in the force leading to utter chaos, and it sets the stage for the rise of a character that takes law and order into his own hands.

The discussions pertaining to one character staying on course with the system and another running a parallel justice system, remain at the surface level. Over the decades, several Indian films have explored similar themes with greater detail and emotional depth.

A prolonged episode depicting the horrors an antagonist inflicts on hapless people is presented through a voyeuristic lens. When a long-drawn flashback lays bare certain facts, it also shows how, if the key characters had sat across the table and discussed the circumstances that made them take different paths, perhaps we would not have had to endure this film.

The less said about Sohail Khan’s character, the better. Prison breaks have never been this easy and laughable. A passing visual reference of Mario Puzo’s book, The Family, does not make the forgettable characters in his family fare any better.

To be fair, the premise, despite being as old as the hills, had some scope for drama in the clash of belief systems. A twist towards the climax tries to infuse some life into the proceedings, but it is too little and too late. Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi films drags on and on, and after several birthday cakes and some fan service moments, settles for a conclusion.