‘Anamadheya Ashok Kumar’ movie review: Kishore, Harshil Koushik anchor an engaging, ‘Vikram Vedha’-esque thriller

Kishore in ‘Anamadheya Ashok Kumar’.
| Photo Credit: MRT Music/YouTube

In Anamadheya Ashok Kumar, police officer Athirath (Harshil Koushik) takes a small break while questioning a murder suspect (Kishore). “Logically, I feel he is innocent, but my instinct says that he has committed a crime,” he tells his subordinate. Interestingly, even the audience feels the same about the high-profile murder case, and that’s where director Sagar Kumar’s film triumphs.

The crime drama is a mixture of several genres. Yet, all the layers of the movie play out organically, and the blend of themes never feels forced. For instance, Anamadheya Ashok Kumar is a solid drama, with the suspect, a journalist named Praveen Rajshekar, and the strict police officer Athirath involved in a verbal volley about each other’s professions. Athirath takes a dig at journalists’ infamous reputation of turning every case into a media trial, while Praveen mocks the natural tendency of the police to doubt innocent people.

The film succeeds in its subtle reflection of the dynamics of power and inequality in society. Athirath works nonstop to crack the case, forcing him to be unavailable for his pregnant wife. His senior, hardly sensitive to his plight, enjoys the luxury of sleeping amid the twists and turns of the case. The rich criminals are scot-free, even as people with less privilege continue to deal with the trauma of their ill fate.

The makers call Anamadheya Ashok Kumar a “narrative thriller“, and rightly so, as it reminds you of R Madhavan-Vijay Sethupathi starrer Vikram Vedha, where the suspected culprit narrates different stories, much to the amazement of the interrogating officer. Despite the conversational style of the movie, Anamadheya Ashok Kumar works well as a thriller, with clever deceptions maintaining the film’s momentum till the end. “Justice is a matter of perspective,” says the journalist, and the movie does show us why it is so.

Kishore and Harshil Koushik in ‘Anamadheya Ashok Kumar’.
| Photo Credit:
MRT Music/YouTube

Kishore and Harshil Koushik deliver a fire and ice combination. While the former is intense in his portrayal, the latter gives his all to play a hot-headed yet thinking cop. Both actors do what’s required to justify the changing nature of their respective characters.

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Anamadheya Ashok Kumar slightly overstays its welcome; the final scene seems planned with the sole purpose of showcasing Kishore’s acting prowess. The overly emotional scenes slightly dent the cathartic quality of the film’s climax. The quality of dialogues is uneven, with some being sharp while some sounding amateurish.

Reportedly shot during the pandemic, this is a small-scale film with limited locations and characters. The restrictions are apparent, hampering the visual quality of the movie. Perhaps, with the help of a bigger canvas, the film could have had a better visual rhythm. These flaws apart, Anamadheya Ashok Kumar is a mostly engaging thriller.

Anamadheya Ashok Kumar is currently running in theatres