A village in the middle of nowhere, laced with flora and fauna that seem to have been plucked straight from the Amazon jungles, where it rains every day, suddenly finds itself in a crisis. The hapless villagers had made peace with smuggling activity on the outskirts for a long time, but now they must deal with periodic deaths of little children. The deaths are not natural, of course. Bodies of these kids have been found hanging from a tree with half of their faces painted red with eclectic patterns. All things point at a curse that has befallen this village. When the beheaded body of a police inspector investigating the case is discovered, the scales are tipped. That, coupled with the arrival of the new inspector, Kichcha Sudeep's Vikrant Rona.

Vikrant Rona, the film, magnificently mounted on a hellishly big budget that screams from every frame, starts off on a simple note. Superstitions. Deaths and poverty are often blamed upon the supernatural when no other logical explanation works. This simple premise, justifying the budget, is ornamented with grand sets - a tropical rainforest-like setup, a police station that once was a bungalow erected by the British and could easily have been converted into a plush resort, winding corridored houses sitting like an oasis in the middle of thick, green foliage, and more. You know the story is taking place a long, long time ago because petrol is Rs 6 per litre. And you have the population of the entire village living in fear of a Brahmarakshas.

The first half of Vikrant Rona is spent in establishing this world and time, far removed from ours, joined only by the herd mentality - he said it's a ghost, so it must be a ghost. In effect, therefore, it feels stretched and in parts boring. Aside from Kichcha Sudeep's Indiana Jones-like entry on a ship, penetrating the heart of darkness to sieve out the truth, the whistle-worthy moments are few and far between. His stunts on the bike tagged Phantom, apart from reminding us that the film was once called that and the makers could have retained it, and him swinging from trees or plunging into wells to investigate the murder sites should also provide fans with something to cheer for.

Our hero, Vikrant, must recreate the scene, get into the psyche, the skin of the killer or whatever force might be operating, to pluck out the truth. In the process, if he's branded as evil personified himself then so be it. And in the process, if interval hits, we're not complaining.

For Vikrant Rona shifts gears and makes us shift in our seats in the second half. What appeared as too many loose plots in the first are perfectly stitched together in the second. But even as the film goes up in a crescendo post interval, valuable time is lost.

The twist in the penultimate moments, right before the climax, even though you had decoded it perhaps in the very first scene, still breaks your heart.

Nirup Bhandari as Sanju or Raghav, the prodigal son who returns, is outstanding and a perfect foil to Kichcha Sudeep's Vikrant Rona. He transforms like a chameleon and that's all we'll say. Neetha Ashok as Aparna stands out, especially as the voice of the audience. It is as if we see what she sees when she sees it.

Jacqueline Fernandez. Now, what do we say about her totally unnecessary existence in the film, with just about two dialogues and a Helen's Mungada-inspired special number?

Kichcha Sudeep firmly carries the film on his shoulders through and through but there's only so much swag can do when the story borders on clumsy. Yet, when you walk out of the theatres, you walk away with the memories of a stylish Kichcha Sudeep throwing split kicks and the occasional quips that make you split, his very retro, very chic costumes and his deep, deep voice. And the realisation that revenge is the lowest of all human emotions, turning you into the very evil you were fighting.

In that, Vikrant Rona is a slap on the popular 80s trope even as it derives heavily from the 80s sensibilities and style.

PS: Vikrant Rona is a violent film and not just because of Kichcha Sudeep beating up the baddies. So, parental guidance is advised.

3 out of 5 stars for Vikrant Rona.

Watch the trailer of Vikrant Rona here:

Vikrant Rona Movie Review: Kichcha Sudeep film is no rona, only dhona

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