Dr.Rajasekhar's Kalki

On the whole, Kalki is an investigative thriller which clicks in the second half. There is nothing special or exciting about this film as the twists are revealed in an interesting manner in the last twenty minutes only. But to witness this, you have to sit though a dull first half. if you manage to do this, the film ends as just an okay watch.

Kalki is a gripping thriller which follows the trail of a police officer and a journalist in solving the mystery of a murder that has many strings tied to it. As the investigation progresses, the film starts unfolding the background of the crime, events that lead to it and many more crimes that the town has endured. Pulling off a thriller is never an easy job but Prasanth Varma manages to do it with minimum fall-out. In the 1980s, a town called Kollapuram in Telangana is grappling under the last visage of feudalism to survive the notorious MLA Narasappa (Ashutosh Rana) who exploits his people in all possible ways. Shekar Babu (Sidhu Jonnalagadda) is the town’s only salve, a kind-hearted man who stands for them. When their beacon of hope gets brutally murdered, Kalki IPS (Dr Rajasekhar) is called on to investigate the case. Journalist Deva Dutta (Rahul Ramakrishna) too does his best to solve the mystery. Nanditha Swetha gets decent screen presence and plays a key role, someone whom the story revolves around till the end. Adah Sharma plays Dr Padma, Kalki’s ex-girlfriend – but her role gets type casted and she really has nothing much to do with the story. Besides Rajasekhar, it is Ashutosh Rana who holds the audiences’ attention as the antagonist. Rahul Ramakrishna keeps the film engaging with his comic timing and humour. By balancing the commercial aspects with the thriller elements, Kalki is one more feather in the cap for Rajasekhar after PSV Garuda Vega and Prasanth Varma after Awe. The BGM by Sharvan Bharadwaj and camera angles by Dasaradhi Shivendra, which initially work get repetitive after a while, boring the audience, especially during the fight sequences. The investigative thriller which initially intrigues soon gets predictable and routine, with scenes stretching more than needed. Though the climax is replete with twists to keep one satisfied, it doesn’t really come as a surprise. But, Kalki is worth watching on the big screen this weekend. Though the film isn’t as suspenseful as they come, it still keeps things entertaining till the end

Kalki follows the template of an atypical murder mystery with a twist in the climax.Technically rich, it could have presented a better screenplay to keep the excitement stable.Rajasekhar delivers the goods.