It’s not quite often for a conventional offering that you come across a title like Asura, especially when it’s of a cop, a lead protagonist. A few minutes into the film, you know enough that it is misleading flattery. He’s called Dharma Tej. Well, the name speaks here. He’s self righteous. Cut out all the introductory and the intermittent self-adoring flab that’s accessed to him, he’s a material made for Goutham Menon’s film. An orphan, the cop swears by his profession; his only emotional longing happens to be his girl.
Asura’s title credits initially roll on with a bulk of mythological references. Dharma confesses his long-time ambition to be a poet. There’s no blunt arrogance about his ways. The antagonist’s intelligence doesn’t disappoint either. The tempo is not indulgent and assuredly well-controlled. The plot progresses with a composure. The female lead is pretty and the romance doesn’t have the two moving around bushes . It’s slick and straightforward. The film gets much of its credibility with the dialog.
Except for a sluggish start, the first hour takes you by surprise. Mostly fluff-free sans the fillers of the Brahmanandam’s and the Saptagiri’s to compensate for the intensity, the logics are respected. There are philosophical preachings coming in every now and then, but the maker gives a good situational color to them. The scale of the execution isn’t the best. For the above-average result it tries to attain, the staging of the action sequences are very basic. They serve the purpose, but only just.
The film occasionally drops hints of opening up more on the effectiveness of capital punishment, but Krishna puts such intentions under check. The focus of the screenplay, except for the pre-culmination stretch is pretty consistent. There are stereotypes bound to arise in the process with the court proceedings, the atmosphere within the jail premises, the functioning of a media house, but the film’s takeaways are so strong that you don’t quite mind them.
The end, even if it pulls in a major twist to just reverse the proceedings, feels a tad plain. But, you walk away with the real high of watching a solid film and a smart actor, who has the willingness to put his money as a producer to good use. Nara Rohith’s efforts, with something like Pratinidhi, Rowdy Fellow and this, to push his limits beyond the done-to-death commercial templates are a huge payoff for the result that’s full of conviction. Such a promising debut this, for Krishna Vijay, bridging Asura as an intriguing blend of commerce and content.
Three and a half stars
Review by Srivathsan Nadadhur