‘Shakhahaari’ movie review: Rangayana Raghu, Gopalkrishna Deshpande power this crime thriller

Gopalkrishna Deshpande and Rangayana Raghu in ‘Shakhahaari’.
| Photo Credit: MRT Music/YouTube

“What’s meant to be, will always be” is a famous adage. Sandeep Sunkad’s directorial debut, Shakhahaari, is about the twist of fate that decides the course of one’s life. Set in the village of Melige at Thirthahalli taluk in Shivamogga, the film revolves around a murder and how the lives of Subbanna (Rangayana Raghu), who runs a small hotel, and a police officer, Mallikarjun (Gopalkrishna Deshpande), get affected by the case.

Subbanna’s hotel is a busy place, with people from all walks of life stopping by for a cup of tea or a plate of ‘dosa’. He spends evenings practicing theatre, and the middle-aged man also has feelings for a mysterious woman.

Mallikarjun finds himself in a sticky situation when a murder accused escapes from his station. On the verge of getting a transfer as per his request, he faces a race-against-time scenario to catch the accused and move to a new town to be with his ailing wife.

The engaging drama, built on cleverly written dialogue, increases the air of intrigue as the film chugs along nicely for the most part. Shakahaari emphasises people’s desire to live and looks at their vulnerability in the face of unforeseen situations.

The film is helped by a top-notch cast, led by Rangayana Raghu and Gopalakrishna Deshpande. Rangayana Raghu, a seasoned supporting actor, has powered several star films with his terrific performances. With sharp dialogue delivery and gifted comic timing, he has the ability to stand out even in dull scenes. 

Gopalkrishna Desphande is the latest addition to Kannada’s superb list of supporting actors. Filmmakers who wrote daring roles for Achyuth Kumar and Anant Nag can now think of quality characters for Deshpande. He has a knack for pulling off haunting performances from characters who are emotional and helpless.

Kudos to director Sandeep Sunkad for casting two supporting actors as his lead characters and offering them enough room to shine. In Shakhahaari, both the actors convey tension and despair through their eyes. They seamlessly transform into their vulnerable characters and grow on us as the plot thickens.

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The film loses control towards the end. There is a terrific face-off between the two central characters, but their fate gets decided too conveniently. The director offers enough clues, but only some are served with deception, while the others are easy to crack. Once the suspense-filled drama unfolded leisurely, the film had to land the final blow effectively.

Despite the flaws, Shakhahaari is a promising debut. Sandeep Sunkad mostly keeps us invested in the proceedings with fine control over a screenplay that accommodates human emotions and unexpected moments in equal measure. With Shakhahaari, Kannada cinema might have witnessed its first quality commercial film of 2024.

Shakhahaari is currently running in theatres.