Bagheera

This was by far the best 2024 movie for me. This movie >>>> Pathaan, Jawan. Regional movie feel ae alla. I have watched all 8 seasons of CW's Arrow and that was peak vigilante series for me. This nails it to the T. Nothing was rushed in. The setup and payoff is good.

Excellent acting especially by Murali n Rangayana Raghu sir. The way it's shown that he knows, without him saying anything speaks is one small example for the awesome direction n cinematography. BGM syncs well too. I also liked how villain's strength was consistent throughout till the end. Can't think of any Indian films that came close to this in this genre. I want this film to win.

Vedanth aspires to be a superhero and jumps from a building, fracturing his leg. His mother assures him that the one who wears a cape is not the only superhero by giving his cop father as an example. Vedanth decides to become a cop like his father. Years later, he has achieved his dream and gets his posting in Mangaluru. Vedanth being a strict and honest police officer, raids the criminals in his jurisdiction and tries to clean up the city. However, he is soon stopped by his superior which shatters his dream to serve his best as a cop. The atrocities don't stop, forcing Vedanth to don a mask and mete out vigilante justice as Bagheera. What happens when he is pitted against a ruthless villain Rana, forms rest of the story.

Narrated in 7 chapters, Bagheera is an ambitious vigilante action film whose story is written by Prashanth Neel. On paper it definitely sounds good but it is the lackluster screenplay by Dr. Suri that undermines the story. The first half is quite below average with back to back outdated scenes involving Vedanth the cop. The film works only when Bagheera enters and that too when he is in action. Dr. Suri failed to take advantage of a origin story and the token supporting cast get too many generic scenes. The action blocks do stand out and it is indeed good to not show Bagheera as invincible. The half baked love story doesn't contribute much.

It is the second half where it focuses more on Bagheera going after the main baddie and parallely, CBI starts the hunt for Bagheera. This intriguing plot is again underwhelmingly executed and though, Vedanth prepping himself as Bagheera with gadgets and stuff is a cool idea, the way the director presents it instantly loses it's impact. I get it, superhero/vigilante films are not to be taken too seriously but the unlikely team Vedanth forms is laughable. The other negative is the two songs that are forgettable. This leaves Bagheera with the action blocks and an ambitious climax fight on a freight train. The vfx is good with few obvious glitches. The vision of Bagheera should have been truly backed with good writing, which sadly doesn't happen. I am going with a lenient rating for the attempt but the film offers nothing memorable.

The Pan India phenomenon that has touched the Kannada film industry in the last few years has become more of a bane to the Kannada cinema of late. Some filmmakers have tried too hard to make their movie to push for a Pan India release despite the lack of quality. This has also resulted in movies taking a longer time to be released after having spent a lot of money on the hype throughout its making cycle. There have been some good movies in the mix in the past year but Bagheera is that commercial movie which brings the much needed limelight back to Kannada industry. The vigilante/superhero angle is a rarely experimented genre in Kannada cinema and Bagheera does it quite well. Kudos to Hombale films and the director Dr Suri for promoting this movie the right way and not overhyping it.

The initial teaser and trailer of the movie looked good but it also made me very skeptical on how the movie looked heavily inspired by Black Panther or Batman. While it cannot be ruled out entirely, the director acknowledges the influence of Hollywood superheroes within the script. The story is not very unique or mind blowing but it is not too predictable either. While the movie being divided into chapters works sometimes, it sometimes feels abrupt. Some scenes in the first half are very short and the movie cuts into the next scene without much of a transition. The movie very practically portrays being a part of a corrupt system as a cop. The director very crisply integrates the family sentiment without too much drama. There is also a very good pay-off at the end for the same. As soon as the vigilante chapter of the movie kicks in, the action sequences keep on coming. The action sequences in the first half are artistically violent and provide some goosebump moments, The action sequences post the interval are slick at times but mostly over the top and not entirely practical. The climax fight seems very hurried and unconvincing and could have been set in a better surroundings. Cinematography and music work very well for most parts of the movie. The background score and the main title theme is very important for a movie like this and Ajneesh Loknath does a good job at not making it seem jarring. The songs mostly play in the background and there are no unnecessary song placements. There is no separate track for comedy but there are few lighthearted moments well integrated by using the main characters.

Sriimurali is a very underrated action star of South Indian cinema and it is always good to see him in roles like this. He has a very good screen presence to do action/mass movies like these. While Ugramm is still celebrated to this day, he hasn't really got a great boost from his releases post Ugramm apart from Mufti (which was a multistarrer). Bagheera is a much needed break for him and I hope he chooses more crispy scripts like this in the upcoming days. He looks the part throughout and is definitely the soul of the movie. Garuda Ram as the primary antagonist does look and act menacing but his character's evil arc isn't very convincing. There are many other co-antagonists (not sure if that is the right way of putting it) who feed very well into Bagheera's action episodes but their roles are very less explored. Rukmini Vasanth as the female lead is near perfect in her limited role. Prakash Raj and Rangayana Raghu's characters definitely stand out among the rest of the supporting characters. Both characters have great character arcs.

Bagheera may not be the most awaited or hyped Kannada Pan India release but it is a quality film for the scale that is. This sure is a refreshing Kannada action/superhero movie without any jarring elements.

The movie is good, it kept audiance engaged especially in first half the scenes the hype everything is well done, some scenes were so good felt like watching a 3d movie and for some I was wondering how well it blends if it was is 4dx. But still in 2d they have kept everything alive.

And yes compared to first half second half could have been much more better in terms of engaging audiance and the story after interval.

But I'm not complaining second half is disappointing but competitively first half is good.

And moreover I don't recall seeing movie like this in kannada I mean kinda feels something fresh in kannada industry.

But definitely watch in THEATERS, it's best enjoyed in cinema's.

A very average commercial entertainer! Absolutely nothing new in the storyline, same old story of the main lead trying to be a super hero by saving the masses in complete disguise as Bagheera. He single-handedly does fight hundreds together hooligans backed by weapons, guns etc without getting himself hurt, a totally unrealistic picture to believe into. But as an action entertainer, quite an average one. Originally a Kannada movie dubbed in all South Indian languages. Available in Netflix, my ratings 5/10!

A very average commercial entertainer! Absolutely nothing new in the storyline, same old story of the main lead trying to be a super hero by saving the masses in complete disguise as Bagheera. He single-handedly does fight hundreds together hooligans backed by weapons, guns etc without getting himself hurt, a totally unrealistic picture to believe into. But as an action entertainer, quite an average one. Originally a Kannada movie dubbed in all South Indian languages. Available in Netflix, my ratings 5/10!