There is a distinction between an concept that sounds fascinating and the way in which it’s developed right into a script, and later into a movie. Arjun Chakravarthy, the Telugu movie written and directed by Vikrant Rudra, with Vijaya Rama Raju within the title function, is one such instance. The effort that has gone into its making is clear, but the narrative feels clichéd and emotionally indifferent.
The story is sort of a biopic of an neglected sportsman. Based on true incidents, the movie centres on kabaddi, specializing in a participant from rural Andhra Pradesh throughout the Nineteen Eighties and Nineties.
Arjun Chakravarthy (Telugu)
Director: Vikrant Rudra
Cast: Vijaya Rama Raju, Sijaa Rose
Runtime: 141 minutes
Story: Arjun, a former national-level kabaddi participant, has to search out his cause to compete after dealing with a collection of setbacks
With sepia-toned visuals by Jagadeesh Cheekati and music by Vignesh Baskaran, Arjun Chakravarthy charts the rise, fall, and resurgence of a kabaddi participant.
Contemporary Indian cinema has seen a lot of sports dramas, together with biopics throughout languages. Many of those movies have adopted underdogs who overcome financial hardship, social disparities, politics, and forms to make their mark. Others have explored emotionally resonant tales of former champions returning, typically scarred by previous setbacks, to search out redemption as mentors.
For Telugu movie buffs, the thought of a fictional biopic about an unsung sports hero inevitably remembers the Nani-starrer Jersey, directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri. The key to any sports drama — fictional or actual — is its means to maintain audiences emotionally invested. That is the place Arjun Chakravarthy falters. The components for a stirring, emotionally charged narrative are all current, but the story by no means fairly finds its footing.
Set within the Nineties, the movie opens with Kulkarni (Ajay) from the kabaddi affiliation discovering Arjun, a once-celebrated nationwide champion, now drowning his days in alcohol. From right here, the narrative rewinds to the Nineteen Eighties and even the Nineteen Sixties, tracing Arjun’s childhood and his initiation into kabaddi below mentor Rangaiah (Dayanand Reddy), himself a scarred ex-sportsman. On paper, it’s the good arc: a boy rising from rags to glory, guided by a mentor certain to him by shared wounds.
But the execution stays on the floor. Arjun’s pure aptitude for kabaddi and his coaching routine are skimmed over, together with his meteoric rise from district to state to nationwide degree unfolding mechanically. Even the movie’s visible motifs — like mirrors meant to evoke reflection and introspection — fail to translate into something significant.
Rangaiah laments being a failed champion, however the movie by no means earns our empathy for his character. The romance between Arjun and Devika (Sija Rose) feels equally hole, stitched along with drained tropes. We are by no means informed why Devika’s father objects to their relationship, nor are we given Arjun’s backstory. We are left to deduce that it’s a case of orthodoxy, caste, or class distinction — lazy writing at greatest.
The concept of intercutting Arjun’s national-level match with a defining second in Devika’s private life may need sounded intelligent on paper, however on display screen it falls flat. When a love story lacks conviction and fails to make us root for its characters, their struggles really feel weightless.
The bigger situation lies within the writing, which by no means digs beneath the floor, and within the performances, which fail to raise weak materials. Arjun’s highs, lows, and supposed ache factors are hard to purchase given the paper-thin sketch of his character.
By the ultimate hour, the movie sinks additional below the burden of clichés — chief amongst them, corrupt officers who single-handedly undo Arjun’s glory. We are requested to imagine that one man’s manipulation derails a national-level athlete, with no complaints lodged, no redressal mechanisms, no governing physique in sight. The absence of logic leaves the story unconvincing and the viewers unmoved.
Every from time to time, Arjun numbs himself with alcohol, solely to bounce again into competitors nearly immediately. His turnaround is as abrupt as his downfall. The climax pushes contrivance even additional, particularly in how Devika’s arc is wrapped up.
Arjun Chakravarthy units out with the proper intent — to highlight an unsung kabaddi participant — however intent alone can’t rescue clumsy writing and half-hearted performances. The result’s a sports drama that by no means fairly earns its victory lap.
