Title: 45, Producer: SP Suraj Productions, Uma Ramesh Reddy, Direction & Music: Arjun Janya, Cinematography: Sathya Hegde, Cast: Shivarajakumar, Upendra, Raj B Shetty, Kausthuba Mani, Rajendran, Pramod Shetty, Manasi Sudhir, Vijayalakshmi Singh, and others.
The debut directorial venture of over 150 films’ music director Arjun Janya is excellent in technicalities, and the brilliance he has adopted in this 150-minute film 45 is admirable. Every rupee spent on this film is visible in the frames of top-notch cinematographer Sathya Hegde. The trio—Dr Shivarajakumar, Upendra, and Raj B Shetty—shoulder this lavishly made film produced by Ramesh Reddy.
The widespread thinking, moral responsibility, Hindu dharmic feelings, mother-and-son sentiment, love angle, selection of artists, projection of sets, and usage of visual beauty through VFX are astounding. Arjun Janya has shown his composed feelings and knows pretty well what to give to the audience of this generation while upholding the significance of the past.
The top-rated quality of this film is its first beauty, and a producer like Ramesh Reddy of SP Suraj Productions has shown extreme guts in pouring money in a lavish style. The younger generation’s ignorance and mistakes deserve penalties when they are very costly—this is one of the layers of the film. The aspect of facing death is taken up strongly. The reference the director gives here is from the Garuda Purana—the explanation of life after death, which people should know to correct themselves.
At the outset, we have three main characters—Vinay (Raj B Shetty), a software engineer, his mother (Manasi Sudhir), and his girlfriend Meghana (Kausthuba Mani). There is one dangerous track of Rayappa (Upendra), who symbolizes Yamadharma, while the soft and sensible philosopher-like character is Shivappa (Dr Shivarajakumar).
A road accident that takes the life of Rosie, the fond dog of Rayappa, creates havoc in the life of Vinay. A terror in his own style, Rayappa—who considers his ‘Naayi as Taayi’—wants to pack off Vinay from this earth in the same gruesome way Rosie met her end. Rayappa fixes 45 days’ time for Vinay on this earth.
Frightened to live further, Vinay meets two heavyweights to support him for a ransom, but both are demolished by Rayappa and his gang with no mercy. Vinay’s fiancée, in the meantime, is engaged to some other boy, and his fond mother faces health issues. As the day’s fast approach and only 20 days are left, Shivappa enters Vinay’s life. The strength of Shivappa brings confidence in Vinay to live. The war is now between Shivappa and Rayappa. It is Rayappa who knows the real strength of Shivappa. The mega stage is set for the war between the two.
What happens later is the interesting part that Shivappa explains to Vinay. You cannot miss this aspect at the climax. The film is undoubtedly worth watching for various reasons. The mega loading of visual treatment is a feast to the eyes. The narration pattern, although repetitive in shots on screen, is fine and sensible.
The three stars of the film—Dr Shivarajakumar, Upendra, and Raj B Shetty—have delivered excellent performances. Raj B Shetty, representing common people in a quixotic situation, is particularly pitiable. The character of Dr Shivarajakumar is absolutely appropriate for his age.
The free style and fearlessness of the character are adorable. We have seen the two opposite styles of Upendra and Shivarajakumar in Preetse; to some extent, Upendra’s vibrant character is maintained here, and his cigar-puffing, cruel demeanor scores superbly. Manasi Sudhir, as the mother, steals the show with her Kannada dialect and high-quality performance. Kausthuba Mani, as the female lead opposite Raj B Shetty, has delivered a sensible performance.
The action portions of 45 are extraordinary. The scooter and lorry chase on busy streets (perhaps done by late Jolly Bastin) and the climax featuring Upendra as Yamadharma and Shivarajakumar as Lord Shiva with several avatars are an unexpected feast for fans.
Arjun Janya wins more as both director and music composer for this film. The solid sound design for this “sound-full” cinema 45 is done with extra care and aptitude. 45 is an eye-opener at the climax. It cautions the general public about what we are forgetting in life, and above all, the importance of loving life and living it is treated with top priority in the film.
