Duration – 2H 39M Genre Biopic – Drama, Verdict – Inspirational journey worth the watch.
Title – Vijayanand, Producer – Anand Sankeshwar, Director – Rishika Sharma, Dialogues – Raghu Niduvalli, Cinematography – Keerthan Poojary, Editor – Hemanth Kumar D, Music – Gopi Sundar.
Cast – Nihal R, Bharat Bopanna, Anant Nag, Prakash Belawadi, Vinaya Prasad, Siri Prahlad, Rajeesh Nataranga, Dayal Padmanabhan, Shine Shetty, Vidhya Murthy, Ramesh Bhat, Aruna Balraj, Archana Kottige, Umesh Banaka, Anish Kuruvilla.
Here are the reasons why you should be watching Vijayanand:
FIRST COMMERCIAL BIOPIC OF KANNADA OF A PERSON FROM KARNATAKA
The recent success of the Tamil movie Soorarai Pottru biopic of G. R. Gopinath who hails from Karnataka made us wish it was made in Kannada and kept authentic to its roots. Now the Vijayanand biopic of Mr. Vijay Sankeshwar marks as first commercial film a biopic in Kannada of a person from Karnataka. This Padma Shri awardee businessman & politician from Gadaga, Karnataka started his entrepreneurial journey from his father’s printing press and then individually starts VRL transport company owning a single truck, today the same company is one of the largest fleet of commercial vehicles in India. He also owned the largest circulating paper the current Vijaya Karnataka (sold to The Times Group later) and five years later he launched Vijaya Vani which is now the number 1 Kannada daily newspaper is an inspirational story worthy to be told.
TRUCKLOAD RESPONSIBILITY HANDLED WELL BY RISHIKA SHARMA
Rishika Sharma who made her directorial debut with the horror thriller movie ‘Trunk’ in 2018 took up a truckload of responsibility with this biopic of iconic Vijay Sankeshwar with ‘Vijayanand’ and has managed to tell a rags-to-riches journey story of highly admired businessman efficiently. From storytelling, research, to technicality the detailing and dedication of work is seen in every frame of this film.
CASTING TO PERFECTION WHO HAVE LIVED THROUGH REAL-LIFE CHARACTERS
The movie has highly experienced actors throughout who we get to see in the real-life characters like never before Nihal Rajput as Vijay Sankeshwar has shown a versatile performance in his character arc, Bharath Bopanna of television Gattimela fame as Anand Sankeshwar looks regal in this film. Ananth Nag as BG Sankeshwar and Prakash Belwadi as RR are two senior actors who have outlived their roles and are to be looked up to. The movie also has multiple strong cameos and support cast like V Ravichandran, Ramesh Bhat, Shine Shetty, Nata Raj, Dayal Padmanabhan, Siri Prahalad, Vidhya Murthy, Aruna Balraj, Archana Kottige, and others.
THE MAKING OF THE MOVIE TAKES US BACK IN TIME & ERA
The story has different timelines from the late 60s to the 70s to recent 2012, much appreciation for the Art and Costume department has created each of these timelines to its minute detaining that you get transported virtually in time. The cinematographer and Music Director have done their best work giving the audience a good visual experience.
FEW DIALOGUES STAND AS ‘QUOTES FOR LIFE’ TO CARRY BACK
The life of Vijay Sankeshwar on screen and off is something to be looked up to by the generation today and next. Few dialogues in the film are like quotes and lessons for life. Ananth Nag as father BG Sankeshwar imparts wisdom to his son Vijay and Vijay Sankeshwar following the footsteps of his father and takes forward the legacy imparting his knowledge and values to his son Anand. The movie also shows how balanced of a businessman he was working towards his goals in all the ups and downs of life will is highly inspiring.
The movie especially in the second half feels like a one-sided narrative for a biopic but apart from that, this is a story that is a must-watch for all. Recommended watch for parents and youth.
