‘Ekka’ movie review: Yuva Rajkumar gives his all to a script that doesn’t reward his effort

No industry is obsessed with the idea of an innocent small-town man getting drawn into the underworld as much as Sandalwood. Ekka(Ace card) has a very familiar hero character, and that is its first big issue. Circumstances force Muthu (Yuva Rajkumar), a kind-hearted youngster, to turn into a beast.

Muthu’s mother (Shruthi) always reminds his son that he has a child and an animal within him; this is the film’s second problem. Everybody keeps repeating the obvious. The protagonist doesn’t miss a chance to express his wish to return to his hometown for a peaceful sleep.

An eccentric cop arrives to clean the city of lawbreakers, and this is Ekka’s third issue. It forgets that a maverick cop has a sharp brain apart from his peculiar approach to curbing crime.

Yuva Rajkumar and Sanjana Anand in ‘Ekka’.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

In Rohit Padaki’s third directorial, every major character gets introduced with a promise, only to fizzle away without depth. Ekka is relatable in some places, like when Muthu is shocked to see exorbitant rates at a fancy restaurant or when a bar dancer confronts men who pass demeaning comments. Muthu feels genuine when he says he came to Bengaluru in search of someone, but is now searching for his true self.

Apart from these few promising moments, Ekka narrates a clichéd story. In dire need to save his house, Muthu arrives in Bengaluru to make money. A watchable first half is built on Muthu’s courting of his neighbour Nandhini (Sanjana Anand), and his endearing bond with a little girl Pammi, who calls him Superman. Muthu’s kindness could become his biggest problem, warns a character, and it turns out to be true.

Yuva Rajkumar and Sampada Hulivana in ‘Ekka’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The screenplay keeps going around in circles, promising a surprise at every turn but settling for low-hanging fruit. Themes of betrayal, vengeance, and transformation are dealt with superficially, with the antagonists nowhere close to being convincing. Atul Kulkarni, who plays a compassionate don, is watchable as always, but you expect these actors to be put in more complex characters. Poornachandra Mysore, to an extent, stands out by exuding some energy into his caricaturish role of a loyal henchman.

The ever-dependable Charan Raj is the much-needed soul to the film with his variety of background scores that not only do justice to the gangster genre but also suit the tonal shifts of the character’s journey. Apart from complementing the slickly shot action scenes, Satya Hegde’s cinematography makes you feel like you are right in the middle of several chase sequences.

Yuva’s next is with Suri, who is a master at reinventing the crime genre. Ekka has a strong hangover of a Suri film, but falls short in matching the filmmaker’s control over telling a gripping gangster drama, like we witnessed in Jackie (2010)starring Puneeth Rajkumar.

Ekka is currently running in theatres