Ajai Rao in ‘Yuddhakaanda Chapter 2’.
| Photo Credit: A2 Music Official/YouTube

Ajai Rao-starrerYuddhakaanda Chapter 2 is a conventional legal drama with enough for those looking for complexities involved in a courtroom battle. The Pavan Bhat directorial is a deliberate crowd-pleaser, even as it does not trivialise a sensational case at its centre.

The film never aims to be an intense drama. Despite the slow start, the early episodes ofYuddhakaanda Chapter 2 are an easy watch as we see an orphan (essayed by Ajai) who works as a cashier in a hotel graduating as a lawyer. The sad reality of an inexperienced lawyer struggling to make ends meet is quite relatable. The film doesn’t milk the plight of an unpaid, young lawyer, as his dismal situation gets conveyed in a light manner.

So, when our hero, Bharath Hanumanth, decides to go up against famous lawyer Robert D’Souza (Prakash Belawadi), he is belittled by his boss for taking up an “open and shut case.” A single mother (Archana Jois) kills a youngster accused of molesting her school-going daughter. Police encounters are seen as a model of instant justice. But what if the accused gets shot by someone related to the victim in the presence of police and lawyers inside the court premises?

Ajai Rao is credited for the film’s screenplay, while Pavan has written the story and dialogues apart from direction. Throughout the movie, you feel the difference in the sensibilities of a yesteryear star and a new-gen filmmaker. While it’s not a bad mix, it’s not perfect, as we see how an over-dramatised villain can dent an intriguing plot.

The opposition lawyer is portrayed as a clown just because the makers want the audience to be disgusted with him. Prakash Belawadi doesn’t need to be theatrical to be evil. His snarky smile and effortless ability to bring a sense of evil satire to his characters are enough to hate him on screen. Despite being a given stereotypical representation, Prakash still emerges as the best performer.

Yuddhakaanda Chapter 2 offers enough challenges for both lawyers. The twists and turns in the case and the gripping exchanges between the lawyers keep the courtroom scenes engaging. The dignified presence of TS Nagabharana, who plays the judge, is a bonus. The dialogues are sharp, with a strong take on trial-by-media being one of the best.

The film, like most of the Indian legal movies, takes cinematic liberty in its narration. The child victim’s identity gets disclosed, contrary to the law, but the most obvious artistic expression is the heroic interpretation of the winning lawyer.

Ajai, as a hard-working advocate with a big heart, is relatable. But he is wobbly, as this lawyer who has an emotional attachment to his case. His emotionally charged monologue in the climax is modeled on the tone of V Ravichandran’s lead character in the film’s predecessor, Yudhakaanda, released in 1989. However, that film was tailor-made for its time. More than two decades later, you expect less melodrama in a courtroom film, but Yudhakaanda Chapter 2 proves otherwise. The exaggerated performance of Ajai and Archana in the climax was a major shortcoming for me.

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Ajai’s Bharath Hanumanth is a far cry from ‘Lion’ Jagapathi Rao, the titular character essayed by Vishnuvardhan in the 1991 movie. Even back then, the lead character was invincible, as Jagapathi is compared to a lion. However, Vishnuvardhan brings a sense of great control in his performance during the charged-up arguments inside the court. Even thespian Dr Rajkumar, in Dhruva Thare (1989), is brilliant as a lawyer with authoritative body language and effortless dialogue delivery.

On the small screen, TN Seetharam’s long-running Muktha appealed to a wide section of the audience for its interesting trials and emotionally resonating sub-plots. The massive popularity of the serial shows the demand for the genre from the family crowd. Yuddhakaanda Chapter 2 could well reignite the genre in Kannada cinema.