Every film that releases tries to give you a fresh story with a different outlook on life, and 45 falls exactly in that category.
Music composer turned director Arjun Janya makes his debut with 45, an ambitious project that brings together three talented giants of Sandalwood, namely Shivarajkumar, Upendra and Raj B Shetty. Janya draws inspiration from the Garuda Purana and presents a story that blends mythology, relationships, karma, death and cosmic justice.
29-year-old Vinay (Raj B Shetty) is a middle-class software engineer whose life gets upended after he accidentally runs over a dog named Rosie. Rosie happens to be Rayappa's (Upendra) life and he, in fact, calls Rosie his 'mother'. An angry and vengeful Rayappa declares that he will get revenge on Vinay in exactly 45 days (hence the title 45). Incidentally, 45 is also the number of days it takes for a dead person's soul to reach its final destination as per the Garuda Purana.
When Vinay happens to see a documentary on this and it relates to his own life, he starts to feel fear. For a young man who dreamt of a regular life of work, marriage and kids, the encounter with Rayappa changes the trajectory of his life journey. Now, a desperate Vinay, who is looking to change his fate and the 45-day deadline, meets Shivappa / Shivu / Shivanna (Shiva Rajkumar) and this man becomes his protector who will help escape the clutches of death / Yama. So, does Vinay manage to stay alive at the end of 45 days?
Director Arjun Janya must be applauded for choosing a bold, spiritually anchored theme for his debut film and one that is unique to Kannada cinema. What he has tried to do is use less of the commercial aspects of films, like song-and-dance routines and romance, and solely focus on the three main divergent characters and their relationship. But the narrative and screenplay have lags, and the execution is uneven. Some of the scenes in the first half are too long, and we see the tried-and-tested formula being applied often.
Of course, the director does have his strengths given that he has been a successful music director. For a first-time director, the film's visuals, pacing of key action and metaphysical sequences, and balancing of the three major stars in his story must be appreciated. 45 is visually rich as it has plenty of VFX but the VFX is poorly executed in some places bringing down the film.Relying on the VFX to take forward the story rather than a strong narrative also is a negative for the film.
In a story where the metaphysical meets spectacle meets performance, it is not easy to blend a philosophical theme with mass entertainment aspects like elevating the hero, the hero's entrance, the goosebump moments thanks to the hero's dialogue, action sequences, and so on. Arjun Janya has tried his best to achieve this but only succeeds partially. The film at times feels preachy due to the dialogues, and this can cause audience fatigue. Janya has structured the screenplay as three worlds - played by the three actors - and connecting them sees some predictability, some confusion and a dilution of the core theme.
Now, Arjun Janya has also donned the role of music director of 45 and given that is one of his strengths, one expected the BGM to be outstanding. Unfortunately, the music falls short and one wonders if Janya should have roped in someone else for the music as this was a big directorial project for him.
As for the editing by KM Prakash, it could have been executed better as some transitions are very abrupt, and there seems to be an uneven rhythm. The cinematography by Satya Hegde was predicted to be one of the highlights of the movie and it is. Hegde's striking frames, especially in the superstar face-offs, for instance, create high-impact visuals and are a crowd-pleaser. But the integration of VFX and cinematography isn't seamless, and there is inconsistency.
Shivarajkumar, Upendra, and Raj B Shetty have three distinct roles, and they excel in their performances. Shivarajkumar's character is layered and has emotional weight, and his performance is one of the key highlights of 45. He displays mass-heroenergy with philosophical depth, and this is a win.
On the other hand, Upendra comes across as unpredictable and darkly engaging, and as it's unlike the usual villain tropes, he adds more drama and flair to 45. Raj B Shetty does what he does best in his films - plays an ordinary man who conveys authentic fear, vulnerability, and relatability, with such sincerity that it completely engages the audience. At its core, 45 is about the performances of these actors which truly elevates the film and is the most consistent in the story.
45 is an ambitious, philosophy-driven spectacle that blends mythology, mass moments, and existential themes, elevated by commanding performances from Shivarajkumar, Upendra, and Raj B Shetty. Music director Arjun Janya makes a promising directorial debut but next time around, he should just focus on one department.