Released last week in Bombay, U.P. and Nizam, Karma Bros. Productions’ Raju James Bond (dubbed from the Kannada film of the same name; UA) is a heist drama. Raju (Guru Nandan) is an orphan and he is unemployed. He is in love with a school teacher, Vidya (Mrudula Pattanshetti). Raju has taken a loan from a bank but is unable to repay the same. His only asset, the flat bequeathed to him by his parents, is in fear of being taken over by the bank which has seized it because of his failure to repay the loan. Anyway, in his desperation, Raju loots the same bank. He is aided in the heist by his two friends.
The story is routine and offers no novelty whatsoever. Deepak Madhuvanahalli’s screenplay is weak and is just an assemblage of scenes and sequences from previous films. There is some humour, action and a dash of romance too, but nothing stands out as original or engaging. The first half is extremely boring. The drama in the post-interval portion is slightly better but that’s hardly saying anything. Dialogues are weak.
Guru Nandan does an ordinary job as Raju. Mrudula Pattanshetti is so-so as Vidya. Ravi Shankar P. is quite alright as Bhootayya. As Raju’s friend, Ramakrishna, Achyuth Kumar delivers a routine performance. Chikkanna fails to impress as TRP. Sadhu Kapila (as Tenali), Table Nani (as Vilaasananda Swami), Jai Jagadish (as police inspector Godse) and the others lend average support.
Deepak Madhuvanahalli’s direction is weak. There is nothing in the narration which would make the audience sit up and take note. Anoop Seelin’s music is dull. Lyrics are functional. V. Murali’s choreography is just about passable. Background music is so-so. Manohar Joshi’s camerawork is adequate. Mass Madha’s action and stunt scenes afford some thrill. Mohan B. Kere’s art direction hardly deserves separate mention. Amith Jawalkar’s editing leaves a lot to be desired. Dubbing is ordinary.
On the whole, Raju James Bond is a poor show all the way.