Suraj Productions’ 45 (dubbed from the Kannada film of the same name; UA) is a philosophical drama.
A common man, Vinay (Raj B. Shetty), accidentally runs over the dog of a local underworld don, Rayappa (Upendra). The grief-stricken don confronts Vinay and gives him 45 days to reflect on his actions and relive life, after which he would seek revenge for the death of his dog. According to the Garuda Purana, the human soul takes 45 days to reach its final destination. Anyway, a petrified Vinay meets Shivanna (Shiva Rajkumar) who becomes his protector of sorts. Meanwhile, Vinay gets vivid dreams that frighten him even more. As the 45-day deadline comes close, Vinay struggles to outwit Rayappa. Shivanna stands with him as they confront cosmic justice, culminating in a resolution that fuses philosophy with action, life with death, and the consequences of one man’s choices.
Arjun Janya has written an extremely philosophical story in which Rayappa represents the God of Death. Such a philosophical story will not be appreciated by the masses at all. His screenplay is slow-moving and boring. The drama, therefore, fails to hold the viewers’ attention. While a few scenes are novel in concept, the overall drama is neither convincing nor entertaining. Anil Kumar’s dialogues are not up to the mark. They often get preachy.
Shiva Rajkumar acts well as Shivanna. Upendra is good in the role of Rayappa. Raj B. Shetty is alright as Vinay. Kaustubha Mani does a fair job as Meghana. Rajendran is adequate as Muthu. Jisshu Sengupta makes his presence felt. Pooja Ramachandran is alright. Sudharani leaves a mark in a special appearance. Vijayalakshmi Singh, Pramod Shetty, Manasi Sudheer, Ramesh Pandit, Arasu, Jafar Sadiq, Mimicry Gopi, Manju Pavagada, Surya Praveen, Nanda Kishore, Malya Bagalakote, Priya Savadi, Jeethu Santhosh, Aadi Madhugiri, Shiva Balaji, Ghanashyam Sankla, Imran, Rana Gowda, Ranjith, Thrivedi Nag, Janardhan, baby Lekhana, master Arya Swaroop and the rest do as desired.
Arjun Janya’s direction is weak. He has made a uni-dimensional film without many of the ingredients of a commercial fare, like romance and song-dance sequences. His narration is quite uneven. What’s more, the drama becomes predictable after a point of time. Arjun Janya’s music comprises only one item song which is excellent. Lyrics are okay. Choreography of the item song is superb. Arjun Janya’s background music ought to have been more effective. Satya Hegde’s cinematography is excellent. Visual effects and computer graphics are way below the mark at many places. Mohan Pandit and Ravi Santhehaklu’s art direction is appealing. K.M. Prakash’s editing leaves something to be desired. Dubbing is fair.
On the whole, 45 is a weak fare and will, therefore, flop at the box-office.
Released on 1-1-’26 at Gossip (daily 4 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Zee Studios. Publicity: poor. Opening: very ordinary (in spite of today being a partial holiday and notwithstanding the fact that it has opened in very few cinemas). …….Also released all over. Opening was weak everywhere.