You’ve got to hand it to Ravi Basrur; diving headfirst into Veera Chandrahasa feels like witnessing a genuine act of creative courage. Forget dipping toes – this is a full immersion.
What Sandalwood gets here isn’t just another costume drama; it’s a radical attempt to fuse the raw, electrifying energy of a live Yakshagana performance with the language of cinema. While films have flirted with Yakshagana before, Basrur goes all in: every character is decked out, painted, and performs precisely as they would on the traditional stage.
Imagine the most vivid Yakshagana show you’ve seen – the kaleidoscope of costumes, the masks that seem alive, the booming, rhythmic music (seriously, this film borders on being a full-blown musical), the dialogues delivered with stage-perfect projection, and acting that embraces grand gestures. Now, picture that captured by cameras, given close-ups and dynamic angles. That’s Veera Chandrahasa. It’s like someone built a movie theatre around a Yakshagana stage. Even if you’ve never stepped foot near a performance, the sheer spectacle is something to behold.
The story itself is an old favourite, the saga of Chandrahasa, prophesied to rule the ancient land of Kuntala. It’s a tale with deep roots in classic texts and has seen screen life before (most famously, perhaps, with the legendary Dr. Rajkumar back in 1965). Basrur’s version, however, doesn’t just borrow the plot; it lives and breathes the specific way Yakshagana artists have told this story for generations.
Where the film occasionally trips over its own elaborate robes is in moments of jarring modernity. The dedication to the Yakshagana spirit is fantastic, but throwing in contemporary gags (think ‘420’ jokes) feels like hearing a cellphone ring during a historical reenactment – it pulls you right out of the carefully constructed world.
Performance-wise, Prasanna Shettigar as the conniving Minister Dushtabuddi is a force of nature. His resonant voice and commanding presence fill the screen; he doesn’t just play the character, he inhabits him. And honestly, one of the film’s biggest wins is its soundscape. The music isn’t just background noise; it’s practically a character itself, pulsing with energy and enhancing every scene.
So, Veera Chandrahasa isn’t simply two-and-a-half hours of entertainment. It’s a statement. It’s Ravi Basrur planting a flag for a traditional art form within mainstream cinema, testing the waters and seeing what’s possible. It has hiccups, sure, particularly that odd clash of old and new humour. But the sheer audacity of the vision, the almost overwhelming sensory experience that brings Yakshagana’s unique pageantry to cinema, makes it a venture worth applauding and, for anyone curious about cultural fusion or visual feasts, definitely worth experiencing.
Film: Veera Chandrahasa Director: Ravi Basrur Starring: Shithil Shetty Airbail, Prasanna Shettigar, Nagashree GS, Uday Kadabal Runtime: 154 minutes Censor: UA 7+ Our Take: ★★★½ (3.5 Stars)
