Cast: Ramesh Aravind, Radhika Narayan, Avinash, and Raghu Ramanakoopa

Directed By: Akash Srivatsa

Rating: 3 Stars 

*Spoiler-free review*

Kannada films had a bunch of good thrillers released in recent years such as RangiTaranga (2015) and Kavaludaari (2019). Shivaji Surathkal can arguably be in this category if it had avoided some flaws and cliches. 

The film is a whodunit, so we will try to summarize the plot without spoilers. 

The story begins with the murder of a youngster in a hotel in a village called Ranagiri near Madikeri who is the son of the home minister which takes place in a village called Ranagiri near Madikeri. Shivaji Surathkal investigator from the crime branch gets the high- profile case to solve who is known as a guy who solves the crime with his imagination without being at the crime scene. Shivaji Surathkal itself has gone threw a major tragedy in his life and this track goes parallel to the track of Shivaji solving the murder mystery. 

The film has all the ingredients of a whodunit such as the gaslighting effect and red herrings. The director Akash tried to give a supernatural effect to the story which works in the first half of the film but that gets over in the interval itself.  

The second half is where the narration loses it's grip especially the climax where the reason behind the murder gets revealed which can create doubt of reason among the audience. The romantic track or the relationship of Shivaji and his wife played by Radhika Narayan also looks a bit stretched which doesn't hold much with unnecessary song sequence which hurdles the narrative, 

Performance-wise Ramesh Aravind is in his top game, the film is on his shoulders and the seasoned actor doesn't disappoint.

The actor who impressed with his performance and comic timing is Raghu Ramanakoopa the sidekick of Shivaji who makes the audience feel his presence by his performance in spite of a small role.  

Radhika Narayan who plays the wife of Shivaji has a brief role but gave a decent performance. Rest all the actors who have appeared as the suspect gave a good performance as the writer gives a reason and motive behind each of the characters. 

The editing and sound effects of the film are a major highlight of the film, especially in the second half. The cinematography adds to the intrigue and tension that is required for a film of this genre and successfully makes it an edge of the seat. 

Overall, Shivaji Suratkal: The Case Of Ranagiri Rahasya is a decent thriller if the makers could have avoided cliches and flaws in the screenplay it could have been even better. Still, you can give it a try for its honesty towards the genre.