Review: Second Case of Seetharam

Film: Second case of Seetharam
Cast: Vijay Raghavendra, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Usha Bhandary and others
Producer : Deviprasad Shetty & Sathwik Hebbar
Writer & Director : Deviprasad Shetty
Cinematographer : Hemanth
Music Director : Navaneeth Sham
Editor : Shashank Narayana
Art Director : Bhavani Shankar Anekal
Rating: 3 stars

Director Deviprasad Shetty comes up with a fairly engaging investigative thriller in the Second case of Seetharam. While the plot is reasonably well laid out and offers you enough incentive to stay interested in it, the narration is not as impressive and therefore halves the impact the film could have otherwise had on audiences.

Synopsis…

The scenic and peaceful district of Shimoga is rattled by a brutal killing and Seetharam, who has earned a reputation for being a sincere and efficient police officer, is tasked with solving the case. The case stands out for the brutal manner in which the victim has been hacked after being bound tightly by iron wires with spikes on them.

The post mortem reveals that the person who has committed the murder is a psychopath and the manner in which he has killed the victim suggests he has derived pleasure from the slow and painful death that the victim suffered.

With hardly any clues around, Seetharam is left perplexed. But even before the cops investigating the case can recover from the brutality of the crime committed, news comes in of another body found in a similar fashion.

The same pattern of killing indicates it is the same person who is at work. The top brass begins to get worried that there will be more such killings and that if the psychopath gets disturbed or annoyed, it could increase the frequency of such murders.

Racing against time, Seetharam begins to search for leads. As more murders happen, leads begin to appear. What happens then is what the film is all about…

Analysis…

The story’s plot is well laid out and the director and the writer deserve complete praise for coming up with such a plot. However, the manner in which the story is narrated in the first half of the film is slow and laidback. As a result, the film fails to draw you into it. The second half, however, is exactly the opposite of the first half. The pace of the story picks up and continues to rise well into the climax.

In other words, you could call this film a story of two halves. The first one, a slow, dull, drab half and the next, an exciting, fast-paced action thriller.

Performances:

The story primarily hinges on the character of Seetharam (played by Vijay Raghavendra) and so, Vijay Raghavendra’s performance as an actor would have had to be really good for the film to make an impact. Although the actor is impressive in certain portions of the film, there are parts in which he is found wanting. While his body language is almost perfect and makes it easy for one to buy the theory that he is a policeman, his dialogue delivery and his dialogues in particular don’t work in favour of the film. For instance, the manner in which he enquires suspects or the manner in which he chooses to ask a person for details of the suspect, almost as an after thought, dent the credibility of the plot.

On the technical front, the film has some lovely visuals. Hemanth’s cinematography is just a treat to the eyes and leave you craving for more. Naveneeth Sham’s music too is melliflous and apt.

Editing leaves a lot to be desired as there are several lengthy and unwanted scenes in the film.

On the whole, Second case of Seetharam is a reasonably well-made investigative thriller.