Roberrt Movie Review: Darshan steals the show in new avatar

Darshan, popularly known as Challenging Star of Sandalwood, is back on the big screen after a gap of a year and a half with an action-packed film. ‘Roberrt’ released on Thursday on the occasion of Maha Shivratri doesn’t disappoint fans of Darshan and lives up to the promise made by director Tharun Kishore Sudhir.

Tarun Sidhir gives a complete makeover to Darshan’s hitherto image as a mass actor known for lengthy dialogues to entertain his fans. Though Darshan sends the goons flying in fighting scenes is a different matter. The director shows his skill in balancing family emotions and action scenes to captivate both Darshan’s fans and larger audience.

The film opens in Lucknow where Darshan (Raghava) lives with his son Arjun and is a head cook at a Brahmin's catering unit. Raghava is a god-fearing and peace-loving man with one ambition -- to lead a peaceful life with his son. But his son is totally opposite of Raghava, always thinking of revenge and finds it difficult to have a peaceful sleep unless he settles scores those who insults his father. The first half is all about father-son love drama with some comedy, romance and emotions thrown in, till Arjun gets into trouble with local don Ram Tripathi. This part of the film where Raghava is forced to get into violent mode, is a treat for the fans. A transition from Raghava to Roberrt at the interval stage is wow movement. Raghava’s encounter with Ram Tripathi who is also connected to Raghava's past enemy, will set the tone for the second half.

The first half of the film is a treat to watch, though the audience is left in no doubt about a flashback story for Raghava. Director Tarun makes it convincing by not overdoing the drama in this segment. Chikkanna as Agni and Shivaraj KR Pete as Bobby provide much of the entertainment in the first half.

The second half of the film is brisk paced and moves into a flashback that shows the other side of Raghava as Roberrt. Roberrt is a big name in the underworld. Second half falls flat in some places with the entry of Jagapathi Babu, Ravi Shankar and Vinod Prabhakar. Entire second half (flashback episode) will shift to Mangaluru port and revolves around Darshan and Jagapathi Babu, Ravi Shankar and Vinod Prabhakar.

A few scenes in the second half will give you a sense of déjà vu. The climax fight bears some resemblance to Tamil blockbuster Vedalam, with the hero avoiding projecting a bad guy image in front of his son. Also there is a some resemblance to Baasha (a seemingly innocent man with a violent past).

Heroin Asha Bhat has not much scope to show her histrionics. She is there just for glamour. Senior actor Devaraj’s role is limited to narrate the background of Robbert. Roberrt brings in all the needed masala elements, with comedy, action and emotions added in generous amounts, but could have been better in the second half.

It is Darshan's show all the way and he manages to entertain very well, with both his charm and his new avatar. The film sets a benchmark for technicians who have tried their best to keep the audience engaged. Cinematographer Sudhakar S Raj deserves praise for capturing rich visuals. The music by Arjun Janya is really good.

Tarun teams up with Darshan for the first time in Roberrt and they both live up to the pre-release hype.

Written by Nischith N