'Roopanthara' movie review: Gripping screenplay with well-crafted characters

Many would have heard of the spellbinding storyteller Scheherazade from One Thousand and One Nights. She narrated a story every night to survive another day. That’s how Mithilesh Edavalath’s debut film Roopanthara begins.

Set in a dystopian future where one’s territory is marked by the amount of fresh air left to breathe, outsiders entering the territory are shot. An old wanderer has to tell an interesting story to survive the brutality of one such group.

He narrates four different stories that come together eventually. He holds a cocoon in his hand and talks about the transformation of a worm into a beautiful butterfly. But sometimes, the worm can die and rot in its own cocoon.

Roopanthara is woven with an intriguing set of characters, the situations they encounter, the emotions they feel, and how they deal with them. Will they see a transformation (roopanthara) in themselves?

An old couple from north Karnataka visits the city. To cope with mental health issues, a drug-addicted teenager takes up an online challenge involving anti-social activities for comfort. A young police constable (Bharath G B) is left in a dilemma between right and wrong. A goon (Raj B Shetty) gets into an unwanted squabble with a young IT employee (Jaishankar Aryar). These four stories which occur simultaneously come together with Midhun Mukundan’s invigorating background music and Praveen Sriyan’s captivating frames.

The contrast between the young police constable and his senior is a stirring portrayal of the system. They both have regard for the underprivileged but the senior cop who is deep-rooted in the system refuses to take a stand, whereas his junior is desperate to walk the right path. This story was particularly interesting. A lady seeking alms (Lekha Naidu) on the roadside gets the attention of a few people when her child doesn’t ‘resemble’ her. A so-called intellectual ‘elite’ enters the scene and is adamant about putting her behind bars for child theft. This story offers an interesting observation of the different kinds of people living in a metropolis. While such cases have been reported in the city, it leaves a doubt in the audience as well. But what is the ultimate truth?

The banter between the old couple is comforting and evokes laughter until it takes a displeasing turn. An interesting fight ensues between Shetty’s character (the goon) and the IT employee while the drug-addicted teenager moves towards a final task.

Roopanthara has an engrossing storyline with a well-written screenplay. However, the writing doesn’t fully transform into the emotions the story deserves. The film also has moments of preachiness and the repeated messages can sound like a broken record.