Vikrant Rona review: Sudeep-starrer is ambitious but very predictable  

Kichcha Sudeep’s long-awaited and highly anticipated big-budget film Vikrant Rona (2022), which was originally titled Phantom, has been released amid high expectations. While the team deserves full marks for mounting the project on a lavish scale and living up to the hype with grand visuals, the movie falters due to the writing, which is very mediocre.

Vikrant Rona turns out to be very predictable, in spite of boasting an ambitious vision. Even the 3D experience turns out to be annoying as the film, which is mostly shot at night, feels darker than usual. It’s so dark at times that you feel like flashing a torch at the screen to see what’s actually happening. 

Set in a fictional era and village, the story follows a series of mysterious deaths, and nobody is sure who’s responsible for them – man or devil. Enter Vikrant Rona (Sudeep), a cop who has been sent as the replacement for the last inspector who was killed and found hanging upside down from the well of a haunted house in the village. As Sudeep tries to solve the mystery, he learns some secrets.

For a plot that’s as old as the hills, the film wastes a lot of time in unravelling the mystery, making the wait unbearable after a point. The entire first half hardly has a moment that makes you sit up and take notice of the grandeur. It mostly sees Sudeep lighting his cigar and walking in slow-motion as he puts together the pieces.

The intent of the makers to make the audiences feel invested in the fantasy world of Vikrant Rona is understandable, but with not much happening in the entire first half, the attempt feels completely needless. The same story could’ve been set in a regular city and the story would’ve been still interesting if too much time is not wasted on elevating Sudeep’s character. The film redeems itself in the final act when the mystery is solved and we get a bang-for-your-buck action sequence in the climax. 

The 3D in Vikrant Rona is a major disappointment as it spoils the viewing experience after a point as the story takes place predominantly at night and it’s extremely hard to follow what’s happening on the screen after a point. The film opens in the middle of a dense forest and we see a woman driving through in her car with her daughter. The car breaks down in the middle of the jungle and the woman gets down to check, as a viewer you can easily guess something’s about to happen. If the scenes are so predictable in a film that has been released as a pan-Indian project, where’s the element of suspense?

Sudeep is good and earnest as he tries to shoulder the film as much as possible. Apart from his presence, nothing quite works in the film’s favour. Ajaneesh Loknath’s music plays a key role in elevating the viewing experience but even his work can only save the film up to a point. Vikrant Rona had the potential to be a cracker of a thriller but it’s stuck somewhere trying to pander to Sudeep’s stardom and the people who have certain expectations from a pan-Indian film.