Title: Bank of Bhagyalakshmi, Banner: Shree Devi Entertainers, Producer: H. K. Prakash Gowda, Director: Abhishek M, DOP: Abhishek G. Kasaragod, Music Director: Judah Sandhy Cast: Dheekshith Shetty, Brinda Acharya, Gopala Krishna Deshpande, Sadhu Kokila, Sruthi Hariharan and others.
When, without prior preparation, the robbery of a bank is attempted, what happens is the crux of the film—told rather carelessly in the first half and very tidily with a few strong points in the second half. The belief that you receive according to your destiny seems to be the director’s central thought.
The concept of an Assembly elections backdrop and the terrific point of money playing a vital role—especially from the point of view of politicians—is a startling revelation. The hundreds of crores stored in the rural cooperative bank and the struggle involved in transporting them strike the mind.
Of course, the story is not very familiar on the Kannada screen, although we saw a terrific Nishkarsha made 35 years ago. The same zeal and enthusiasm should have been multifold in this Bank of Bhagyalakshmi. That is because today’s youths like director Abhishek are quite forward in outlook.
A Bhagyalakshmi Cooperative Bank is the focal point of the film. Five youths—Kanaka, Yoganand, Ananda, Dhanraj, and Yuvaraj—hesitantly decide to loot the bank, and they come up with some silly ideas. All of them wanderers struggling to eke out a living, armed with one pistol and some make-up materials, barge inside the bank to rob the money. They wear plastic animal masks to hide their identity on the prominent roads, so that any inquiry goes futile. As they take the Bhagyalakshmi Bank hostage along with regular customers and staff, they find nothing in the strong room except ₹66,999. In such a hapless situation, they get locked inside because of a fault in the main door. So someone outside has to help them get out.
Soon after the interval, they find another locker, and it possesses huge unaccounted money obviously belonging to politicians. The calculations of Kanaka and friends also naturally change upon seeing so much money. Outside the bank, there is strict police vigilance. Escaping with the money and safeguarding the hostages becomes top priority. A few emotional moments change the attitude of Kanaka and friends. When they realize the huge money is unaccounted, further twists mount up and curiosity builds.
What happens to the huge money underneath the Bhagyalakshmi Bank, what police action is taken, how the politicians are disturbed, how the money is given the right treatment, what happens to Kanaka and his team, and how the bank employees and customers are given solace… you have to watch it on the silver screen.
Dheekshith in the lead has given the right temperament to his acting—he looks good and performs very well. Brinda Acharya is much more talented than what this performance utilizes. The cop character, Gopalakrishna Deshpande, and one of the five robbers who is outside, give admirable support. Sruthi Hariharan in a guest role is quite OK.
The cinematography is outstanding. Among the songs, the Shiva song sung by Usha Bhandari’s character is superb. The lyrics are very good too.
Bank of Bhagyalakshmi, deserves a few minutes of trimming from its 152-minute duration. On the whole, this BB is worth watching for some reality check and treatment.