Roshagadu – why did no one tell me about you?

KSR Doss takes Chiru, Madhavi and Silk Smitha on a wild jaunt, and I was positively delighted to tag along. Any film that includes speedboat chases, ninjas, karate, and a hot pink sequinned cowboy suit has a good chance at winning me over. Add some feisty women, amazing and hilarious action, Chiru in a double role, and I could not ask for more. Well, except for decent print quality and some subtitles.

Sikander (Chiranjeevi) is a smooth criminal with an aversion to shirts. He seems to be taking advantage of the silliness of the two local crimelords, playing Tyagu (Thyagaaraju) and Bhayankar (Kannada Prabhakar) off each other and emerging triumphant with the loot. In his spare time Sikander frolics on the beach with a bevy of lovely ladies in retro bathers and sensible hats.

I like the bit where he rolls one of them into the water so he can sunbathe in her spot. A charmer, but not a gentleman.  But did I mention he has a lair! Concealed in a temple and only accessible via a secret and overly complicated thingie! The lock mechanism appears to rely on angle of the sun or time of day, although I have no idea why and it does rather limit the usefulness of the construction. Sikander also has a secret red book hidden in a secret (but unlocked) cupboard.

Main villain Bhayankar is prone to over-elaboration and has an addiction to the double cross that is almost endearing.  Amongst his assets, he has a gang of bikers whose jackets helpfully spell out KILL. Sikander pops out of Bhayankar’s car boot mid-execution, says hi and then takes both the money and the box. He has such swag! And Bhayankar has nothing to counter him with.

Tyagu is more bumbling than Bhayankar, although his style is far more flamboyant. I became quite fond of Tyagu’s henchman in the stripey top as he looked faintly embarrassed at the ridiculous shenanigans around him, and his outfit helped me identify which gang I was looking at.

Meanwhile on a train, Miss Neelima (Silk Smitha), a club dancer gets caught up in a smuggling racket when the contraband is hidden in her makeup case. The police find the diamonds but Sikander finds the police AND the diamonds. Neelima knows he is a fake, so now she knows she once had the diamonds, she wants them, and she knows who has them. However she does show appalling judgement by doing a Faux-gyptian club number with a toga clad man who is not Chiranjeevi. Silk is funny and fiery as Neelima and I really enjoyed seeing her in a more substantial role. She tackles the action scenes with energy and grit, and while Neelima uses her charms she is not just in the story for her looks.

Sikander and all the baddies disguise themselves to attend a wedding so they can steal the jewels. The others don’t know that Sikander has formed an alliance with Neelima. She impersonates the bride and after all the double double crosses go down, she whips off her mask, wig, and saree, and the game is afoot! There is a fun sequence of keepings off with the case full of bridal bling before Sikander finally scarpers with the haul.

After a bit of mutual keyhole peeping, a skanky dance ensues (and apologies, I can only find the Hindi version of some songs online). I like that while her dress seemed vaguely improvised and towellish, she had matching suede wedges. Very organised. I couldn’t quite work out why Neelima tipped Bhayankar off about the secret book and let him in to the swanky apartment. Sikander escapes and hands off The Book to a bloke on the roadside. The respite is brief as he is shot and his car crashes, eventually plunging into the sea, rendering him Completely Dead.

Srikanth (Chiru with a different hairdo) looks just like Sikander but spends his time dancing cutesy duets with Madhavi. She is from a rich family while he and his little sister seem to be a lot less well off. Madhavi’s character doesn’t get much screen time but she is quite interesting. She seemed quite forthright with her father when he took exception to Srikanth, and she doesn’t waste a lot of time on crying or pouting. She is ready to do what needs to be done from supporting Srikanth in his goals to kicking a few of her own.

Srikanth’s sister is set upon by sleazebags who decide rape is as good a way as any to while away a rainy afternoon. She puts up a very good fight and as her bro was out looking for her anyway, Srikanth is soon on the spot. He drives a tractor through the door and then repeatedly throws the rapists through each of the remaining walls. How did this building ever stand? Srikanth is seen by Tyagu’s men (bless that stripey man for gang identification). Bhayankar’s man saw him too so everyone thinks they have a chance at getting back at Sikander.

Neelima and Srikanth end up in Bhayankar’s lair. They put the pieces together – he is missing a significant mole so cannot be Sikander, and she is actually a police officer! Then they escape by pushing some cardboard boxes out of the way. I don’t think anyone in this film nailed the functional specs for their respective lairs. Bhayankar recaptures Srikanth easily enough and kidnaps his sister too. They tie Srikanth to the hood of a jeep and make him watch as they run over his sister. He escapes and swears vengeance.

He starts boot camp under Madhavi’s loving gaze and learns karate, perfects some Jedi mind trick to shoot things without looking at them, does motorcycle tricks, horse riding, stuff. Srikanth really embraced Sikander’s style. And sets his plan in motion by performing at the night club wearing a hot pink sparkly cowboy outfit (the video should start at the beginning of the song. Have your sunglasses ready to protect against the glare!).

And just when you think that might not work, a Ninja suited goon in the audience jumps up and runs away…But why no sign of Srikanth in pursuit?

Of course. He stopped to change into appropriate duelling attire.

Tyagu and Bhayankar join forces to get rid of pesky Srikanth. They kidnap Madhavi who had the secret red book. But Srikanth and Neelima are both in hot pursuit as the police largely stand back and let the vigilantes take care of justice. Silk is all kinds of awesome as Neelima goes to rescue Madhavi, and the ladies win their freedom. Doss throws EVERYTHING into the mix, starting with the duel and then adds a dollop of vehicular vengeance and a bit of “karate”.

The trove is revealed and baddies rejoice in their pick of the bling – but then a shot rings out. After an excellent fight with lots of polystyrene props being smashed, Bhayankar and Srikanth run off to the finale. They narrowly miss the ladies who have come to rescue Srikanth. They don’t seem too fussed and take the opportunity to beat everyone to a pulp. You go girls! But that’s not all. Let me just say the Karma Bus made an appearance. And it’s a good thing Srikanth was wearing sensible leather trousers.

This is a fun film that has little substance but a lot to enjoy. B movies often had the best heroines and I really liked Madhavi and Silk and their characters, with everything staying on the right side of improbable. Chiranjeevi is in his element as both the suave thief and the righteous hero. 3 ½ stars!