An adult comedy with a prudent twist

Bengaluru: For most of its rather short run-time, Raghavendra Stores is an adult-comedy of the Jaggesh variety with plenty of innuendos and double entendres. A 40-year-old bachelor and his desperate attempts to find a bride for himself forms the basic plot of the story. When he does finally marry one, the next challenge is to consummate it. So it is not surprising that the entire film is littered with risque dialogues, suggestive puns and adult jokes.

Hayavadana is 40 and is doing a good job at managing his father's old restaurant. What he is unable to manage is his personal life which is a debacle owing to his failure to find a wife. Despite repeated and dedicated attempts over the years he never lands a wife and married bliss eludes him. To make matters worse, even his younger brother is married which adds to his inferiority complex. The blame is on his profession, which apparently no wouldbe bride prefers in a husband.

However this issue is treated in a shallow manner. With the government schemes and promises to encourage marriages with priests and farmers and a real social problem boiling over, a little more dwelling into the problem may have done the film some good. Nonetheless the film is dedicated to Hayavadana's never-ending quest. There is a subplot about a politician which tries to give the comedy a more serious touch. It becomes the cornerstone of the unexpected twists the story gets in the last 15-20 minutes.

The adult comedy transforms into a much more nuanced take on prevalent social issues in the very last segment of the film. But without a proper buildup to it, it feels segmented and an afterthought. The final message, however good, is out of place in the rest of the movie which had a more jovial and carefree tone. The cast is perfect with Jaggesh, though still playing a younger role, matches the description.

Shwetha Srivatsav plays her character to perfection and carries the role effortlessly. Dattanna is his good old self who can infuse life into any character. Achyuth, Mithra and Ravishankar Gowda cannot be faulted. Composer Ajaneesh reminds us of his work in Kantara at a few places. His contribution to the film’s narration is commendable.

Technically, no effort is spared to make the film look eye-pleasing. The film has a strong message which unfortunately is relegated to the very end. If it were more evenly spread across the film, maybe Raghavendra Stores would have been a much more effective film.