Avni ki Kismat – A good Roar!!!

Avni ki Kismat – A good Roar!!!

Shonet Barretto Fate of Avni is a good roar to gain the audience attention and “Save the Tiger” campaign. When our very own PM imports the Big Cats from other countries. The Big Cat productions brings us a story from the home ground on how Indian Tigers or animals at large are being made suffer for few men to quench their greed of thirst to occupy more land. The film is commendable and makes an interesting watch.

The film is in competition on the Indian language’s films segment of the Indo-German Film Festival 2024. The film though inspired by the true events is fictionalized and is not a documentary. It does justice to the subject matter. Avni – termed as the “maneater” of Pandharkawda was shot dead in 2018, accused of killing 13 people in Maharashtra. Her story is the inspiration behind the film.

Avni, the Tigress residing in the jungles of India closer to the village inhabitants is blamed to be a man-eater when they encounter multiple deaths caused by an animal. There are no witnesses or any affirmation or successful investigation claiming the same. The weaker system and personal interests of few men in power lead this to Avni’s fate. They collaboratively claim that Avni is responsible for all these deaths and hence shall be Killed. This is the conflict that is led by Forest conservationist Mihir beautifully essayed by Sanjay Suri.

Sanjay Suri with his performance does brings in the required gravitas to the whole situation. He is empathetic to the wildlife and has the similar upbringing to his daughter who eventually leads the mission to save the Avni as fate was destined for her to lead. Essayed by Ashlesha Thakur who is in the skin of her character and slips into the shoes of Mihir smoothly as the situation demands. Shruti Bapna plays another conflict in Mihir’s life as she isn’t happy with Mihir’s priorities. She is believable. And the primary conflict remains the core of the film to save Avni, to save the conspiracies of encroaching forest land for one own interest.

The cinematography is good and some of the shots do standout. However, everything is subtle. The truth is never out on what was causing the deaths of villagers if Avni was not the man-eater. Even if these deaths were caused by Avni, nothing really comes out in that zone leaving you wondering to what happened, investigations were left in middle. The film editing could have been crisper and more integrated. Some of the shots though part of the theme they look isolated.

The film has a soulful background score well integrated. Shubha Mugdal vocals do justice and succeed to showcase the right agony. Avni speaks to you through her vocals, lyrics of the song well written. All this does make “Avni ki Kismat” an immersive watch. The film succeeds to give their purpose a direction, making it a good Roar.

PK Verdict: Silver ⭐️⭐️⭐️