45 (2025) [Movie Review] — Big Stars, Bigger Ideas

Arjun Janya’s 45 is an ambitious, crowd-pleasing Kannada fantasia that attempts to marry pulse-pounding action with existential inquiry. The composer-turned-director assembles a powerhouse cast — Shiva Rajkumar, Upendra, and Raj B. Shetty — and stages a film that often feels like a tribute to its stars as much as it is a story about fear, fate, and the fine line between life and death. For viewers who enjoy star-driven spectacle spliced with spiritual overtones, 45 has plenty to offer; for those seeking a focused, philosophically rigorous drama, its thematic scatter can be frustrating.

Plot & Themes

A near-death moment branches into paranoia, mythology, and moral reckonings

The film pivots on a small, eerily specific event: a traffic light that counts down 45 seconds. Raj B. Shetty’s Vinay survives a horrific road accident and returns to life with a crippling obsession — a constant sense that death is stalking him. What begins as a psychological tremor expands into layered narratives: dreamlike sequences, documentary-styled detours into Garuda Purana lore, and parallel realities that blur the border between perception and truth. Arjun Janya frames the story as an exploration of five human fears — loss of money, friends, love, family, and the ultimate anxiety of death — but the screenplay’s appetite for grand ideas sometimes outpaces its ability to explore any one in depth.

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Performances

Three stalwarts and scene-stealers anchor an uneven script

The film’s strongest asset is its actors. Raj B. Shetty carries the emotional core: his portrayal of a man unraveling under the weight of mortality is both believable and quietly affecting. Upendra’s Rayappa — a rustic, justice-obsessed figure — brings gravitas and unpredictability, while Shiva Rajkumar’s Shivappa provides the film with a benevolent moral center: a protector whose calm presence steadies the narrative’s more fevered tangents. Supporting turns from Kaustubha Mani, Manasi Sudhir (as Vinay’s mother), and a roster of familiar faces add texture, though several subplots and cameos feel undercooked and primarily designed to showcase star moments rather than deepen character arcs.

Direction & Technical Craft

Confident visuals, mixed VFX, and a bold choice to skip songs

Arjun Janya demonstrates a clear visual sensibility: the cinematography is polished, VFX sequences are imaginative (if inconsistent), and the decision to forgo conventional song breaks gives the film a tauter momentum. The background score — no surprise, given Janya’s musical pedigree — is effective, heightening tension when required. However, the directorial debut occasionally betrays its inexperience; tonal shifts between metaphysical rumination and crowd-pleasing action can feel abrupt, and certain sequences tilt toward fan-service callbacks that undermine narrative cohesion.

Pacing & Screenplay

Rich in ideas, thin in sustained emotional development

45 brims with concept — karmic justice, ritual, mortality — but the screenplay’s breadth becomes a liability. The second half ramps up into chase sequences, confrontations with goons, and extended set-pieces that dilute the film’s introspective promise. Comic beats and light-hearted interactions sometimes clash with the darker spiritual motifs, producing a tonal unevenness. While surprises in the climax lean into spirituality and may delight viewers who prefer spectacle with their metaphysics, those hoping for quieter, character-led revelations may find the emotional payoff intermittent.

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Final Verdict

A unique, if overloaded, experiment worth a look for fans

45 is a fascinating, flawed debut: a film of big ideas and bigger star moments that occasionally trips over its own ambitions. Technically confident and narratively adventurous, it does ask a lot of its audience — patience, willingness to suspend disbelief, and an appetite for devotional intensity mixed with mass action. For fans of Rajkumar, Upendra, and Raj B. Shetty, and for viewers who appreciate genre experiments that aim for scale, 45 is a compelling watch. For those who expect a streamlined philosophical drama, the film’s fan service and episodic structure may leave you wanting.

Rating: 6.5/10