Aarambham

The meaning of the film’s title Aarambham (beginning) and the Kannada book it is adapted from, Neenu Ninnolage Khaidi (I am a prisoner like you; by Anush A Shetty), trickles in and makes an impression towards the final portions of the film, after a few surprises are revealed. The final stretch provides answers to several questions, the most important of them involving a prison break, and is rewarding in that sense. But the journey towards these portions could have been better. Quite a bit works in favour of debut director Ajay Nag’s film — the freshness with which he and his technical team approach a sci-fi drama set in an idyllic village, not abiding by mainstream tropes — but some portions warrant patient viewing, with the ideas not translating into an engaging drama.