Karma (2024): Engaging but not unique

Karma (2024), an Odia film, drew an almost houseful audience on a Friday evening in Chennai, suggesting it would be an engaging watch—and it was. Starring Anubhav Mohanty, the plot revolves around a familiar theme of a police encounter specialist, with a message of “Destiny strikes back,” highlighting how past misdeeds return to haunt the wrongdoers, justifying the title. However, the film attempts to weave too many narratives, and in its effort to maintain suspense, it ends up resembling an anthology rather than a cohesive story. Consequently, Mangoidiots rates it as a Raw.

The character of the supercop, portrayed by Anubhav Mohanty, is established as ruthless and unforgiving in the opening scenes, which he executes convincingly. The sequences featuring a young couple in love are well-crafted, with (debut) Manmay Dey and Divyadisha Mohanty delivering impressionable performances. Choudhury Jayaprakash Das, as the graveyard keeper, effortlessly handles both present and flashback scenes, and his dance at the bus stand upon learning of his doctor son’s arrival is a delight to watch. The debut actor Sanoj Kumar as Sanjeev, a young cop who joins the squad team, looks familiar in his appearance and has done good.

The music by Ashish Pradhan and the choreography, though typical of gangster films, with songs like “Chirang, Chirang” and “Dimka Dim Dhitdham,” are rhythmic and dance-worthy. They were well-received by the audience, with children dancing in the aisles.
Up to the interval, the film keeps us guessing about the motives, which is a significant plus. However, post-interval, the plot becomes predictable and loses momentum. At 167 minutes, the film feels lengthy, and a sharper edit could have made Karma hit the mark more effectively.

Anubhav Mohanty excels in the action sequences as the encounter specialist. However, in emotional and dialogue-heavy scenes, he is frequently seen smoking. In the three-hour film, it felt as if I had smoked a hundred cigarettes myself. It seems unnecessary for a supercop, unlike a gangster, to be a chain smoker. As a former Member of Parliament, twice, it would be responsible for him to consider the health of his fans and avoiding this portrayal in future films.