III (3) movie review: Three times the Gore

Director: Srinivasa Raju
Cast: P Ravi Shankar, Pooja Gandhi, Makarand Deshpande, Ravi Kale, Tabla Naani, Shruthi and others
Rating: 1 star

This film with a strange name III is essentially the third part of Dandupalya, and it sets a dangerous path for other film makers who make films on crime. The film by Srinivasa Raju is a graphical explanation of how a gang raped and murdered innocent people in Bengaluru (mostly) between the years 1996 and 2001. There is no special twist to the story, and it delves into the police version with a bit of research alleging that some of the evidence was created as there was no proof to convict the killers.

Stories take many liberties, but this filmmaker takes liberties with the minds of the audience. Showing murder after murder, and rape after rape does not make for a good script. The plot might have been more apt if it delved into how the police cracked the case. Done in a simple manner, you wonder why the law waited for 80 more murders before catching these criminals. But instead of showing the complexity of the crime and investigation, this film only shows the crime being done. The gruesome explanation about how sound is created by the body — that of letting out air and blood when a neck is cut, is repetitive and meant to shock audiences, even though, the same scenes were present in the first part as well. Possibly to cater to a cruder mentality.

The film starts with a journalist exposing the police after they plant evidence to convict the gang members in court. The police officer goes on to explain why the evidence was tampered with. And admits that only two pages of the evidence was recreated, though the rest of the allegations were true. There are very few palatable aspects to this film, one of them is the background score. The filmmaking is also well done, thank to good photography. A fast narrative, it moves quickly from scene to scene. Of course, the element of blood and gore is heightened and the gory details of rape could have been reduced given its influence on the audience. It is sad to see such glorification in committing a crime. If you are game for shocking scenes watch III, otherwise give it a royal miss.