‘UI’ movie review: Upendra’s political commentary is a one-of-a-kind experience

Actor-director Upendra in ‘UI’.
| Photo Credit: Lahari Films/YouTube

A few minutes into Upendra’s much-awaited UI,the screen went blank, leading to murmurs from the audience that it was a trick from the actor-filmmaker to leave them confused. Upendra’s previous directorial, Uppi 2, surprised people with a scene where the screen goes blank. That time, it was intentional, but in my screening of UI, it was just a case of a projection glitch. Having served a generation with his idiosyncratic ideas on the big screen, Upendra’s reputation as an unpredictable filmmaker makes people expect the unexpected.

After a nine-year gap, Upendra returns as a director and gives a film that can almost boast of not having a single predictable scene. He breaks the filmmaking grammar in his trademark manner and makes UI worthwhile despite its shortcomings.

The film is another take on Upendra’s pet theme of questioning the system and reiterating the importance of focusing on the truth. UI delightfully offers a psychological spin to the mythological tale of Kalki. Mother Nature, Adam and Eve, and even The Buddha are central to the plot, making UI many movies inside one movie.

Set in a make-believe world where people from all countries co-exist, Upendra aims at something improbable with a go-for-broke style of filmmaking. His enterprising mind gets help from a solid VFX team, the humongous effort from art director J Shivakumar, and Ajaneesh Lokanath’s unique score.

Playing the protagonist, Upendra writes a character for himself that offers the shock therapy for which he is known. The film is replete with metaphors, a lot of them relatable in today’s context. Be it mob mentality, caste discrimination, religious violence, Instagram addiction, blind faith, corrupt politicians, and a joker who sits on the fence without taking sides, Upendra takes a dig at everything he feels is malice to mankind.

Despite its inventive ideas, UI suffers from generic portions that affect the film’s overall quality. Upendra tries to offer a larger-than-life, ‘mass’ touch to the protagonist and fails in the process. A couple of night effect action sequences are extremely jarring, impeding the film’s flow. The heroine’s (Reshma Nanaiah) track gets a formulaic treatment and a tepid conclusion.

Upendra is blunt with his views and metaphors in UI. The sharp satire in his previous movies goes missing in this film. For instance, in his political drama Super (2010), he mocks people’s hypocritical thinking with a long monologue that hits you with its remarkable irony. That’s the kind of impact UI fails to make despite its audacious premise.

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UI is Upendra’s most political film yet, but the film is quite weak on entertainment quotient. We miss the peppy numbers that match the vibe of Upendra’s quirky ideas. The set pieces in UI have a serious tone and don’t give the adrenaline rush we experienced in his yesteryear hits such as A (1998)and Upendra (1999). Perhaps the filmmaker now prefers serious commentary over a message enhanced with a cinematic high.

The first and the last 15 minutes of UI are the most incredible portions of Kannada cinema in 2024. Apart from the twisted climax, the film is quite easy to comprehend, quashing the talks about the film being a mind-bending drama. Despite indulging a tad too much in his favourite theme, Upendra offers a unique experience with UI, making him one of the most original filmmakers of Kannada cinema.

UI is currently running in theatres.