Bank of Bhagyalakshmi movie review: Dheekshith Shetty stars in a decent comedy caper

Over the past three weeks, Dheekshith Shetty has shown deliberate range, from the controlling boyfriend in The Girlfriend to a quirky thief in Bank of Bhagyalakshmi. His recent choices — including Blink, KTM, and Dasara — signal an intent to avoid typecasting.

In Bank of Bhagyalakshmi, directed by debutant Abhishek, Dheekshith’s character is meant to be both exaggerated and subtly humorous. His minimalist style — mischievous smile, casual dialogue, nimble body language — brings charm. However, the director’s attempt to intensify scenes involving Dheekshith with monologues feels excessive.

Bank of Bhagyalakshmi is a fun watch when it doesn’t take itself seriously. When the story takes a moral route, you sense a detachment from the proceedings. Eventually, the movie treads a familiar path after being genre-specific for the most part.

The comedy heist thriller gets rolling when a group of youngsters, led by Kanaka a.k.a. Tiger, decides to loot a bank in a village. They walk in with animal masks, and naturally, each gang member has a code name of an animal. An unexpected hurdle, combined with a lack of Plan B, forces the gang to take hostages of people inside the bank.

Director Abhishek throws at you an array of characters, both inside and outside the bank. While the investigative officer (Vishwanath Mandalika) is a stock character, a popular news-focused YouTuber (Gopalkrishna Deshpande) and a “budding journalist” (Bharath GB) help build our curiosity.

Inside the bank, there is a content creator (AS Suraj) to lighten your mood and a folk singer (Usha Bhandary) as a calming elderly presence. The bank’s accountant, played by Brinda Acharya, appears as a traditional female lead till the story gives her an interesting arc. The impending elections serve as an added conflict in the plot.

The humour, a blend of slapstick and inventive wordplay, is mostly reserved for Srivatsa, who plays one of the gang members, and the actor does a fine job. Editor Tejas Gowda’s delightfully creative transitions elevate the feel of watching a fun thriller, while Judah Sandy’s stylish score enhances the thrill inherent to the genre. A dream-like song featuring the leads is eye-catching, also thanks to Abhishek Kasargod’s stylised lighting and unconventional camera movements.

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The technical superiority of Bank of Bhagyalakshmi is let down by its writing. The sudden shift to heavy drama is jarring, bringing us down from the high of the film’s absurdity. The convoluted narration, leading up to the big reveal, clutters the main narrative. A film that began with a promise of a major climactic twist struggles under the weight of its own ambition.

Despite the shortcomings, Bank of Bhagyalakshmi is a decent comedy caper. The film is self-aware for the most part, and that works in its favour.

Bank of Bhagyalakshmi is currently running in theatres