Martin 

The much-awaited Kannada action thriller film Martin of 2024 released in theatres on the occasion of Dussehra on October 11 with huge expectations from the audience. Directed by A. P. Arjun and based on the story of Arjun Sarja, the film was in the news due to Dhruva Sarja’s dual role, strong action and huge budget. The film also stars Vaibhavi Shandilya, Anveshi Jain, Sukrita Wagle and Nikitin Dheer in pivotal roles. Despite a budget of ₹80-150 crores and lavish VFX, the film failed to live up to the expectations of audiences and critics. The story involves complex layers of espionage, mistaken identity, revenge and international crime between Pakistan and India, but a weak screenplay and a scattered narrative diminish the film’s impact. Despite Dhruva Sarja’s hard work and the grandeur of the action sequences, the film was criticised for being “all style, no substance”. Martin became an example that just budget and action don’t make a film successful, a strong story is also important.

Martin Story

The story of the film Martin begins in Pakistan, where a mysterious man is injected with a drug that causes him to lose his memory and become aggressive. He is put in jail, but he escapes from there. With the help of some locals, he slowly remembers that he is actually Arjun Saxena, an Indian IRS officer.

Arjun learns that his target was to capture a dangerous criminal, Martin, whose special characteristic is that he kills his victims by shooting them in the left eye. Arjun contacts his friend Parashuram IPS, but Parashuram and Arjun’s friend Vivek are killed by Martin’s men in Mumbai.

Later, Arjun meets his friend Sathya and his fiancée Preeti, but suddenly Arjun’s identity changes and it is revealed that Arjun and Martin are lookalikes. The real Arjun had fallen into a coma in Pakistan, and Martin stole his identity.

Flashbacks show Arjun busting a pharmaceutical racket involving Martin and Mushtaq. Martin traps Arjun and threatens to kill his girlfriend Preeti. Arjun goes to Pakistan to catch Martin but ends up in a coma.

In the present, Arjun and Martin team up to kill Mushtaq, but eventually Martin disappears again. Three months later, Arjun learns that Martin is now living under a new identity named “Rhino” and committing crimes again.

The story is a high-octane thriller that oscillates between identity, revenge and morality.

Movie Review

There is a dangerous trend emerging in today’s Kannada cinema, especially Sandalwood – to please the heroes, story, screenplay and even direction are being ignored. Some young actors who have no special acting skills have become heroes only because of their family name. If the public forgets their family name, then these heroes are just like expensive dustbins – big in appearance, but empty inside.

Within a few minutes of the opening of Martin, it becomes clear that the audience has entered a torture chamber for 2.5 hours. There is no solid story in the film, but the entire focus is only on the hero’s body, his action and “buildup”. This is what has been seen in the films of this hero earlier also – an attempt to push the hero’s image forward by pushing the script to the side.

It is very important to understand that popularity does not come only from family background or over-dramatic style. Real respect comes when an actor acts in accordance with the story, as actors like Shivarajkumar, Sudeep, Puneeth Rajkumar and Dhananjay have done. These stars have won the hearts of the audience with their hard work, acting skills and understanding. At the same time, some artists still consider themselves the greatest on the basis of their family name – which is a serious misconception.

Conclusion

Martin is a film which focuses only on the hero’s image and action sequences but lacks story, screenplay and emotions. A talented actor like Dhruva Sarja should avoid such weak roles which can harm his image. The audience has become smart now and is not impressed by mere show. A good film is one that brings a balance between story, acting and direction. If Kannada cinema has to move ahead, then it has to rise above family names and give priority to real talent and good story.