Kangaroo movie story: On the day Inspector Prithvi (Adityaa) takes charge at the police station in Chikkamagaluru, where he’s been sent to contain the rising incidents of crime in the area, he meets a young couple staying at the Antony Cottage guest house, seeking police help after having been spooked by what appears to be supernatural activity. While he doesn’t find anything to support what they claim to have seen, Prithvi is soon enough alerted of a missing case involving someone who’d stayed at the Antony Cottage and disappeared thereafter.

As Prithvi begins investigating, he realizes that there are very many cases, with people either missing or dead by suicide. What is it about Antony Cottage that is driving people to such despair?

Kangaroo movie review: Kannada actor Adityaa is no stranger to playing a cop onscreen. But his latest is quite novel for him. He gets no action, bombastic lines or mannerisms to create a larger-than-life persona. As Inspector Prithvi, he is as normal as normal can be – the most realistic portrayal of a cop that he’s ever done. And that is Kangaroo’s biggest strength.

Unfortunately, for the actor, this role comes in a film that gets off to a good start, but then flounders along the way and has a very shaky end. The premise is promising – couples visiting a certain guest house have a scary paranormal experience at night and leave, only for at least one of them to then end up missing or dead within a few days. There’s a staggering number of victims. But is a ghost really to blame for what’s happening to these people?

Director Kishore Megalamane sets up the mystery nicely, but the final act feels like quite the hotchpotch, including the perpetrator’s PTED (Post Traumatic Embitterment Disorder) diagnosis. The filmmaker had an idea and then reverse engineered the narrative leading to this reveal, owing to which some elements feel illogical and force-fitted.

The best bits of the film are in the first half, mainly at the police station, but sadly, this does not get carried into the second half. Adityaa does a great job as Inspector Prithvi, but should have been given a better script to work with. Ranjini Raghavan also does justice to her role, although the costume department should have taken more care in the choice of her clothes while making her look pregnant with square pillows tucked under her outfits.

Kangaroo movie verdict: Adityaa does his best to give Kangaroo gravitas, but he is let down in the film’s final act that is not the most convincing. However, if thrillers are your cup of tea, you may still find this worth a one-time watch.

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