Cinema VinesIn a recent outing to the big screen, Kannada actor‑director Vijay Kumar’s latest venture, City Lights, fails to shine despite a familiar blend of social message and mass entertainment. Starring veteran Vinay Rajkumar as the protagonist Shiva and newcomer Monisha in a debut role, the film is Vijay’s third directorial effort, following the 2021 hit Salaga and the 2024 drama Bheema. The director’s signature approach—combining a moral narrative with high‑octane action—appears to have lost its edge, with critics noting a decline in craftsmanship with each successive project.
Shiva, echoing the earlier character Shivlinga from Vijay’s 2007 blockbuster Duniya, is portrayed as a naive rural migrant who arrives in Bengaluru only to confront the city’s grim realities. The plot opens with the hero rescuing a young woman, played by Monisha, from a prostitution ring in the Majestic area. While the first half of the film is brisk, running under an hour, the second half stretches the two‑hour‑nine‑minute runtime into a seemingly endless sequence of violence and disjointed scenes.
The film’s music, composed by Charan Raj, is a recurring strength in Vijay’s catalog. However, in City Lights, the soundtrack is underutilised, with songs and score drowned out by relentless, mind‑numbing brutality. The narrative jumps from human rights concerns to police encounters and corrupt politicians without a clear structure, leaving audiences to sift through a chaotic montage of action.
Critics argue that the violence serves more as shock value than a narrative device, with repeated scenes of cops shooting rowdies in the knees and a gratuitous moment where Shiva consumes a blade. The film also introduces a side romance between a senior police officer and a junior cop, a comedic detour that feels out of place and undermines the film’s serious themes.
Ultimately, City Lights seems to have forgotten its original intent. While the Majestic district’s dark underbelly is a compelling backdrop, the movie’s reliance on formulaic tropes and lack of coherent storytelling dilute its social message. Fans of Vijay Kumar’s earlier work may find the latest offering underwhelming, as the director’s once‑effective blend of message and entertainment now appears to have hit a wall.
