Kavacha

Kavacha (lit. 'Armour') is a 2019 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film written and directed by G. V. R. Vasu in his directorial debut. It is a remake of the 2016 Malayalam film Oppam, with changes made in the script to suit the interests of Kannada-speaking audiences. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Kruthika Jayakumar, Isha Koppikar, Baby Meenakshi and Vasishta N. Simha in the lead roles. It was released worldwide on 5 April 2019.

Plot
Jayarama is a blind handyman in an apartment complex. When a retired Supreme Court judge who resides there trusts him with a secret and makes him the guardian of his daughter before he is murdered, Jayarama's world changes. He now has to deal with Vasudeva, a vengeful serial killer.

Cast

 * Shiva Rajkumar as Jayarama alias Ramappa
 * Kruthika Jayakumar as Revathi
 * Isha Koppikar as Gowri
 * Baby Meenakshi as Nandhini
 * Vasishta N. Simha as Vasudeva
 * Iti Acharya
 * Ravi Kale

Production
In November 2016, Priyadarshan confirmed that a Kannada remake of his Malayalam directorial venture Oppam would star Shiva Rajkumar as the male lead. The remake, titled Kavacha, is produced by M. V. V. Satyanarayana and A. Sampath under Hayagriva Movie Adishtana, and marks the directorial debut of G. V. R. Vasu. He also worked as screenwriter, working on the screenplay for more than seven months, rewriting it substantially to suit the interests of Kannada-speaking audiences, that included giving more emphasis to the action elements. Isha Koppikar was cast as a police officer, and Vasishta N. Simha as the antagonist, while Baby Meenakshi was chosen to reprise her role from the original. Principal photography began on 23 November 2017, and ended in early August 2018. Shooting took place in Mysore, Ooty, and Bangalore. Rahul Shrivastav was the cinematographer.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by Arjun Janya and 4 Musics. Janya composed all songs except "Rekkeya", which 4 Musics composed; that song has two versions, a duet and a solo. The film features a remix of the song "Hosa Belaku Moodutidde" from Hosa Belaku (1982), but that does not appear on the soundtrack.

Release
Kavacha was released worldwide on 5 April 2019. It was originally scheduled for released on 7 December 2018, but was postponed due to "technical issues" with the sound mixing.

Critical response
The film received positive critical response. Shyamprasad S of Bangalore Mirror said "Shiva Rajkumar as a blind man delivers a stunning performance" and "Kavacha will remain as one [of] Shiva Rajkumar's best films". Sunayana Surresh of The Times of India called it an emotional tale of revenge that has its moments, especially laudable for the nail-biting climax with both Shivarajkumar and Vasishta N Simha on top of their game. A Sharadhaa of New Indian Express said that in spite of being a remake, what makes Kavacha stands out on its own is the performance by Shivarajkumar - an obvious sign that he has risen to the stature of a realistic actor. Aravind Shwetha of  The News Minute noted that a lot of minor characters from the original have been eliminated for good making it a decent thriller with an exceptional performance by Shivanna.