Rakesh Adiga in ‘Maryade Prashna’. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Director Nagaraja Somayaji dignity questions, Rakesh Adiga plays the role of an ambitious regional councilor. He remembers his mother talking about Bengaluru. “This city will develop, there will be tall buildings everywhere and people will flourish. But, the important question is whether we, the middle class, will survive.”

In another scene, Sunil Rao playing the role of Satish, a delivery boy, talks about how one can never “settle” in life as there is always a new financial need after solving the previous problem. An obstacle arises. Purnachandra Mysore Manja, is a cab driver, and he tells his girlfriend, Lucky (Teju Belawadi), about the authority shown by the elite class during their rides.

decorum questions It has so many small-but-relatable moments about the struggles of the middle class. The actors playing the main trio do a good job of making us care about their problems. Nagaraja Somyaji begins with a respectful look at the middle-class youth who support their families and try to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

However, the film suffers from an identity crisis when it attempts to show the class divide in society. Suri, Satish and Manja are childhood friends. One night, a tragedy changes their lives forever, and they are pitted against rich people who have money the three of them can only dream of.

Billed as a “realistic revenge thriller”, decorum questions It is torn between making its heroes morally right and forcing them to take a bold but immoral step. The film has a brilliant idea of ​​exploring the consequences of middle class men fighting for self-respect shoulder to shoulder with the rich, who are willing to go to any extent to protect their reputation. However, in the process, the story loses focus.

Instead of a mysterious cat-and-mouse game between the two parties, decorum questions Spends a lot of time setting up the world of the upper class, where money and positions of power drive everything. Some of the English dialogue in those scenes is bad and unintentionally funny.

Purnachandra Mysore and Teju Belawadi in ‘Maryade Prashna’. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Prabhu Mundkur (who recently acted in murphy), who plays the antagonist, does a great job of selling the often disliked qualities associated with the aristocracy in his very first scene. With the villain’s ruthless attitude given prominence right from the start, the script should have included an emotional mental and intellectual battle between the rich and the poor.

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Ultimately, decorum questions Struggles to live up to its expectations, offering a lukewarm climax. Its didactic tone further reinforces stereotypes associated with both classes and reduces its impact.

Cinematographers Sandeep Valluri and Arjun Ramu are in excellent sync, keeping us intrigued about the proceedings, Director Nagaraj Somayaji and writer-producer Pradeep have made a promising start, though a deeper exploration of their concept could have taken the film further.

Maryada Prashne is currently running in theatres.