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Kavaludaari (transl. Crossroads) is a 2019 Indian Kannada-language neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by Hemanth Rao,^[1] presented by Puneeth Rajkumar and produced by Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar of PRK Productions.^[2] Kavaludaari will be the first feature film presentation from the production house. The film stars Rishi,^[2] Anant Nag,^[3][4] Achyuth Kumar, Suman Ranganath, and Roshni Prakash^[5] in the lead roles, while Avinash, Sulile Kumar, Sampath, and Sidhaartha Maadhyamika^[6] play supporting roles. The music and background score for the film is composed by Charan Raj with cinematography by Advaitha Gurumoorthy and editing by Jagadeesh. The film released on 12 April 2019.

Puneeth Rajkumar had revealed that the movie is being remade in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.^[7][8][9] The film was remade in Tamil as Kabadadaari starring Sibiraj^[10] and in Telugu as Kapatadhaari starring Sumanth; both versions star Nandita Swetha.^[11][12]

SI K. S. Shyam is a sincere traffic cop, whose real interest lies in handling crime-related cases. One day, he accidentally comes across the skeletal remains of a three-member family, and he decides to pursue his interest despite warning from his senior officer. However, his plans hit roadblock when he gets to know that the remains are four-decades old. The forensic reports show that there are signs of struggle on the bodies, so it most likely was a murder. His encounter with Kumar, a small-time journalist who is equally interested in the case, helps him unfold many mysteries. He finds out that the dead family’s head is Gurudas Naidu, the boss of an archaeology department. He worked with Sampath to uncover jewels from the Vijayanagara Empire, and was the same day, Sampath was mysteriously killed.

On the same day, Gurudas Naidu was found with a bloodstained shirt, so Shyam realized that Gurudas Naidu killed Sampath. The arrival of Mutthanna, a retired cop, who investigated the case decades ago, and actress Madhuri into the plot, makes things complex for Shyam. Kumar tells Shyam that Madhuri is related to the case, so Shyam goes to ask her questions. But, it proves unsuccessful. Mutthanna decides to help Shyam by giving him information from what he investigated. He reveals that Gurudas Naidu actually didn’t kill Sampath and that the blood on Gurudas Naidu shirt was from a wounded person whom he had saved. Who killed Sampath, and how the family died still remains a mystery. Madhuri is also killed later. When Mutthanna and Shyam go to investigate her house, they see a picture of Madhuri wearing a necklace from the Vijayanagara Empire excavation.

They see a goon who breaks into the house. Shyam and Mutthanna chase after him. When they follow the goon, it leads them to a resort. In a park near the resort, Mutthanna recognizes a place where the car was originally burnt. Inside the resort, a political leader is giving a speech, and Shyam gets a call from Kumar to meet him. Kumar tells him that before Madhuri was an actress, she used to be a dancer who danced for gangsters. One person had a deep connection with Madhuri, who was Mailur Srinivas Rao, the upcoming CM of Karnataka. Meanwhile, Mutthanna discovers that the resort belongs to Mailur. Shyam goes to inspect Mailur’s old home to find more evidence. He finds holy Christian objects hidden in a high shelf. This confuses Shyam because Mailur is a Hindu. He tells Mutthanna, who goes to Mailur’s campaign. He notices that Mailur looks like Fernandez, Gurudas Naidu’s old driver.

In front of the crowd, he shouts “Fernandez” to which Mailur looks awkwardly at Mutthanna. He gets scared and tells his goons to abduct him. Mutthanna tells Shyam everything, and then he is taken. Mailur explains to Mutthanna that he found out that Gurudas Naidu was holding a treasure worth 80 lakhs in his department, so he kills Sampath. And, just to make sure he gets away with the money, he plans to kill Gurudas Naidu too. He tells Bablu about his plan, but he doesn’t tell him about Sampath. He tells Bablu to put sleeping pills in the family’s food, so they can make a run. But, what Bablu doesn’t know that the pills are poisoned. The whole family dies, and Bablu threatens to tell the police about what Fernandez did. However, the bag containing the pills had Bablu’s fingerprints, so he would also get in trouble.

Fernandez takes their bodies in his car, buries them, and burns the vehicle. He steals the jewelry and becomes wealthy; to avoid suspicion, he assumes the identity of Mailur Srinivas Rao. Later, Mailur orders his goons to kill Mutthanna. Shyam arrives too late to save him, and before Mutthanna dies, he reveals Mailur’s crimes. Enraged, Shyam kills the goons. He eventually discovers that Kumar is actually Bablu. He goes to confront Kumar, but the arrival of Kumar’s daughter forces him to leave. Afterward, Shyam visits Mailur—ostensibly to threaten him—but instead agrees to work for him. Mailur kemudian orders him to assassinate Bablu. During a car ride, Shyam stops the vehicle and shoots Kumar, but only after recording Kumar’s full confession regarding Mailur and Madhuri.

Kumar reveals that while interviewing Madhuri, he accidentally knocked her to the floor, killing her. After supposedly killing Kumar, Shyam attends Mailur’s felicitation ceremony and confesses to the murder. However, it is revealed that Shyam lied and Kumar is still alive. Disguised, Kumar serves Mailur poisoned milk, causing him to die instantly. Later, while driving with Shyam, Kumar admits he drank the remaining poison out of guilt. Kumar’s recording goes viral, exposing Mailur’s past sins to the public. Due to his work on the case, Shyam is promoted to Inspector in the crime branch. Finally, it is revealed that the man Gurudas Naidu saved years ago was actually Shyam’s father.

The music is composed by Charan Raj.^[15]

The background score of the film was appreciated by both audiences and critics alike. Following that, the original soundtrack was released on 9 May 2019 in YouTube and all other platforms.

• Kavaludaari at IMDb