JC The University tracks Madhusudhan, or Maddy, a regular college student whose brief stint in judicial custody after a mishap exposes him to Bengaluru’s brutal underworld dynamics. Directed by Chethan Jayram and produced by Daali Dhananjay, the Kannada crime drama released February 6 stars Surya Prakhyath as the lead, with Bhavana Reddy, Rangayana Raghu, and Thriller Manju in key roles. It kicks off strong, flashing forward to a major gangster’s murder while zeroing in on prison hierarchies led by Kumari Anna, where small slights like a stolen phone snowball into violence.

That said, the film fits into Kannada cinema’s gritty takes on systemic rot, turning jail into a twisted “university” that breeds criminals rather than reforms them, much like recent prison tales but with sharper escalation from ego clashes to full-blown power grabs. Emotional flashes—a father’s plea for honest living, fading memories of love—cut through the brutality, underscoring how routine erodes innocence without preaching. Still, the setup shines brighter than the payoff, as moral lines blur convincingly in the confined chaos.

Surya Prakhyath ditches his romantic side for a raw transformation, wielding menace after a pivotal beating shifts his path from lover to killer, backed by Thriller Manju’s restrained gang leader and Rangayana Raghu’s poignant depth. Bhavana Reddy holds her own amid the testosterone, though antagonists like Manju could have gotten more screen time to flesh out the inmate web. Technical grit sells the escalating tension, even if the mass-leaning hero turn feels forced at times.

Toward the end, JC The University unravels with uneven pacing and a sentimental father-son arc that reins in its bolder instincts, settling for reform over unrelenting descent. It leaves a mark as a cautionary campus-to-crime yarn, hinting at Chethan Jayram’s promise despite the late fumble in this Daali Pictures outing.