Review: Hudugaru remains faithful to the original

Shruti Indira Lakshminarayana reviews the Kannada movie Hudugaru. Post YOUR reviews here!

The much awaited band of boys arrives this weekend in cinema halls. With the release of Kannada film Hudugaru, a multi-starrer directed by Madesh, the industry that was starved of a hit can heave a sigh of relief. 

The film lays out the lives of Prabhu (Puneet Rajkumar), Chandru (Srinagara Kitty) and Sidda (Yogish). Prabhu is a History major in search of a government job so that he can marry his lady love Gayathri (Radhika Pandit).

Chandru, on the other hand, is looking to start his business and also get hitched to his girlfriend (Abhinaya).

Sidha, no matter how hard he tries, has no luck either with girls or a job.

Prabhu's school friend (Vishal Hegde) then walks into their lives, seeking help with his love life. The three men decide to help him elope with his girlfriend, putting their own lives and ambitions at risk. Later, they find out that it was a wasted effort.

Will the boys take things lying down?

Hudugaru, in a breezy way, highlights the importance of friendships and the commitment involved in love and marriage. The film deals with issues such as love, marriage, divorce and is laced with heroism and humour. Kudos to Samutirakani, who wrote the original Tamil film Nadodigal of which Hudugaru is a remake. The film picks up pace following a kidnapping incident.

Shambo Shiva Shambo -- a score retained from the original -- adds to the energy. Dialogues by Guruprasad are catchy but at times, seem wasted due to shoddy dialogue delivery. Harikrishna's music is good too. A colourful village song and an item song pep up the film. Satya Hegde makes significant contributions through his camera work. The film comes with a few cosmetic changes to cater to Puneet's hero image.

Puneet does well as a confident youth and a committed friend. Kitty's track seems limited when compared to the original, all the same the actor leaves an impact.

Yogi will walk away with accolades. Comic timing, expressions, dialogue delivery and body language, nothing goes wrong from his side. He fits the character to the hilt and he is the true hero of Hudugaru.

Radhika Pandit plays a small yet significant role. She is expressive in emotional scenes.

Abhinaya, who was part of Nadodigal, does a neat job here.

Rangayana Raghu is as good as he can get.

Sadhu Kokhila does a decent job too.

Hudugaru largely remains faithful to the original. Yet it is a one time watch. More so if you haven't watched the original.

Rediff Rating: