Frank Capra's It happened one night (1934) starring Clarke Gable and Claudette Colbert has inspired many remakes. First, it was Anant Thakur's Chori Chori in 1956 with Raj Kapoor and Nargis and then later Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin by Mahesh Bhatt in 1991 with Aamir Khan and Pooja Bhatt in the lead.
Now the movie has a Kannada remake in the form of Hudugaata by Sanjay with Ganesh and Rekha in the lead.
This is where the similarity ends. The movie is a bad adaptation of a classic and the blame goes to the shoddy script.
The movie tries to enliven the audience with comedy and fireworks but fails as the film drags from the first scene onwards, only picking momentum here and there.
Some elements somewhat help to relieve the boredom in the form of highly stylised cinematography by Sathya Hegde, some fantastic dances from Ganesh, digitally graded songs and again Ganesh's distinctive style of dialogue delivery (which gets lots of whistles in the theatre).
Jassie Gift's music, however, is a mixed bag. Lajjavatiye and Stylo Stylo are old compositions. Other than Yaako Onthara, his original compositions are nothing to write home about.
The seven-decade old story goes like this: Baalu Mahendra is a lazy reporter with big dreams who lands in trouble while researching an investigative story.
Assigned to interview a sports personality in Kanyakumari, he boards a bus where he encounters a girl called Priya who has run away from her house to marry her lover much against her father's wishes. Predictably, the girl forgets all about her lover and falls for Balu instead.
After impressing many in his blockbuster Mungaru Male, Ganesh does it again in this film. He is outstanding as the hyperactive reporter. However, the same cannot be said of his 'lucky' heroine Rekha.
Meanwhile, Komal is brilliant in parts though underused, while a talented actor like Avinash is made to copy what Anupam Kher did in Bhatt's film. Sathyajit who acts as the chief editor is made to look like a joker. Shobharaj is also wasted.
If you want to see the film for Ganesh, then you will not be disappointed. But if you have seen the original, the film is sure to disappoint you.
Rediff Rating: