When two big stars of the Kannada film industry are teamed up in a film touted as a commercial entertainer, it is bound to raise expectations.
Lava Kusha produced by Prabhakar, who has had a series of super hit films earlier, has Shivaraj Kumar and Upendra working together as lead artists for the second time.
Though the film is packed with amazing stunt and song sequences, the script by Mohan makes this costly project a run of the mill venture. It has nothing fresh to offer in terms of screenplay while the narration adds to the list of negative factors in the film.
The only positive element in the film is the presence of Upendra and Shivaraj Kumar who have given decent performances. In contrast the heroines Charmmee and Jennifer have nothing much to offer.
The story goes like this -- Chakri and Cheeni are thick friends. While Cheeni works as a henchman for Vishakanta, Chakri does odd jobs. Chakri's reputation is tarnished when Vishakanta's daughter Sowmya who is in love with Cheerni, implicates him in a theft case. Chakri wants to settle scores with Sowmya much to the dissatisfaction of Cheeni. The two friends then become sworn enemies. Meanwhile, Vishakanta and another Don Soorappa engage Cheeni to kill Chakri, who does not know about their plans. What happens later is a big yawning story, which comes to an end after both friends realise that they were brothers and Vishakanta is the tormentor of their family! In the end, they take revenge on the villains after uniting with their parents. Yawn!
Except for Shivaraj Kumar and Upendra, none of the artists have been able to show their mettle. Shaji Shinde has dubbed himself and made it quite irritating.
Music director Guru Kiran has done average work in the film with only the Haatappa Haatu worth remembering. Giri's photography is good in outdoor shoots.
Lava Kusha may please the fans of Uppi and Shivanna.
Rediff Rating: 
