Raghavendra R

A meaningless story has been dragged for 2 and half hours. Acting is really cringe. I was waiting eagerly to know when the movie will end and I can come out of the hall.

"Quite an earnest attempt in pulling out an impressive crime thriller!" The trailer of this film portrays it as an intriguing tell tale of events with three converging stories forming a multilayered thriller. Does it really stay true to these aspects? Read on to know! The plot revolves around the crime investigation of a young woman who dies in an accident. Two of the woman's friends turn up at the police station to report her missing, only to find out that their friend is dead. The police after finding the evidence of involvement of her boyfriend, arrest him and decide to close the case. However the plot takes a turn when they find out something shocking in the investigation! What exactly is it? You need to watch the film to know that! The film takes some time to unfold in the beginning with some rather unwanted fights and a song sequence but quickly builds up on the intrigue factor. The first half of the film is short when compared to the latter. The mystery and the uplifting screenplay in the second half will keep you engrossed. There is a scene where the philosophy of Karma: "What goes around, comes around" is showcased brilliantly and will definitely touch your heart! The cinematography is haunting and plays an important part in giving the look and feel to the movie. The editing is decently done. The background score and music is good, although the songs could have been better. Kishore, having done several roles as a cop, stands out as usual. Arjun Yogesh steals everybody's hearts with his realistic performance. Mayuri Kyatari has acted well but she could have done better in the pub scene. Girija Lokesh also steals your heart with her excellent display of emotions. Pramod Shetty, Priyamani & Niranjan Deshpande have played their characters well. To sum it up, this film indeed stays true to most of its promised aspects with a sly narrative and though there are some shortfalls, it makes for a good one-time watch! The Shy Guy's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½

"A rousing historical drama which induces a patriotic feel in every Indian!" This film shows India's greatest historical achievement of sending the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) satellite to the red planet in the very first attempt at a low cost. It shows the inspirational journey and the set of events that lead up to the successful mission by a group of scientists. The film shows that anything can be achieved when you have determination, hardwork and perseverance. It captivates the viewer completely from the beginning until the very end! The screenplay is very interesting and keeps you hooked to your seat. The film also has its fair share of comedy and emotions and there are many instances which will touch your heart! All the members of the cast have contributed equally to the success of this film. The film focuses more on the stories of the scientists involved in the mission and shows less of the technicalities involved in it. The working and the ideas involved are also simplified greatly to enthuse the general audience. One thing which didn't convince me was the absence of Kannada when the whole setup of the film is shown to be in Bengaluru. In one scene, Akshay Kumar throws up some Tamil dialogues when he pretends to speak with the great scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam which I felt was unnecessary. Overall this is a feel-good film with a rousing narrative sure to bring in a proud and patriotic feel in every Indian who watches it! The Shy Guy's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

"A rollercoaster ride of rib-tickling dark comedy, worth a watch!" This film re-introduces Raj Shetty's simplistic character representing the common man from 'Ondu Motteya Kathe' (OMK) released in 2017 and more specifically shows how he overcomes his role in OMK. However the genre is completely different here and there is no connection between the two films. The director-cum-actor Sujay Shastry has explored the genre of dark comedy quite well in his debut directorial! The film will also have a sequel to it as hinted at the end. The film begins with a software engineer, Gubbi narrating his story which basically forms the entire plot of the film, until the climax. Gubbi begins to worry as everyone pesters him to get married. Eventually he meets a girl called Purple Priya and they decide to get engaged. His crazy friend Naani, keeps playing spoilsport. Another crazy don, Robinhood enters the picture by kidnapping Purple Priya! What ensues is a rollercoaster ride full of confusion and comedy of errors! The film has a humorous tone with many rib-tickling dialogues sure to entertain you! The music is also impressive, comprising of some melodious tracks. The first half is an absolute treat to watch however the film begins to become a tad boring in the second half with repetitive comedy. The length of the film also could have been shorter. The film scores really high on the casting of actors. Sujay Shastry's brilliant acting as a crazy & wierd guy, Raj Shetty's simplistic acting, Girish Shivanna's excellent splastick humour along with Pramod Shetty, Aruna Balraj, Manjunath Hegde, Shobraj & Babu Hirannaiah's wonderful performances will have you delighted! Kavita Gowda has very less screen space but she too delivers. All in all, this movie is an enjoyable, dark comedy oriented rollercoaster ride and is worth watching if you want to spend some time laughing out loud! The Shy Guy's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½

Dear Comrade - ಕನ್ನಡ Movie Review "A watchable yet draggy love story" The trend of multilingual movie release was created by KGF last year. Dear Comrade too emulated this formula and after a long time Kannadigas were happy that the Kannada dubbed version was releasing along with other languages. However the main purpose of dubbing into Kannada which is to reach out to the people who don't understand telugu has not been fulfilled. The reason being less than 4% of screens across Karnataka for the Kannada version. The KFI anti-dubbing lobby and the distributors have made a mockery of Kannadigas in the name of dubbing by giving 97% of the screens for the telugu version in the Kannada heartland thus imposing telugu on Kannadigas! A sad reality indeed! The movie is all about a bad-tempered guy who falls for a girl who is a state-level cricketer. The movie has a slow screenplay and most of the plot revolves around the ups and downs in their love story. The film uses the same old tried & tested narrative and feels like old wine in a new bottle except that there's a social message which the film tries to giveaway in the end. There are quite a barrage of fight scenes which can irritate you with the unstable camera movements where the hero can be seen fighting off his rivals over trivial issues. The majority of the first half comprises of these fights & shows his anger management issues. The film drags a lot at many places and feels just too long. The cinematography is delightful and the colourful wedding and rainy scenes are shown wonderfully. The music is also excellent and the soothing track "Kadalanthe Kaada Kannu" will haunt you even after you leave the theatre! Vijay Deverakonda has replicated his role from his previous movies as a person with anger issues. His dialogues don't feel so effective, which might be due to the dubbing quality. Rashmika Mandanna's performance is a disappointment. Her acting in the cheerful segments is good but she fails badly in places where strong display of emotions are required. Overall the film has the elements of a family entertainer along with a good social message. The dubbing in Kannada is satisfactory and is a win for Kannada pro-dubbing activists. The Kannada fonts used in the building names & KA registered vehicles is also good to see in the film. However the lip syncing mismatch and the duration of the film is a downer. It won't disappoint you for a one time watch. The Shy Guy's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

"A well made thriller, let down by a feeble storyline" Sandalwood's been churning out quite a number of female oriented films this year with Devaki & D/O Parvathamma being the recent two. Mahira also is an addition to this list. The story of this film is about a woman, who is on the run from two groups - a gang of killers and an investigation bureau. While on the run, she has the responsibility of protecting her daughter and she uses her expert survival skills to escape from them. What is her real identity and why are these groups after her ? The answer is shown in the movie quite well. The film has some really good action sequences and impressive cinematography paired with an impactful background score akin to Hollywood thrillers. But the film unfortunately fails to keep the viewer engaged due to its weak storyline. The film begins on an alluring note but slowly loses steam and the thrill factor gets diminished considerably. Also there are some plot holes which add to the negatives. The casting of the film is quite impressive. Virginia Rodrigues plays a brilliant role as the skilful and protective mother. Her action scenes where she displays her quick reflexes will leave you amazed. Chaitra Achar gives her best performance as the tomboy daughter and she rides the bullet motorbike almost effortlessly. Raj Shetty has performed well as usual, churning out some humorous sequences. Overall this movie tries hard to come out as an engaging action thriller but the feeble storyline doesn't allow it to succeed much. Thriller movie fans can give this a try though! The Shy Guy's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

"A lighthearted love story which won't disappoint you!" As the title states the obvious, this film is all about the love story of an undercover cop, Aadi who bumps into a travel agent, Lakshmi. What happens when he finds out that she is already married and how things get complicated due to this, forms the crux of the storyline. The film has a fairly interesting storyline from the beginning, until the end. The screenplay is quite entertaining during the first half but in the second half it gets quite predictable. However the good cinematography & editing of the film keeps the viewer from getting bored out. The music is average and there aren't any songs catchy enough. Radhika Pandit, who makes a comeback after quite a long time, shines with her acting & looks. Nirup Bhandari also doesn't disappoint with his acting & charming looks. Seasoned actors -Tara & Suchendra Prasad have performed brilliantly and their humorous acting skills will have you entertained. All in all this film is a fairly good family entertainer and won't disappoint for a one time watch. The Shy Guy's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½

"A refreshing film albeit with an outdated direction" The film's trailer was quite promising with some shots of beautiful locales spread across an adventurous journey. However there are a very few of those scenes in the movie and most of it shows the usual family & college drama. The story is about the life journey of three college going girls. The first half of the film has a slow screenplay which can test your patience. It mainly shows the usual college lifestyle and has nothing much new in it. The second half is better and is quite emotional at many places. There are some scenic views of the Yaana caves in Karnataka and some scenes shot in the rains which are quite enchanting. The cast of the film is quite impressive with many experienced actors like Anant Nag, Suhasini Maniratnam, Rangayana Raghu & Veena Sunder, which becomes the main factor in holding the film from falling apart. The three beautiful female protagonists Vaibhavi, Vainidhi & Vaisiri have acted quite well and play good roles in making this women oriented film a success. However the script feels outdated and the acting by the other newcomers could have been better. The music of the film is good and there are some mesmerizing soundtracks. The editing must have been more crisper and the length of the film should have been shorter. Overall this film has a refreshing feel to it and is a quite good family drama but the outdated direction makes it for a satisfactory watch. The Shy Guy's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐