Uppu Huli Khara
Director: Imran Sardhariya
Cast: Malashri, Dhananjay B, Shashi Devraj, Sharath, Anushree, Jayashree
Choreographer-turned-director Imran Sardhariya has been taking small footsteps, improvising on his filmmaking skills, and with Uppu Huli Khara, he seems to have succeeded in his endeavour. Although a straightforward heist movie which nudges the topic of demonitisation, Imran gives certain freshness to a familiar story which is firmly stitched with youthful aspirations and the corrupted political structure.
Three youngsters (Sharath, Shashi Devaraj and Dhanu DJ) have different ambitions, but end up coming together to rob a bank. Soon, they surrender, and an investigative officer (Malashree) is given charge of the case. But the trio has stories to tell with support from their girlfriends (Anushree, Jayashree and Masha). Will their bank heist put them into unforeseen situations or will the real culprit be caught, takes the movie forward.
The first half of the film only gets into introducing the characters; the actual story coming in the second half. Having considered youngsters for his entertainers, Imran makes it a colourful picture with dialogues, fights and songs, keeping the commercial aspects alive. If he had considered adding more suspense, with a tight script, this would have been a better heist outing.
As for the casting, Sharath, who has a good physique, shows off his dance skills, while Devaraj has tried to be in the spotlight with his dialogues. Dhanu gives a perfect depiction with his street smart character. The heroines have limited roles. Anushree shines, but Jayashree needs to gain some confidence. As for the foreigner (Masha), she has blindly gone according to the director’s instruction.
The film’s highlight is Malashree, who brings in the much required punch with her masala act as well as a few action sequences, while Sudha Murthy, who makes her silver screen appearance, holds up as a good judge.
The film gets musical with songs taking a lot of space, and there are some popular medleys, especially with stars like Sudeep and Puneeth rendering their voices for the Ganapa song and Ro Ro Romeo, scored by Judah Sandy and Prajwal Pai respectively.
Niranjan Babu’s picturisation adds to the youthful drama with a colourful take using foreign backdrop.
Overall, Uppu Huli Khara is a watchable treat, especially for the young audience.