'Paddehuli' movie review: A formulaic musical narrated with style and elevated by Shreyas Manju's performance

Though the story is not all that original, director Guru Deshpande presents it in such a way as to make it seem fresh.
A still from Paddehuli
A still from Paddehuli

A musical film, which has a number of songs rooted to Kannada culture, has great dancing, decent performance, edgy action and a touch of emotions. The much-hyped film Paddehuli makes a perfect launch pad for Shreyas Manju, son of veteran producer K Manju. Though the story is not all that original, Guru Deshpande’s directorial presentation of an inspired concept gets a fresh look. 

The film depicts the story of a middle-class boy Sampath Kumar (Shreyas Manju), an engineering student from Chitradurga who dreams of becoming a musician. Along with two of his close friends, he lands in Bengaluru. The film throws lights on the sacrifices he has to make to turn his passion into his profession. 

Paddehuli is also appealing to the college-going crowd considering it explores into teenage romance. A combination of comedy, witty dialogues, keeps the audience laughing out loud. The action sequences are also well-shot. 

In the typical entertainer, Shreyas’ effort is sincere and has attempted to give an all-round performance in the film. Though we see that initial hesitation (in his school boy’s role), the newcomer eventually gets comfortable on screen. What the audience should watch out for are his dancing skills. It’s bound to grab a few eyeballs.  

While Nishvika Naidu isn’t brought in for the glam factor, she has some scope to perform. Ravichandran and Sudharani, who play Shreyas’ parents come in as big support. Not to be missed is Rakshit Shetty’s pivotal role, which is inspirational. The climax ends with some encouraging words by none other than Puneeth Rajkumar. Chikkanna, Amit, Dharmanna, Aishwarya Prasad, make their presence felt with the film, along with the lead actors. There are some points of reference to Sandalwood legends — Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh—which work well. 

Considering the film is a musical, Ajaneesh Loknath had a lot of work, including turning poems of various poets into songs. Some of the works that have been used in the film include Baduku Jataka Bandi, Kalabeda Kolabeda, Heli Hogu Kaarana, Ninna Premada and Henda Hendathi. Credit must go to him for exemplary tunes. A neat job has been done by cinematographer Chandru, who has added colour to candy floss scenes. The formulaic love story, which is narrated with style is definitely Shreyas’ film.

Director: Guru Deshpande
Cast: Shreyas Manju, Nishvika Naidu, Ravichandran, Sudharani and Chikkanna

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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