Film : Kabbadi (Kannada)
Cast : Kishore, Praveen, Priyanka, Dharma, BC Ramesh, Chandru.
Director : Narendra Babu
This film mounted the sets more than a year ago and is being released on Friday. One of the few films that took over a year to hit the screen, its director Narendra Babu deserves a pat on the back for making a film with the oft-ignored sport kabaddi as the central theme. The USP of this film is that director has total control on his cast and has succeeded in making them follow the script.
Kabaddi competitions held at Mandya are a visual treat, which make the film interesting to watch. Hamsalekha has done a great job with the music, with some melodious and meaningful songs.
Except Kishore and Dharma, all other artistes are newcomers. All of them have acted well. It is a different role for Kishore, who is best known for acting as a police officer in most films.
Dharma as an egoistic and lewd villain,, is convincing. Guruji (Kishore), a kabaddi coach at a private college happens to meet Praveen (Praveen), a daily wager at a rice mill in Mandya.
He asks Praveen to undergo training in kabaddi on behalf of Mandya Blues, maintained by college trustee Venkatesh (Dharma). Praveen falls in love with Venkatesh’s sister Priyanka alias Priya (Priyanka from Bagepalli). As expected, Venkatesh gets angry and ticks off his sister. He even asks Guruji not to encourage Praveen.
Meanwhile, circumstances compel Praveen to leave Mandya and work at a hotel in Mangalore. However, Venkatesh wants to take revenge on Praveen. But in the end Praveen not only defeats Venkatesh’s team in the kabaddi tournament but also gets Priyanka.
An added attraction for kabaddi lovers is to see kabaddi player BC Ramesh — who was conferred with Arjun Award for his contribution to kabaddi — in action.
But it seems the director gave him more importance, than the protagonist in the climax. Audience would like to see the hero winning the game and not be out of action due to injuries. But overall, it is worth a watch.