After Atta, Sumanth Shailendra took a long break and teamed up with Anil Kumar for Dilwala to gain commercial stardom. The film is quite ambitious, stylish but ideologically confused as it falters in its attempt to succeed as a romantic drama, thriller and a political story.
In an attempt to depart from the routine love story, Anil has tried to bring in that urban youthfulness to make sure that the subject is received well. However, this colourful film is not so fascinating to watch from first reel to last.
Flashy and fast paced, this is the story of Prem (Sumanth Shailendra) who is a college-going student. Street smart and quite a brat, his life changes when he spots Preeti (Radhika Pandit) and falls for her at first sight. Prem goes out of his way to charm Preethi and she is bowled over by him. But he is unsure whether he should declare his love for her as he is scared it might cost him her friendship. While the first half swings between sorrys and ‘thank yous’ between the two, the second half presents the real picture with the revelation about Prem’s father Jai Simha (Sharath Lohitaswa) and Devaraj’s (Ravi Shankar) long- term rivalry. Though Prem expresses his love for Preethi with much fan fare and she accepts it whole-heartedly, they are not able to come together because of the threat from his father’s enemy. Will Prem and Preethi elope or will he succeed in convincing his and Preethi’s families is what makes for the rest of the film.
Though the plot practically builds before the viewers eyes, some of the production qualities are laughable. Despite the story seeming rather dry, Sumanth has given an energetic and confident performance as a lover boy for a role that seems to be made for him. He lights up the screen with his dancing moves, pulls off the action sequences and even looks trendy. It’s a cake walk for Radhika Pandit who has played such roles very often. It is time for her to pick up more challenging roles than just being a love interest. There’s good support from Ravi Shankar, Sharath Lohitaswa and Jai Jagadish and yet this film fails to garner much interest. Ravi Shankar who plays a villain in every film has managed to a comedy act, which is enjoyable.
The director has managed to combine all the elements of a masala film in this simple love story. It's got some unique songs by Arjun Janya, who is only getting better with each film.
Colourfully picturised by cinematogrpher Mohan B Kere who though confined mostly to indoor sets has shown lush greenery. Overall director has simply adapted the Tollywood way of film making only for the sake of commercial payoffs.
The Verdict: The film tries to appeal to both the young and urban crowds with a routine love story. Watch it for young talent Sumanth.