You watch Lodde (left-handed) and you know it is a delusive title. But that is not all. While the content has nothing remotely indicating any kind of left-handedness, the film comes out as an out of control family drama put together by director SV Suresh, who seems to be disenchanted with the labour of filmmaking. The unfortunate part is that he utilised a legendary actor like Vishnuvardhan for pointless promotions rather than concentrating on creating a good film.
The story revolves around control freak grandfathers Dharmaraj (Sayaji Shinde) and Rudrappa (Avinash) who were close friends living in Malnad for years until an incident made them part ways. That’s when Lodde aka Narasimha (Komal Kumar), grandson of Dharmaraj arrives from the US after completing his studies and tries a reconciliation. He meets Akanksha, the granddaughter of Rudrappa and falls in love.
Their love brings the two friends back together, however the friendship is short lived as Narasimha cancels the engagement as the film nears the interval. The second half explores the reason behind it and how Narasimha tries to bring the two families together.
The film has an abundance of puerile suspense sequences and becomes dull as it moves with no ounce of creativity or liveliness. The only sequence in which the audience get involved is just before the credit rolls and when the Lodde Dance begins, in which Komal shakes a leg with Vishnuvardhan, an effort made out of CGI.
Komal needs to have a more focussed approach when selecting his films. And he has to fine-tune his selection of characters, choosing only those which suit his persona. His attempt at comedy falls flat in Lodde. And if he has to look at a promising future in Sandalwood, he has to dump scripts like this one at the one-liner stage itself.
As a debutante, Akankasha Puri surely stands out with her high degree of sincerety, but the film does not allow her to make a mark. The predictable sequences lend no scope for the rest of the starcast to deliver even a mediocre miracle. There is nothing noteworthy about the cinematography or the music. A lack of inspiration seems to be plaguing the filmmaker even though there are a few films that hit the screen on-and off evidencing that excellence still exists in Sandalwood.
But Lodde sheepishly announces that mediocrity will persist however hard excellence may try to suppress it.