Udaala review: A supari gone wrong, blank shots and more bunkum in this tale set in north Karnataka

Udaala movie story: A tourist guide in Vijayapura, young Pakya’s (Pruthvi Shamanur) pursuit of the girl of his dreams, collegian Pinky (Hrithika Shetty), forces him to find a spot on campus by crook. When Pinky is then troubled by a gang of seniors, she vows to get even and sets out to find a gun, which Pakya ‘arranges’ for her. They do settle scores with the senior bunch, but are then roped in to ‘deal’ with a classmate’s father; a job they agree to and mess up badly.

Udaala movie review: Debutant director Amol Patil’s Udaala is disguised as a youthful love story between a barely educated tourist guide, who has, however, mastered multiple foreign languages to make him the master of his craft (don’t ask how), and a hot-headed collegian that he is determined to woo. She is, after all, the girl, or rather, the lips of his dreams. The real story revolves around a trigger-happy local thug, who runs a gun factory, and quite literally shoots blanks. Oh, the irony!

But that’s not even the film’s biggest problem. Like most Kannada films, here too, there is a massive lack imagination in telling a love story. The hero fixates on heroine; determined that she will be his, even when she has no idea he even exists. Their initial interactions are built on a lie, and when he comes clean to her, the socio-economic differences do not matter, apparently. Love is blind, you see.

Also read: Udaala out on OTT: Stream Pruthvi Shamanur’s rom-com set in Vijayapura now 

With the leading man’s love matters sorted, the narrative then focuses on giving him an identity – he’s an orphan, you see. Quite conveniently, there’s a childless couple in the neighbourhood. You get the drift. Udaala’s major highlight was meant to be the north Karnataka setting. I don’t think that a few shots of the Gol Gumbaz and a cast speaking the local dialect truly captures the vibe of the city. Amid all the chaos unfolding onscreen with gun totting dim-witted gangster wannabes running around, you don’t really get a sense of the region or its people.

Leading man Pruthvi Shamanur is passable in the first half, but the moment Amol decides to give him a mass hero makeover with slow-mo action blocks and windswept smooth and shiny locks, it’s all downhill. He’s not there yet. He’s also in dire need of prickly heat powder. Hrithika is loud and boisterous, which, were the demands of the character and she delivers. The rest of the characters go through the motions, leaving no impact.

Udaala movie verdict: Debutant director Amol Patil's film is at least 3 songs too long, besides other unecessary deviations. Classic case of too many ideas spoiling the broth.   

*Udaala is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, which can be accessed via a top-up subscription