Rajahuli

Starring: Yash, Meghana Raj, Harsha, Charan Raj, Vasishta N. Simha, Ashwini
Director: Guru Deshpande
Producer: K. Manju
Music Dir: Hamsalekha
Lyricist: Hamsalekha, Yogaraj Bhat
Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, V. Harikrishna, Sonu Nigam, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Hemanth, Shamitha Malnad
Distributor: Sri Ganesh
Genre: Comedy, Drama

Remake of Sundarapandian Tamil

Songs:
1. Om Hindu Guruthu
2. Falling In Lovu
3. Chellidalu Mainaya
4. Kaveri Kaveri
5. Lovenalli Bidre

Released Year: 2013
Running Time: 156 minutes/Colour/Kannada

Synopsis and Review

A common theme in Indian films is when a boy sees a girl on the bus, going to college, and falls in love with her. He will either watch her on the bus, from a bus stop, or actually get on the bus, and look at her all along the journey. This may go on for many months, without his having the courage to speak to her. The girl is aware of his attentions, and is usually annoyed. However, sometimes she responds, and they become friends, and so on. That seems to be the story of this film.

Raja Huli (English: Tiger Raja) was from a wealthy family. His father sent him to College to make something of his life, and now complains that instead Tiger leads the town, and roams the streets with his useless friends. However, he believes in honesty and truth, and will come down on anyone who misbehaves – perhaps we would think of him as a rowdy, but a good one (or is that a contradiction in terms?)! He is kind-hearted and helps those in distress, and this we see in the film.

One of his friends, Mony, is in love with a girl (Meghana Raj), and gets on the bus every day to see her – but he doesn’t even know her name, and she quickly vanishes when she gets off the bus. Raja decides to help him to win the girl. However, there is another boy, Chelluva, in love with the same girl, who also rides on the bus every day to look at her. He has been in love with the girl for seven months, whereas Mony has been in love with her for only five months. So Raja decides that the fairest thing to do is to let Chelluva have a month to try to win the girl. If at the end of that month he is not able to sit beside the girl, with the girl talking to him and laughing, he has to give up, and to stop riding on the bus. Raja will then take over, and help Mony to win her heart. Chelluva’s attentions are unwelcome to the girl, who is angry when she hears what Raja has planned.

There is something we learn in flashback. Raja had been in love with the girl much earlier, when she was at school – but she had rejected him when he spoke to her, and threatened dire consequences from her family if her persisted.

The month is up, and Raja rides on the bus with Mony, and tells him to talk to her. But her friend, Lakshmi, with whom she always travels gives Mony a good telling-off, and the girl ignores Mony. So Raja decides to meet the girl himself, on behalf of Mony.

Now this sounds like a fairly trivial story for a good film, except if you are an youngster in the same situation. We have now watched 69 minutes of this 156 minute film. But at this point the film becomes serious, and develops into a tense and griping drama. Who will get the girl? This is a film well worth watching.

The songs are good. “Om Hindu Guruthu” is a very colourful and impressive patriotic song with a huge cast of dancers and extras, in which Tiger Raja says he is “a symbol of friendship”, and in which he praises what is good about Karnataka and the Kannada language. “Falling In Lovu” is a song about Mony’s love and the girl’s rejection. I cannot describe the remaining songs, without giving away what happens - but they are all enjoyable.

5 stars

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]