Movie: Garadi (Kannada)

Director: Yogaraj Bhat

Cast: B C Patil, Darshan (special appearance), Yashas Soorya, Sonali Monteiro, Sujay Belur, Ravishankar, Pruthvi Shamanur, Cheluvaraj, Bala Rajwadi, and Nishvika Naidu (special appearance).

Duration: 146 minutes

Certificate: UA

Rating: Four out of five

The movie Garadi is about traditional gymnasiums and wrestlers of North Karnataka. Director Yogaraj Bhat, who earned name and fame for aptly handling megaphone for romantic movie Mungaru Male, has attempted to prove his mettle in helming an action-oriented movie with all elements, including special appearance of Challenging Star Darshan and Nishvika Naidu who set the silver screen on fire with her dancing skills, to entertain mass as well as family audiences.

The movie opens with a voiceover of Shivappa Rane (Ravishankar) who wants to avenge his brother Pratap Simha Rane’s murder by Bande Seena, a wrestler. Shivappa Rane, with the help of local police, kills Bande Seena and tells Koraput Rangappa (B C Patil) who maintains a traditional gymnasium, that Bande Seena is killed in a police encounter. Rangappa takes care of Bande Seena’s two sons – Shankara and Surya. He vows to train Shankara in wrestling to win the cup in the wrestling competition. However, unavoidable circumstances make Shankara kill two people. Rangappa informs police and requests them to take Shankara into custody.

Meanwhile, Surya (Yashas Soorya) is assigned to massage the wrestlers at the gymnasium as per Rangappa’s directive. He happens to see Kabbali (Sonali Monteiro), a Youtuber, and falls in love with her. Pramod Simha Rane (Sujay Belur), the son of Shivappa Rane, creates problems for Surya and Kabbali. What happens to the lovers and what is Darshan’s role in this movie is what Garadi is all about.

As far as the performance of the actors is concerned, Yashas Soorya is at his best. Soorya has been waiting for the right kind of movie to prove his acting skills. He has done justice to his character in the movie. Sonali Monteiro, as an addict of making reels, has acted well. B C Patil, the actor-cum-politician, is convincing as a trainer of wrestlers. Pruthvi Shamanur, as an angry adolescent, has acted well. While Nishvika Naidu set the screen on fire with her dancing skills, Challenging Star Darshan makes the climax interesting with his punchy dialogues and gestures in the action scenes.

It is worth watching for all