Gurudev Hoysala Movie Review
In 2022, Kannada films have been the talk of the town and keeping in mind the expectations, KRG Studios’ Karthik Gowda and Yogi G Raj have given the audience a film that ticks all the right boxes.
Gurudev Hoysala revolves around Dhananjaya playing the titular role. He is an honest and tough cop who keeps running from place to place in Karantaka because of these exact qualities. Gurudev does not tolerate injustice and corruption and is in his ways. His wife, played by Amruta Iyengar, is a Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher who accompanies him on this journey. When his fellow cop goes missing, Gurudev is assigned to Athani in North Karnataka to find out what happened to him.
The initial scenes touch on Gurudev’s upright character and then bring in the element of illegal sand mining. It is when a young couple – Bhoomi (Mayuri Natraja) and Ravi (Anirudh Bhat) get down at his station that things take a turn for the worse. The couple tells him that they are orphans and want to get married, and Gurudev gets them married at the police station. But later he learns that she is the daughter of a local Dada and she marries Ravi, who is from a lower caste. All hell breaks loose when the couple disappears and the father wants his daughter back. What will Gurudev do next? Does inter-caste rivalry create problems in the city?
Movies revolving around a cop always involve a lot of action, and they can either be moral or about the triumph of good over evil.
Dhananjay becomes the one to set things right as he commits a perceived social crime. Masti’s dialogues are packed with punch and he has penned some great lines in this film. for the hero.
Now comes the antagonist. Written by Naveen Shankar, Bali along with Dhananjay stand out for giving a standout performance in the film. Amruta Iyengar doesn’t have much to do when it comes to women in this film. Although Mayuri Natraja has a small role, she does a great job in it.
Gurudev Hoysala is said to be based on a true story, but it is a normal police story. There are elements that can be added to give the audience unexpected surprises. The production values are good and Ajaneesh Loknath’s music is apt for this film. All in all, this Dhananjaya movie is a good weekend watch that brings the police action movie back to the limelight in Kannada cinema.