Kabaddi - Review

Debutant director Narendra Babu has set out with a challenge to entertain the Kannada audience, who are fed up with underworld movies. He seems to have intended to get national recognition to the rural game Kabaddi. He has tried to create another Lagaan and Chak De India through the Kannada movie Kabaddi.

Film Kabaddi is a love story with rural game Kabaddi as its backdrop. The speciality of the movie is that real Kabaddi players like Naveen, Venkatesh and BC Ramesh, who is Arjun award winner, have played the lead roles. The movie has a subtitle 'Kabaddi is as essential as Kannada".

Babu has given a realistic touch to the film. He seems to have influenced by the story of Drona-Ekalavya in Mahabharatha. The coach Kishor in the movie is as ambitious as Drona and wild talent Praveen is his pupil. Like Ekalavya, he gets his leg fractured for his coach. The movie portrays the aspirations, frustrations, high and lows of the Kabaddi players and their coach.

Praveen is a labour in rice mill. He is not well educated. Kabaddi coach Beeresh (Kishore) selects him and provides him essential training. He is sent to village leader"s daughter Priya to learn English language, but he falls in love with her. He joins the Mandya Blues team. How he wins his love as well as national level competition will form the story of the movie.

Actor Kishor has given wonderful performance in the movie Kabaddi. As a coach, he wins the heart of the audience. Dharma also impresses the audience with his natural acting. Although debutants Praveen and Priyanka have their own lope holes in acting, the director seems to have extracted natural performances from them.

Hamsalekha's music is a highlight of the movie. He has scored amazing background music for the film. The songs like 'Tholtode Thattu", 'Muththe Muththe" and 'Jhallantha" will rock the audience. Five cinematographers have worked hard to bring a top class visual effect to the movie. The art director has also contributed a lot in creating the fresh spirit in the film.

Young and promising director Narendra Babu has got good grip over the script. His narration seems to be very smooth and quite absorbing. Along with Hoo Pattanashetty, he has also penned some realistic dialogues. Mandya and Uttara Kannada dialects are helpful in creating desi spirit of the game.

In a nut cell, Kabaddi is surely a classic film. Debutant director Narendra Babu has contributed an original and desi spirit movie to Kannada film industry, when it really suffers from remakes.

Don"t miss to watch the movie Kabaddi!

Cast: Praveen, Priyanka, Ramesh BC, Kishore, Avinash

Director: Narendra Babu

Music Director: Hamsalekha

Producer: Ravi

Release Date: 07/03/2009