Learning from the past, we have to navigate through the future! When one looks at ‘Mandya Haida,’ one of the dozen Kannada releases on February 16, this is not just a friendship tale but also laced with a love story. The height of confidence in the characters brings something special that you feel when you watch this film.
Director V Shrikanth has deviated from the regular pattern at times but succumbs to the commercial needs to fill the galleries.
A good-looking Shiva (Abhay Chandrasekhar) with his friends in his village has one motto in life: to disrupt all love marriages. He has formulated plans to disturb the lovers through the Love Failure Gang. He has a strong reason to do so, which unfolds in the film’s second half.
On the other side, Shiva becomes friends with the beautiful Priya, but she falls in love with Shiva because of his good deeds, other than breaking up lovers. When Priya seeks Shiva’s help to support her friend who is in love with a boy, he agrees, but the outcome is something different.
Later, Shiva’s friends mistake him for not joining them regularly and presume that he is in love with Priya. However, Priya and Shiva’s absence from the village for two days leads to various complications. At this stage, Priya’s father (played by Bala Rajawadi) expresses a lot of confidence in his daughter and feels proud after learning why she went with Shiva to the city for two days.
At this point, Priya obtains permission from her parents to express her love to Shiva, but he feels that friendship is more important than love.
Now Priya feels proud about it, and she narrates the same to Shiva’s good friends who are now mistaken. But the developments further take a very strange turn and stand out from the typical commercial pattern of films.
Abhay Chandrasekhar shines well in dance, action, and emotional scenes in his second film. Bhumika Mahesh is a heroine to watch in the upcoming films. She has good dancing ability and acting skills. Bala Rajawadi, as a father, is impeccable, while muscular Vishnu, in his first film as a villain, is quite okay.
Surendranath has provided two lovely tunes, and ace action director Thriller Manju’s stunts are a treat for action lovers. Manu Gowda, as the cameraman, is extremely proficient in ‘Mandya Haida.’
The maker of the fifth film, Thejas Creations Chandrasekhar, has shown good growth in the selection of content and presenting it to the silver screen – it is indeed a memorable film for friends and lovers!
