John Jani Janardhan

John, Jani and Janardhan are three wastrel friends, who love to have a good time as long as they've each other's company. What happens when their happy-go-lucky lives is eclipsed by a fog that addresses a social evil?

This Guru Despande film is the remake of the Malayalam comic caper Amar Akbar Antony. The film in Kannada remains true to the spirit of the original, yet scores higher when it comes to technical aspects, like editing and visuals. The film offers pucca entertainment, mostly comedy, with a slight reference to a prevalent social evil towards the end.

The story doesn't really offer anything novel. There's no out of the box storyline, yet the way the screenplay carries forward with a series of funny and entertaining incidents along with many starry cameos ensures the pace remains quick throughout. The first half takes a bit of time to arrive at the crux of the story the makers want to narrate, but it does ensure there is commercial masala to entertain.

A novel factor about this story is the absence of an actual romantic track but instead focusing on the bromance between the three friends. The songs and visuals are well shot, showing why Santhosh Rai Pathaje remains to be one of the best when it comes to showing glossy tales on screen. Guru Deshpande's little improvisations on the screenplay ensures there is something for the Kannada audience.

When it comes to the performances, the lead trio steal the show. Each of them is on top of their game and also looks his best, with dapper makeovers. The cameos and the ensemble cast too adds to the story, be it Girija Lokesh, Ravishankar, Biradar or Chitra Shenoy. Sadly, there could have been a better selection of the negative lead, as his expressions remain the same throughout, so they go from becoming morbidly scary to LOL-inducing.

The film is for those who like their hearty commercial cinema, which includes a good dose of gloss, comedy and action. Go for John Jani Janardhan of you like good masala comedy and the bonus is that it has a message too.