Raja Huli

Full marks to director Guru Deshapande for a lively script with a desi touch. Though it is a remake of Tamil movie Sundara Pandian, the director has selected villages near Mandya as location with beautiful settings, giving it a local touch. Manju Mandvya has extensively used local dialect with ease in his lively dialogues. It is a romantic story very well handled by Deshapande with some great sequences. While the first half is a romantic journey in a bus, the second half takes a serious turn.

The story, set in a village called Kodiyala, story begins with Moni, a friend of Raja alias Rajahuli (Yash), falling in love with Kaveri (Meghana Raj). The affair blossoms in a bus of Panchalingeshwara Travels which they both take to college. But Moni does not have the courage to reveal his love for her. Rajahuli helps him and tells Kaveri that Moni was in love with her. She surprises him by telling him that she loved him and not Moni. Their affair goes uninterrupted till Rajahuli goes to jail on charges of killing Cheluvaraj, who is also in love with Kaveri.

After coming back from jail, Raja finds that Kaveri is engaged to her relative. But with the help of his father, Raja is able to win her back. The story takes many curious turns and twists with Raja's close friends turning foes and trying to kill him for Kaveri. But Raja, the wounded huli (tiger), takes on them one by one. How does he do it?
Yash rocks with his excellent portrayal of Raja. Meghana Raj excels in dialogue delivery and expressions. Ravivarma has some adventurous fight sequences. Music by Hamsalekha is apt for the story. KM Vishnuvardhan’s cinematography is good.