Raju Kannada Medium

Raju is the average young small town boy who has dreams of doing something big in life. Through each phase in his life he learns valuable lessons. But will those little tidbits help him understand the larger purpose of life?

Given that First Rank Raju did very well with the youth, it was but natural that the team decided to continue the Raju brand and leverage on it. Does the combination of director Naresh Kumar and Gurunandan work for the second time? It only gets halfway there. The film has a breezy and entertaining first half. But the second half ends up stretching too long and the twists and turns end up a little underwhelming.

The makers had a great story as Raju is representative of almost every average youngster who chooses to follow the herd and doesn't try to find his own understanding of the purpose of life. From infatuation to family to friendship to money he finds different meanings to life through each phase of his life - only for him to be let down by each of those at those times. The first half of the film is rather entertaining and seems like an extension of First Rank Raju. The second half has some good bits, especially in the scenes featuring Sudeep, but the twists end up rather comical at times.

The film has some good cinematography. The songs too are catchy. One wishes the film could have utilized the same better. Sudeep's cameo is quite crucial plot, but the filmmaker has chosen to add a lot of extra twists that stretch the film to some rather bizarre locations and one sees quite some unbelievable things on screen. If only this entertaining film that aimed to give life lessons remained a little less longer, it could have worked better.

Gurunandan is an extension of his Raju act from the previous installment. The film has some memorable cameos, especially the one involving Suchendra Prasad. One only wishes that instead of being a sum of a few good bits, the film was a more entertaining on the whole. Watch it of you like slapstick humour and a loaded dose of PJs.