Siddhartha

Why Sidhartha is of special interest is because it marks the Sandalwood debut of Vinay Rajkumar, grandson of thespian Rajkumar. And the lad is anything but disappointing. Love being the central theme, the film traces the journey of a young couple who parts ways because of a trivial spat. While the first half is brimming with energy — be it sequences of an antakshari competition, cricket match or college life — the second half aptly captures the plight of the pining lovers, tugging at your heartstrings.

The story revolves around two lovers — Siddu alias Sidharth (Vinay Rajkumar), a singer and a guitarist and Khushi (Apoorva Arora). While Siddu is a happy-go-lucky boy, Khushi is rather possessive and wants all his attention. When their families agree to get them hitched, Siddu seeks a 20-day break from Khushi to lead a carefree life with his friends. But there’s a catch. Khushi’s not allowed to meet, call or text him during this period. Khushi, being her clingy self, is not able to live without him. After 20 days, an angry Khushi tells Siddu that she also wants to take a one-year break from him and go to London for higher studies. Siddu agrees. The story takes an interesting turn when Khushi returns with her new lover Rahul. Naturally, Siddu, who’s been eagerly waiting for her, is devastated. Will he be able to win her back?

Full marks to Vinay Rajkumar for pulling off the role of the lover boy with élan. Apoorva Arora is impressive when it comes to dialogue delivery and expressions. Nikki, too, does her bit. Sachina Heggar needs a special mention for costume designing. A V Krishnakumar’s cinematography’s is brilliant, especially shots captured in foreign locales. Harikrishna’s tunes are catchy. Dialogues by Raghu Samarth are good.