Siddlingu was a film that made the audience sit up and take notice of actor Yogesh aka Loose Maada. Prior to this blockbuster, because of poor choice of scripts, the actor had a tough time convincing critics about his calibre. However, post Siddlingu, too, Yogi continued to make similar mistakes while choosing scripts, which made him lose the battle of frontrunners quickly.
After a brief hiatus – almost three years – the actor has now returned to the silverscreen with Lambodara, which, according to the makers, is a "family drama laced with laughter". Lambodara (Yogesh) is an irresponsible, jobless young man whose sole aim in life is to make a girl ‘fall for him’. His day begins with his parents – Achyut Kumar and Aruna Balraj – taunting him and the same falling on Lambodara’s deaf ears. So, all he does every single day is to wake up, dress up in extremely weird clothes and hang out with his friends Dharmanna Kadur (Danny) and Siddu Moolimani (Kedarnath) in the places where he can meet girls. To his bad luck, none of the girls reciprocate his attentions.
Enter Nithya, (Akanksha Gandhi) an NGO worker. She falls head over heels for Lambodara, but he does not want a relationship or responsibility. The drama then fizzles out into a clichéd second half. We have all enjoyed Yogi exploring sexuality in Siddlingu, in a subtle way. However, in Lambodara, the director presents him as a man whose sole aim is to indulge in sex, which makes us cringe. And to substantiate why Lambodara grows up this way, there are a few school days flashback scenes, where his biology teacher skips the chapter on sex and reproduction and Lambodara and his friends find out about it in their own way, fantasising throughout. Honestly, this makes no sense for today's audience.
Yogi plays the titular character with ease. The naughty boy, who grows up to be a naughtier young man character, works in favour of the actor. His transformation as a school student, which he has already attempted in several films, is appreciable but again, repetitive. However, emotional scenes are just not Yogi’s cup of tea. He either should learn to work on it or avoid doing them. A few emotional scenes seem like the actor is over-reacting to the whole situation, making it sound funny.
This is neither a good debut for Akanksha nor a platform for her to show her talent. Her character could have been written better, and she could have got more screen time. Also, it does not help that the the movie is filled with misogynist jokes. Apart from the loud, irritating (sometimes) lead actor, it is the supporting actors, who brighten the screen in Lambodara. Achyut Kumar as Lambodara’s annoyed father is brilliant. Lambodara is yet another example of Achyut's talent, proving as he has time and again that he can fit into the shoes of any character with ease. It is fun to see such nameless characters – they are mostly addressed as Appa, Amma, (Dad, Mom), uncle, throughout – leaving a huge impact on the audience.
Aruna Balraj gives us the typical 'Indian mom' feels with her constant nagging. Dharmanna Kadur and Siddu Moolimani as Yogi’s always-available friends are fun to watch. They are sure to get more such supporting roles after this film.
Another talented actor, Gopal Deshpande, is under utilised. Director K Krishnaraj, who had worked as assistant director for Kaalaya Tasmai Namaha with Yogi, is making his debut and the director tries very hard to maintain Yogi’s Siddlingu image rather than exploring actor Yogi, which is why he fails miserably. The title song is sure to make us recall the 'Eddelu Manjunatha' track – in terms of music and choreography – but it keeps up with the pace.
There is more than one fast number in the film, with the songs placed aptly with respect to the screenplay. But they dissolve from memory as soon as we get out of the theatre. Sure, Yogi has come a long way from Duniya, but where is he heading is undoubtedly the biggest question. Such repetitive, safe roles are sure to pose a big threat to his career graph. Another question that remains unanswered is for how long these filmmakers will keep playing to the gallery, making heroes utterly misogynist dialogues?
Watch it if you can enjoy clichéd, lengthy films with a joke here and there.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film's producers or any other members of its cast and crew.