Review: Gurkha : Cine Observer

Film: Gurkha

Cast: Yogi Babu, Charlie, Elyssa Edhart, Raj Bharath, Devadarshini, Aadukalam Naren, Manobala, Sandy (dog) and others

Director: Sam Anton

Music: Raj Aryan

Cinematography: Krishna

RATING : ***

Gurkha is a laugh riot that features comedian Yogi Babu in the lead. The film, directed by Sam Anton known for having directed the horror comedy Darling, has Canadian actor Elyssa Erdhart playing the female lead.

The story is simple. A group of powerful people in society including a US Consul member Margaret (Elyssa Erdhart) are tricked into coming to a mall where they are taken hostage by a bunch of terrorists who are led by a ruthless radical (Raj Bharath). The terrorist leader will stop at nothing to make money.

With the cops hesitating to storm the building as their dear ones are among the hostages and with the terrorists threatening dire consequences if the ransom amount they are demanding is not paid, it looks like the fate of the hostages is sealed. But as luck would have it, two Gurkhas Bahadur Babu (Yogi Babu) with his dog Undertaker(Sandy) and Charlie are inside the mall, unknown to the terrorists. How they save the day is what the film is all about.

It is evident right from the start that the film’s only motive is to make audiences laugh and it succeeds abundantly in that mission. Yogi Babu’s retorts and one-liners make you smile in the first half and then roar with laughter in the second. This is to say that the film begins off on a slow note but then keeps picking up pace. In fact, by the time the second half begins, there is not a moment that is dull and boring.

Yogi Babu has no problems playing the lead in the film. He comfortably carries the entire film on his shoulders, shooting out punch lines occasionally to sustain the interest of the audience. His troubles when it comes to speaking in English with the heroine Margaret, is nothing but fun. For instance, she introduces herself as Margaret and Yogi Babu promptly understands her name to be Market. He keeps addressing her as Market, wondering how someone can name their pretty daughter that way.

To Yogi Babu’s credit, the man has done complete justice to his role and has even performed the dangerous stunts that the hero’s role required all by himself. For instance, there is a sequence in the film where Bahadur Babu rescues a kid that is being dropped off the eight-floor mall by terrorists. Yogi Babu had to leap out from the top floor with just a fire extinguisher water pipe tied to his foot and he did it himself , dangling in the air for quite sometime.

Most of the comedy sequences in the film work. Some fall flat but then, these can be excused as those sequences that work more than compensate for the ones that don’t.

Manobala, who plays Shaktiman, the proprietor of the security service for which Bahadur Babu works adds to the fun quotient as does Charlie who plays Yogi Babu’s colleague. One other person who plays a big part in making the film entertaining is Mayilsamy, who plays a politician whose party has managed to get only four votes.

Elyssa Erdhart, who makes her debut as a heroine in the Tamil film industry, does a neat job of playing the US consul member, who is kind and considerate on the one hand and tough and acidic while dealing with corrupt politicians on the other.

The dog Sandy, which plays the lazy dog Undertaker in the film, is cute and wins hearts hands down.