Laughing Buddha movie review: Pramod Shetty’s film is a simple and satisfactory one-time watch

3/5

Laughing Buddha movie story: Govardhan K (Pramod Shetty), is a constable at Neeruru Police Station, run by a hot-headed SI, who does not believe in sparing the rod when it comes to dealing with criminals, with little effect, though. Govardhan, on the hand, has a better success ratio in cracking cases, on account of his more humane interactions with culprits and winning them over with home-cooked food.

When Govardhan’s food habits and his, as well as other colleagues’ burgeoning waistlines and general lack of fitness get called out and are given a three-month ultimatum to shape up or ship out, he enrols at a naturopathy-clinic. Before Govardhan makes any headway on this journey, he is called back to duty, to use his skill-sets and get a criminal who conned the local MLA to spill the beans on where he’s hidden his loot.

Laughing Buddha movie review: Director Bharath Raj M’s film has two arcs – one about a police force that’s physically unfit for duty, and another - the real plot – about a fraudster who conned an MLA and took off with a whopping Rs 50 lakh. The recovery of this loot is the crux of Laughing Buddha, but the filmmaker spends a great deal of time on the protagonist’s love for food and his weight that is in the 3-digit territory. Laughing Buddha, though, is not a Biggest Loser slimming show, even if the first half gives that impression.

When the narrative finally course-corrects and the hunt for the MLA’s missing money begins, the events of the first half become an afterthought. Interestingly, Bharath uses a certain ailment as a plot point to good effect, much better than it was in a recent Kannada romantic drama that had a good box office run. Diganth, who anchors this bit of the narrative is fun to watch, but one cannot help but wonder how much crazier it could have gotten if Rishab Shetty, the original choice for the character, had done it.

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Pramod Shetty gets to show he’s more than an eye-rolling, moustache-twirling baddie, and makes Govardhan very likeable. Special shoutout to Sunder Raj, as Govardhan’s father-in-law, and the actors playing the SI and ASI, respectively. Teju Belawadi, as Govardhan’s wife Satyavathi, has a sparkle in her eyes and brings a certain charm to a role that requires little of her.

But for a scene in which she admonishes Govardhan for blaming her home-cooked meals for his girth, when his snacking habits at work are really the problem, her role offers her nothing impactful. Strangely, although Pramod and Teju are physically mismatched (he literally towers over her), the duo makes for a believable and cute couple.

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Laughing Buddha movie verdict: Bharath Raj M’s film is simple fun; there’s nothing ground-breaking about it and you’ll probably figure out where it’s headed miles before you get to the finish line. It’s a decent one-time watch with family, even though a couple of expletives are slipped in. Well, it’s a tale set in a police station after all.