Five men and one abandoned black bag with compass markings printed on it, Ombattane Dikku, a crime thriller, revolves around. With non-linear storytelling, the film gives an experience of a page-turner novel teeming with twists and turns that keep the audience guessing. An official remake of Tamil flick Kurangu Bommai, Ombattane Dikku begins with an animation sequence, with a voice-over by Darshan. He tells two brief stories - one of a hunter and another of a bird. This prologue becomes the essence of Ombattane Dikku.

Cast: Yogi, Aditi Prabhudeva, Ashok, Saikumar, Ramesh Bhat, and Sampath Kumar

Director: Dayal Padmanabhan

Rating: 3/5

The actual story of the film revolves around Channakeshava (Yogi), a cab driver in Bengaluru. In an attempt to help a man named Murthy (Ramesh Bhat), who loses his black bag, he ends up in a fix. The mess Channa goes through and other sub-plots lead to a climax that was middling.

The film also becomes a revenge drama in some instances and a romantic drama of Channa and Saroja Devi (Aditi Prabhudeva) in another. Briefly, it also touches on the friendship in the episode between Yogi’s father, Vasu (Ashok), and his gangster friend, Varadappa (Sai Kumar).

Dayal had brought the film to Kannada only for its content. So he does not take any risk. He faithfully reproduces the script and film of Nithilan Swaminathan. However, he does not make an effort to correct the flaws that did not work in the original. Nevertheless,  Perfect cast overcomes the shortcomings. Yogi, Ashok, Aditi Prabhudeva, and Saikumar play their part well. Sampath Kumar’s performance is one of the highlights of the film. With an untiring run-time, Ombattane Dikku, despite being a thriller, also depicts relatable middle-class lives, love, and friendships.