Director Srinivas Raju’s fascination for gangster dramas, especially the criminal nexus of Karnataka (such as the Dandupalya gang), never seems to die down. The director, who had previously come up with a trilogy about the Dandupalya gang, had gone in depth about its nefarious activities and given his perspectives from all angles over the last 10 years.

It now appears that he’s decided to conclude the notorious gang’s story with Hubli Dhaba, which has extremes of love, violence, bloodthirst, and drugs weaved into the film as three subplots.

Cast: Ravi Shankar, Naveen Chandra, Naina Ganguly, Divya Pillai, Pooja Gandhi

Director: Srinivas Raju

The entire story is centered around the Hubli Dhaba and the spotlight is on Chalapathi (Ravi Shankar), a police officer who handled the case of the Dandupalya gang. He is currently investigating a murder, which has taken place at a newly married couple’s house and the clues lead to a Dhaba. The second plot is about a drug dealer transporting a huge consignment. And the third is about the Dandupalya gang members, who are being transported for capital punishment. The narrative of the three plots goes back and forth, and the intrigue factor is raised by conceptualising the gang’s backstory.

The previous films about Dandupalya by Srinivas Raju gave us glimpses into the gangsters’ dangerous lifestyle, and their killing spree. With Hubli Dhaba, Srinivas Raju has managed to neatly blend the plots with a good presentation and a straightforward narrative. It is a technically strong film with the cinematography, background score, and editing elevating the film.

As for the actors, it is Ravi Shankar’s show all the way, and he excels with his dialogue delivery, expressions, and hits the high notes with the action sequence. Naveen Chandra, Naina Ganguly, and Divya Pillai add the glam quotient to the story. A special mention should go to the characters of Dandupalya, played by Makarand Deshpande, Pooja Gandhi, Ravi Kale, and Deepak among others who stayed close to their respective characters and made their presence felt.

Hubli Dhaba is surely for those who have liked Srinivas Raju’s filmmaking style and are fans of gangster dramas.