Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare Review: A hilarious campus drama that’s unpredictable

Kannada cinema seems to be re-inventing itself in recent times with movies aimed at the youth but entertaining for all. Nithin Krishnamurthy’s Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare, his debut directorial, focuses on the male bonding in a campus hotel and what antics guys there get up to. The entire movie is shot on a ‘hand-held camera’ (held by Arvind Kashyap) and follows the protagonists at Thunga Boys Hostel on a hilarious and chaotic ride over one night before a major exam.

Ajith’s dream (Prajwal BP) is to make a short film but his roommates (Srivatsa Shyam, Tejas Jayanna, Bharath Vashisht, Aniruddha) shoot down the idea as they have an exam the next day. They suddenly find the hostel warden (Manjunath Nayaka) dead and a letter that names all of them as the reason for his supposed death by suicide. Panic sets in and the friends decide to get rid of the body with the help of their seniors, Genie (Nithin Krishnamurthy), Swami and their friend. What happens over the course of the night?

Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare is a film that is all about self-awareness, self-deprecating humour and pop culture. Why the film works is because there is no one main lead and the director has tried to keep the energy levels high throughout the film by constantly throwing a curveball. Along with the main plot, Nithin distracts with a few sub-plots, some of which are hilarious as well. There are some parts in the second half that start to lag and meanders. It looks like the director was looking to kill time. While the film is not perfect, it has a lot going for it.

Coming to the performances, Manjunath Nayaka was excellent and the main gang of friends were on point. Adding the cameos by Rishab Shetty, Pawan Kumar and Shine Shetty was good as it leant to the super seniors’ angle in a campus story. Ramya Krishnan’s initial appearance was fun but the later ones (single shot insertions) didn’t add any value to the script. Music director Ajaneesh B Loknath has given some superb songs for this campus caper.

Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare is a good directorial debut by director Nithin Krishnamurthy. This unmissable comic caper (presented by Rakshit Shetty) is a film that needs to be watched with your gang of friends – boys or girls.