In a bid to shield their old adda–the debt ridden Kudla Café– from money lenders who are more like goondas, three friends- Bhaskar, Raghu and Peter, who were once much celebrated kabaddi champions, decide to raise funds. Just when that looks like an impossible task, the trio learns of a prestigious kabaddi tournament to be held in Mangaluru.
Having quit kabaddi 30-years ago and growing a paunch over the passage of time, they know it is an uphill task to win the tournament with their current stature. However, they do not want to let go of the chance they’ve got to return the favour of the owner of Kudla Café Paandu, who is also their Kabaddi coach.
The differences that arise between the friends coupled with the crisis in their personal lives and the way they tackle it in their journey to save the cafe, forms the essence of the movie.
In lieu of retaining the innocence of each character, the movie does feel a bit draggy. However the story line, the characters portrayed by Navin D Padil, Jyothish Shetty and Raghu Pandeshwar among others more than make up for the flaws.
More importantly, Kudla Café has given a promising actor to the Tulu film industry in the form of its lead character Shine Shetty.
Actress Ahana Kumbra has really got into the skin of the character as a kabaddi coach in the film.
Kudla Café is jointly produced by Surya Menon and Ranjith Shetty under the banner Yodha Motion Pictures.
Saleel Pathak has helmed the cinematography. Darshan Umang and Akash Prajapathi have scored the music for the movie. Shashiraj Kavoor has penned lyrics.
All in all is a great watch with friends and family.
