“Janoo”, directed by Preetham Gubbi of “Maleyali Jotheyali” and “Johnny Mera Naam” fame, was supposed to be an action entertainer.

The presence of two young, talented artists had added expectations from the film, as did its song picturisations, which gave a boost in the hype around the film.

Gubbi seems to have missed the track in his fourth directorial venture, which has ended as a mixed fare.

Despite pleasant cinematographic work by S. Krishna and good picturisations of songs composed by Hari Krishna, the film fails in its overall technical strength mainly because of the weak script by Gubbi.

While some situations look entertaining because of good dialogues and lavish designing, the overall impact falls short due to lack of credible story content.

The film’s young pair looks fresh but there are lot of unnecessary sequences, which end up dragging its narration. A little bit of editing could have set right the irritants of the slow pace of the film.

The comedy in the film lacks the super fun qualities of Gubbi’s previous film “Johny Mera Naam”.

The story goes like this – Rukmini belongs to a rich family belonging to north Karnataka. Without informing her family members, she travels to Mysore to see Dasara festivities, but the festival is over by the time she reaches. There she meets Siddharth, a hotel owner. Rukmini eats food items worth Rs.800, but refuses to pay.

She says Siddharth has to take her home as the money she has brought has been swallowed. Siddharth takes her on his motorcycle to her native place. During the journey, they encounter several problems, and end up falling for each other. But Rukmini is engaged to a relative by her father, a gold-hearted man who can turn ruthless if the reputation of the family is at stake.

Siddharth feels shy of marrying Rukmini, and comes out of this dilemma when he comes to know Rukmini’s feelings towards him. Finally, all ends well.

Does the story sound like Hindi hit “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge”? Yes, you may be right as Gubbi has always been inspired by Hindi films, and he takes a leaf out of the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer this time.

Actor Yash rocks in the fights, while Deepa Sannidhi looks vibrant in songs and some funny sequences. Yash is also good and his chemistry with Deepa and Rangayana Raghu make an impact. Deepa’s styling and glamour quotient add some appeal to the film and she shows some improvement in her performance levels.

Rangayana is quite experienced to handle such sequences. Shobaraj is quite impressive in the role of a father. Sadhu Kokila is passable.

S. Krishna has handled his work quite efficiently. Hari Krishna’s background music is more impressive than his composition work.

There are many weak points in “Janoo”. Still it is good for a one time watch.