Dharala Prabhu; movie review

DHARALA PRABHU
Cert 12A
145 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate sex references, infrequent strong language

Some movies may be remade once and some twice or even three times but this is the FIFTH different version I have seen of the Canadian film Starbuck.
In 2011,  I watched the original sperm donor comedy and the following year its Bollywood remake, Vicky Donor, was released.
Two years later Vince Vaughn starred in Delivery Man and, in the very same week, a French version, Fonzy, hit the screens.
Clearly, movie-makers don't think our appetite is sated because Krishna Marimuthu's Dharala Prabhu is yet another slant on the old theme.
And I am pleased to report that this Tamil picture has enough new slants, pathos and energy to recommend viewing.
It stars Harish Kalyan as Prabhu, an easygoing twentysomething who dreams of being propelled to the stars by his football talent.
Alas, he ain't no Lionel Messi, so he earns money by being an unreliable delivery boy for his mother's cosmetics company.
This is how he gets to meet the beautiful Nidhi (Tanya Hope) and embarks upon a sweep-off-the-feet romance.
However, he doesn't tell her that he has been persuaded to be the star sperm donor at the fertility clinic run by an eccentric doctor (Vivek).
The latter adds the spark to Dharala Prabhu with all of the best comedy lines including a stream of double entendres.
Initially, the doctor seems like a bit of a conman, concentrating on how much money he can earn from childless couples but as the film develops we learn there are different sides to him.
Marimuthu's movie doesn't challenge its audience cerebrally but it does have pathos, addresses prejudice and reaches for the heartstrings.
And it has an ending which might even elicit a bit of emotion.
However, I definitely don't want to see a sixth edition of Starbuck.

Reasons to watch: Light comedy with a message
Reasons to avoid: Not laugh-out-loud funny

Laughs: One
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know?  India is one of the most affordable destinations for in vitro fertilisation and other infertility treatments anywhere in the world. Some fertility clinics here have been established for 30 years and the country has over 500 individual infertility treatment centres.

The final word. Harish Kalyan: "We have entirely changed the screenplay of the second half except for the climax and it is largely a different film from Vicky Donor -- at least, that’s the feedback I have received so far.” Cinema Express

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