Daredevil Musthafa review: Shashank perfectly delivers the best of Tejaswi’s work that brilliantly emphasises communal harmony

If you are looking for the best example of how to effectively present a popular piece of literature on the silver screen, then Daredevil Musthafa is it.

Crowdfunded by the readers and admirers of prominent Kannada writer and novelist Poornachandra Tejaswi, Daredevil Musthafa is based on the writer’s popular short story with the same title from his short story collection Abachurina Post Office (1973).

Let us delve straight into the world of Abachuru, a small town where the story is set, in which the Abachurina Government Pre-university College and its new batch of PUC students are the main focus.

Also read: ‘Daredevil Musthafa’ is crowd-funded by Tejaswi’s readers

The synopsis

Abachuru is a small town which has a strange history of its own. Everything looks fine on the outside but the town grapples with communal hatred between Hindus and Muslims.

It is at its worst during the annual “Ganapati” ceremony, especially when the procession passes through the Muslim dargah.

The situation has further worsened after a Hindu girl eloped with a Muslim boy. Against such a backdrop, the film opens to the focal point of the story — the Abachurina PU college.

All is fine until Jamal Abdul Musthafa Hussain, gets admitted into the college as a first-year PUC student — the sole Muslim student in the college.

This soon results in some differences among students and Ramanuja Iyengar and his gang start hatching plans to get Musthafa expelled from college.

Will Ramanuja and his gang succeed or is there more than just rivalry? Explore the comedy-drama that runs for over two and a half hours to find out!

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— Dhananjaya (@Dhananjayaka) May 17, 2023

Daredevil Musthafa does justice

The director, Shashank Soghal’s effort in presenting the popular story on the screen is commendable. He stays true to the characters and captures their essence through some of the finest acting by the cast, including the younger lot playing the leads.

The making and premise of the film Daredevil Musthafa are so close to the world that Poornachandra Tejaswi has created in his short story. Right from the characters, minute details of the set, costumes, makeup, and everything in between — the movie takes the audience to the imaginative world of Abachuru.

One of the biggest takeaways is that the humour is kept intact — despite the movie covering heavy social topics like communal hatred — and is, in fact, elevated on many occasions.

Shashank’s effort certainly stands out for its honest attempt to introduce a popular piece of literature without distortion, and raising it to the level of a commercial film that can be enjoyed by all kinds of audiences.

Ace performances

With good filmmaking, comes good performances too. The lead actors who play Musthafa (Shishir Baikady), Ramanuja (Aditya Ashree), Ramamani (Prerana Gowda), and scores of others, make this film a memorable one.

With a majority of the younger lot being students of theatre, there is no dearth of fine acting, but it is Ramanuja and Musthafa’s characters that shine the most.

Insofar as supporting roles are concerned, they are well handled, with the experience of Mandya Ramesh, MS Umesh, Poornachandra Mysore, and others.

The crux of this tale is all about promoting communal harmony. Poornachandra Tejaswi, who donned several hats — writer, novelist, photographer, painter, publisher, naturalist, environmentalist, and many more — penned it so brilliantly way back in 1973 that it forever stays relevant, especially in the present-day scenario.

Also Read: Sandalwood marks return to normalcy with line-up of big releases

Final verdict

In our opinion, this movie is a must-see even if you haven’t read Tejaswi’s work and more so if you have! It is a treat to watch one of the finest short stories be turned into a full-fledged film which has humour, love, escapades of college life, and most importantly, the essence of universal brotherhood and communal harmony.

(Views expressed are personal.)