Head Bush

Head Bush^[a] is a 2022 Kannada-language gangster film directed by Shoonya, written by Agni Shridhar, and produced by Dhananjaya and Ramco Somanna under the banner of Daali Pictures, SD Manna Talkies, and Zee Studios. The film features an ensemble cast of Dhananjaya, Balu Nagendra, Payal Rajput (in her Kannada debut), Devaraj, Yogesh, V. Ravichandran, Raghu Mukherjee, Vasishta N. Simha, Sruthi Hariharan, and Prakash Belawadi.

Head Bush
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Shoonya
Written by	Agni Shridhar
Produced by	Dhananjaya Ramco Somanna
Starring	Dhananjaya Payal Rajput Balu Nagendra Devaraj Vasishta N. Simha V. Ravichandran Yogesh Raghu Mukherjee
Cinematography	Sunoj Velayudhan
Edited by	Joseph K. Raja Harish Komme
Music by	Charan Raj
Production companies	Daali Pictures SD Manna Talkies Zee Studios
Distributed by	Zee Studios
Release date	21 October 2022 (2022-10-21)
Running time	138 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada

Head Bush was released on 21 October 2022. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics and became a box-office bomb.^[2]

Premise

In the late 1970s in Bangalore, M. P. Jayaraj alias "Head Bush" and his friends, Ganga and Samson, are called by Devraj Urs's son-in-law, MDN, to head "Indira Brigade" which was formed to protect Indira Gandhi's reputation. With unlimited money flowing from the politicians and cops, Jayaraj takes control over Bangalore, but petty issue triggers Jayaraj's gang, which leads to a personal rivalry between Jayaraj and his gang.

Cast

• Dhananjaya as M. P. Jayaraj
• Balu Nagendra as Samson
• Payal Rajput as Reshma
• Sruthi Hariharan as Rathna Prabha
• V. Ravichandran as a professor (guest appearance)
• Vasishta N. Simha as Kotwal Ramachandra
• Yogesh as Ganga
• Raghu Mukherjee as M. D. Nataraj
• Devaraj as Devraj Urs
• Avanthika as Indira Gandhi
• Prakash Belawadi

Production

Sandy Master was initially considered for the role of Samson.^[3][4]

Soundtrack

The music of the film is composed by Charan Raj

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Sakkare Putta"	Nagarjun Sharma	Meghana Bhat	3:18
2.	"Habibi Habibi"	Dhananjaya	Vagu Mazan Aishwarya Rangarajan	3: 46
3.	"Head Bush title track"	Karthik Chennoji Rao	Charan Raj Karthik Chennoji Rao	3: 30
4.	"Rowdigalu Naavu Rowdigalu"	Agni Shridhar	Sanjith Hegde and Deepak Blue	2:52

Reception

Sridevi S of The Times of India gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "If you are a fan of commercial films, Head Bush has the right ingredients to offer, that if you can manage to sit through the slow first half".^[5]

Muralidhara Khajane of The Hindu wrote "Despite being a well-written gangster drama that marries a political thriller, poor character writing and execution trouble this Dhananjaya film".^[6] Y Maheshwara Reddy of Bangalore Mirror gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "For a peek into the 1970s, this film is a must-watch".^[7]

Vivek M V of Deccan Herald gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The makers stay clear of any standpoint. It's also not right to expect the entire truth in a biopic. But is it too much to ask for a team filled with potential to deliver to its fullest?"^[8] Shuklaji from The News Minute gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Head Bush, as a film and the first episode of a potential long series, promises a lot but delivers on very, very little because the film, unfortunately, is consumed by its own lack of clarity".^[1]

A. Sharadhaa of Cinema Express gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Overall, Head Bush highlights crime, friendship, and family, and makes for a perfect outing for lovers of gangster films".^[9]

Controversy

The film became controversial because of a scene that allegedly insults Veeragase, a folk dance form of Karnataka. In a film sequence, a character refers to the Dharmaraya chariot as "jijubi" (useless). Sathish, a trustee of the Dharmaraya temple, said that the community was offended by the scene and urged the makers to remove it. He also claimed that the chariot shown in the movie is not a real one and further offered to provide the makers with actual footage of the chariot.^[10]

Notes

1. Head and bush refer to sides of a coin. The name was a gambling game from 1970s Bangalore.^[1]