Santhu Straight Forward

Santhu Straight Forward^[2] is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language action romantic film directed by Mahesh Rao and produced by K. Manju.^[3] The film stars Yash and Radhika Pandit in the lead roles, alongside Shaam, Sneha Acharya, Devaraj, Seetha, Anant Nag and Thilak in supporting roles. The music is composed by V. Harikrishna, while cinematography and editing were handled by I. Andrew and K. M. Prakash.^[4][5] The makers had clarified that the film was inspired by the 2015 Tamil film Vaalu as K. Manju had earlier bought the film's remake rights.^[6][7]

Santhu Straight Forward
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mahesh Rao
Screenplay by	Mahesh Rao
Dialogues by	Anil Kumar
Story by	Vijay Chandar
Based on	Vaalu (2015)
Produced by	K. Manju
Starring	Yash Radhika Pandit
Cinematography	I. Andrew
Edited by	K. M. Prakash
Music by	V. Harikrishna
Production company	K. Manju Cinemas
Distributed by	Jayanna Combines Eros International
Release date	October 28, 2016 (2016-10-28) (India)
Running time	159 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Kannada

Santhu Straight Forward was released on 28 October 2016 and became a commercial success at the box office. The film was dubbed in Hindi and Bengali as Rambo Straight Forward and in Tamil and Malayalam as Sooryavamsi.^[8] It was also dubbed in Telugu as Raraju - King Of Kings.

Plot

Santhu, a straight forward guy living a happy life with his loving family, falls in love with Ananya, a B.Arch student. Ananya and Santhu become friends after a series of comical mishaps. However, Santhu soon finds that Ananya is engaged to Deva, a gangster and real estate dealer, due to her dead parents's wish. Ananya, despite in love with Santhu, keeps avoiding him. Deva learns about this and a cat-and-mouse game ensues between Santhu and Deva. During Deva's wedding, Ananya and Deva are kidnapped by Dubai Bhai, a crime boss, as he wants to exact revenge on Deva due to a real estate issue. Santhu arrives and rescues Deva and Ananya, while killing Dubai Bhai in the process. Deva arranges Santhu and Ananya's wedding, where Santhu secretly reveals to Ananya that Dubai Bhai is a fake person and that the guy who played Dubai Bhai is his uncle. Santhu reveals that Ananya's friends and grandfather are also involved in the plan, thus fooling Deva. Santhu and Ananya get married in the presence of their families, friends and Deva.

Cast

• Yash as Santhosh aka Santhu
• Radhika Pandit as Ananya
• Shaam as Deva
• Sneha Acharya as Muskhan
• Devaraj as Santhu's father
• Anant Nag as Ananya's grandfather
• Thilak as Syed
• Aishwarya Pisse as Santhu's sister
• Besant Ravi in a special appearance as himself
• Girish Shivanna as Santhu's friend
• Sumithra in a special appearance as herself
• Seetha as Santhu's mother
• Avinash as Ananya's Father
• Veena Sundar in a special appearance as herself
• Charandeep in a special appearance as himself
• P. Ravi Shankar in a guest appearance as Santhu's uncle
• Shobaraj and Neenam Ashwath in a guest appearance in the song "Self Made Shehazada"
• Meghasri as Ananya's friend

Soundtrack

Santhu Straight Forward
Soundtrack album by V. Harikrishna
Released	12 October 2016 (2016-10-12)
Recorded	2016
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	21:48
Label	Lahari Music
Producer	V. Harikrishna

V. Harikrishna has composed for original score and soundtracks of the film.

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Self Made Shehzaada"	Chethan Kumar	Ravisankar, Ranjith, Santhosh Venky, Shashank Sheshagiri	3:55
2.	"Thangaali"	Yogaraj Bhat	Sonu Nigam	4:41
3.	"Anthu Inthu"	Ghouse Peer	Tippu	4:40
4.	"Koodi Itta"	Ghouse Peer	Sonu Nigam, Sunitha Upadrashta	4:30
5.	"Volle Huduga Sikkoune"	Yogaraj Bhat	Tippu	4:02
Total length:				21:48

Reception

Critical response

Sunayana Suresh of The Times of India wrote "This film is for fans of commercial cinema in its purest form. Of course, it may have a song or fight extra, but that's always a bonus for people who like such cinema.^[9] S. Shyam Prasad of Bangalore Mirror wrote "Santhu Straight Forward is the kind of film that makers think consolidates a fan base of a star."^[10] A. Sharadhaa of The New Indian Express wrote "The film has a thin plot but it keeps you entertained. It's out-and-out Yash's show that cannot be missed by his fans".^[11] Shashiprasad SM of Deccan Chronicle wrote "No doubt that this one is straight from the rocking star to his fan!".^[12]