Hebbuli


Hebbuli is a 2017 Kannada action film directed by S. Krishna. The film features Sudeep and V. Ravichandran, who teamed up for the second time after Maanikya. Amala Paul made her debut in Kannada cinema. P. Ravi Shankar, Kabir Duhan Singh and Ravi Kishan play the antagonists.
Produced by SRV Productions, the cinematography is by A. Karunakar. The soundtrack and film score are composed by Arjun Janya. Principal photography commenced in Bangalore in mid June 2016, continuing in Hyderabad, Jammu-Kashmir and Iceland.
The film was released on 23 February 2017.

Plot

The story begins with Captain Ram rescuing 3 doctors, including Dr. Nandini. Nandini falls in love with him, but does not express it. One night, Ram receives a letter stating that his brother IAS officer Sathyamurthy is dead. He arrives at Bangalore and takes the case himself, which had been dismissed as a suicide. He discusses this with Sathyamurthy's friend, ACP Prathap. He tells him about reopening the case. Ram feels it to be murder. He gets a clue that someone hanged his brother and finds the culprit to be Danny Kuttappa. He goes to his place in order to arrest him but Kuttappa escapes and is killed by a passing car driven by Kabir. In the house, Ram sketches a man's picture and a tattoo on the car. He asks Nandini about him finding him. Nandini finds him in a gym. Ram goes to his place with the help of Nandini and starts to chase him. He goes to a building and dies by falling off the building.
Ram asks ACP Prathap about his brother. Prathap says that his brother Sathyamurthy once punished the mayor for an illegal act and warns him. The next day he is arrested for killing the mayor and is suspended. Ram also inquires about his brother's wife Anuradha Sathyamurthy. She describes two incidents:
Ram finds his brother's phone and tracks his call to a number and hears a voice. The voice is revealed to be Arasikere Anjanappa. Ram fears him and wants revenge. Anjanappa calls Amruth Shah and tells him about him. Anjanappa sends Kabir to follow Ram. Ram sees a car parked near his home and realizes that it is Kabir's. Ram notices Kabir and sets a trap. Amruth calls him back.
Ram takes Anjanappa's phone call evidence. Amruth Shah and Anjanappa torture his brother's wife and says Ram will abandon his mission and give them evidence. Ram knows and warns them. Ram captures Kabir and reveals the truth.
Sathyamurthi decides to start generic medicine and discusses it with Anjanappa, but Anjanappa joins Amruth Shah and Kabir to use medicine as a business. Sathyamurthy opposes them. Anjanappa gets Sathyamurthy arrested and suspended from his job. One night Sathyamurthy calls him, recording the calls for evidence. Anjanappa Amruth Shah and Kabir kills him.
Amruth Shah and Anjanappa plan to kill him and kidnap his brother's daughter. Ram joins the army. The army rescues Sathyamurthy's daughter. Ram sets a spy camera on his shirt button and takes Kabir to them. Anjanappa and Amruth Shah kill Kabir and beat Ram. This is recorded on Ram's spy camera and broadcast on TV and reveals their true color. Finally, Ram kills them.

Cast

Casting

After hiring Sudeep to play the protagonist, director cast P. Ravi Shankar to play a negative role opposite Sudeep. Since the plot required a parallel male lead to play Sudeep's brother, the director approached V. Ravichandran to play the character. Actress Amala Paul, who was on the lookout for a fresh script in Kannada, was signed to play the female lead. For the other antagonist roles, Kabir Duhan Singh and finally Ravi Kishan were selected.

Costume design

Sudeep sported a unique hairstyle in the film in which half of his hair was kept short while the other half was grown long and tied back.

Release

The film opened on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri 23 February 2017 on 450 screens across the country.
In 3 January 2019, the film's Tamil version Poiyattam was successful released.

Soundtrack

scored the soundtrack and film score. He composed six songs including one theme song. The audio was released on 25 December 2016 at Davangere in the presence of the cast and crew. The songs were leaked before Audio Launch. Music label, Zee Music acquired the audio rights making it the firm's first ever Kannada project.

Reception