Daredevil Musthafa based on a short story by Poornachandra Tejasvi, tells a story about a Muslim boy getting admission in a college filled with Hindus and how he tries to get along with all of them despite their stereotypical assumptions of him. This coming of age drama deals with friendship, jealousy, crush, betrayal and doesn't give the youngsters more than what they can handle.
The beauty of this story is the honesty in capturing the innocence of these characters. There is an excellent blend of humor with drama for which the writing has to be lauded. From the introduction of each of the key characters and the world the story is set in, the narrative is effective enough to get instantly connected. There is justification to Iyengari's jealousy towards Musthafa and how clueless is Musthafa for the unnecessary hatred he has to face.
It is the strong supporting cast that supports the two main cast - Musthafa (Sishir) and Iyengari (Aditya), while these two are excellent on their own. The final act is obviously a cricket match because what else will unify the people irrespective of religion? What stands out is how director Shashank Soghal sticks to the tone of the source material and doesn't go overboard with any scene for dramatic effect.
Daredevil Musthafa is easily is the best Kannada film of 2023 so far and kudos to the team for doing justice to the source material. A worthy watch in theater indeed.