Item dance “performer” Rachna Maurya can stop pouting over being labelled an item girl.

“Gubbi” director Vijay and music director Arjun give the dancer one of the gems of Kannada film music, “Neerinalli aleya ungura” (“Bedi Bandavalu” -1968, starring Kalyan Kumar and Chandrakala and penned by late R N Jayagopal), to shimmy to, along with better clothes.

Some ‘creativity’ indeed, when Bhyrappa’s “Aavarana” is referred to as a “piece” (dialogue: Malavalli Saikrishna)!

Arjun’s had tremendous fun with his instruments, going so far as to be ‘inspired’ by another old number.

Another person who’s also enjoyed his work is cinematographer M R Seenu, whose cameraplay delights the viewers, specially the mandatory patho song.

But “Gubbi” moves beyond formula, mainly thanks to the treatment and narration. Going into a lengthy flashback, Vijay tells the audience why five college-goers are pursuing don Magadi Naidu, stopping at nothing to kill him.

The sequences are plausible - a huge plus, and except for a couple of scenes, the actors seem to be under restraint, Rangayana Raghu more so. The Ajith-Reema pairing
is fresh and interesting, considering they have just one  song between them.Vijay is
also to be credited for not going overboard with emotions, unlike his mentor director Prem.

The screenplay slackens a bittowards the end and turns an excellent effort into something little more than passable.

Still, “Gubbi” is the better  offering of the two released this week.