You desperately want to like the film for the maddeningly zany characters played out by Pawan, Meera, Ali, Brahmanandam and others. Alas but nobody can improve on this script full of scenes, inspired from half a dozen Hollywood and Bollywood films of yesteryears!

Gudumba Shankar drives us crazy and turns out to be a not so wonderful experience after all. Pawan Kalyan uses his potent image to get the laughs as he tries hard to get the Jim Carrey expressions but ends up with egg on his face. Basically Pawan has an action hero image which he wanted to change into a goofball guy who runs riot making faces, cracking humourous one-liners, doing mindless acrobatics stunts with a touch of buffoonery. Pawan forays into comedy act may be due to survival instinct but taking him as a funny man will take time.

Meet Gudumba Shankar (Pawan) a nice guy and orphan who con the rich and corrupt and makes a living. He likes kids, which is shown in a song sequence that reminds you so much of Sharukh Khan’s Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani title song! During one of his escapades he meets Gowri (Meera Jasmine) a runaway bride who does not want to marry a petty rowdy and goon Kumaraswamy (Aasish Vidyarthi) .

After singing a couple of duets and traveling together Shankar and Gowri fall in love but Kumaraswamy tracks the girl and takes her back. The wedding is planned in a big way with a ‘Godman” Parabrahma Swamy (Brahmanandam)’s blessings. But soon our hero finds out that the Godman has a weakness for women and gets evidence on a CD which he uses to blackmail him and enter Kumaraswamy’s house as a wedding planner.

What follows is a slapstick comedy as Shankar spoils the wedding plans of Kumaraswamy. National award winning actress Meera Jasmine is a letdown as she has hardly anything to do and lacks glamour and oomph that a heroine of such genre films demand. She is a miscast and is there for four songs. Ashish Vidyarthi, Brahmanandam, Ali, Rajan.P.Dev and Sunil are adequate.

The music of Mani Sharma is foot tapping especially the “Chitti Nadunnu…” a rap number and Pawan’s dancing is superb. Chotta.K.Naidu is a highly overrated cameraman as there are far too many glitches in his lighting and camerawork. Gudumba Shankar packs sufficient thrills to satisfy only die-hard Pawan Kalyan fans.

Verdict: Disappointing