India, Oct. 17 -- Tamil cinema's latest romantic comedy, Dude starring Pradeep Ranganathan and Mamitha Baiju, has sparked a flurry of mixed reactions on social media. While some moviegoers praised the film's youthful energy and performances, others felt it failed to maintain its charm beyond the first half.

Several users on X (formerly Twitter) compared Dude to Thalapathy Vijay's 2001 romantic drama Shajahan, calling it the "Gen-Z version" of the classic. One reviewer wrote, "Thalapathy's Shajahan movie's Gen Z version (or 2k copy). 1st half is good, but 2nd half falls flat. The main enemies of the movie are music & editing, overall below average outing. 2/5."

On the brighter side, fans of lead actor Pradeep Ranganathan were all praise ...