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With a couple of superhits and a few movies that had a decent run at the box office, the Kannada film industry fared better this year compared to the previous one. Though the year started on a gloomy note with the death of senior actors like K S Ashwath and Vishnuvardhan and popular singer C Ashwath, the industry managed to register the highest number of releases ever, with more than 130 films hitting the screens.
As expected, Aptharakshka was the first hit movie of the year. It was Vishnuvardhan’s 200th film and the sadness over the actor’s death before the release ensured big profit for the producers. Soon after this, a series of films released, with all of them getting washed away without a trace. Ask producer K Manju on what did he think of the year and he says, “2010 has surely seen a large number of releases. But the only ones who benefited from them were the actors not the producers.”
The second half of the year proved to be a relief for the industry with two superhits. The Puneeth Rajkumar-Suri combination created waves in the industry with Jackie, which became the highest grosser ever. According to industry insiders, in four weeks’ time, Jackie’s collection crossed the overall collections of Aptharakshaka and Mungaru Male. “With 130 releases, it has been a great year for the Kannada films. And with Jackie scoring the top rank, I am extremely grateful to the audiences, my director, mother and brothers,” says Puneeth.
The other big hit of the year was Upendra’s directorial venture — Super. The film, that marked the star’s return to direction after a decade, is still going strong at the box office. In between, Ajay Rao starrer Krishnan Love Story and Yograj Bhat's Pancharangi had their share of success too.
The year also saw Shivarajkumar’s 99th film Mylari. Directed by Chandru, Mylari was one of the most awaited films of the year. In fact, the movie made profit even before its release.
The industry also witnessed a few non-conventional films like Agni Shridhar’s Tamassu and Girish Kasaravalli's Kanasemba Kudureyeneri. The lead actors of both these films, Shivarajkumar and Biradar, won a lot of appreciation for their performances. “One can’t expect all the films to work at the box office as one never knows what the audience is thinking. I describe the year as a battle where over a 100 soldiers went to war with only a few managing to survive,” sums up Upendra.