JOIN USSome big hits, a few misses
This year has been a mixed one for the Kannada film industry. It not only saw a lot of remakes but a few straight subjects being explored as well. The new year looks good too with some big projects such as ‘Uttama Villain’, ‘Khushi Khushiyagi’, ‘Shivam’, ‘Ranna’ slated for release.
A majority of the Kannada films this year were remakes. Films like ‘Maanikya’, ‘Oggarane’, ‘ Drishya’, ‘Adhyaksha’ and ‘Power’ did well. Some of the other films that raked in good money were ‘Ugramm’, which was about the underworld and was the comeback film of actress Haripriya, who hadn’t worked in Kannada films for over a year. “I played a girl who has to deal with a very possessive father.
This film gave me a lot of scope for performance and it did really well,” she says. Haripriya has a line of films ready for release in Kannada in the new year. “There’s ‘Bullet Basiya’, ‘Ranna’ with Sudeep and ‘Ricky’ with Rakshith. I play very distinct characters in all these films,” she adds.
Actor Sudeep points out that working in ‘Maanikya’ has given him immense satisfaction. “The year 2014 kept me very busy and the new year too looks good. I am working on a Tamil film with Vijay and Sridevi and it’s great to work with some of the biggest names of different languages,” shares Sudeep.
Puneeth-starrer ‘Ninnindale’ failed to make waves. Upendra’s ‘Brahma’ by director R Chandru and ‘Super Ranga’, which was the remake of Telugu film ‘Kick’, were average.
‘Crazy Star’ came as a surprise because one got to see Ravichandran in the old lover boy avatar and the role brought back memories of his big hit ‘Premaloka’. Ravichandran essayed a different role in ‘Maanikya’ by playing Sudeep’s father and his performances in ‘Drishya’ and ‘Paramashiva’ were much appreciated.
One also saw a lot of actors hosting reality shows. Ganesh returned to the small screen after a decade with a show called ‘Super Minute’ while Ramesh Aravind’s show called ‘Weekend with Ramesh’ found a lot of takers.
Talking about his return to the small screen and his New Year release, ‘Khushi Khushiyagi’, Ganesh states, “I was overwhelmed with the way people accepted my show ‘Super Minute’. Hosting the show wasn’t easy at all but I took it as a challenge and the result has been very satisfying.” His first release in 2015 will be ‘Khushi Khushiyagi’ in which he plays a romantic hero and has been paired with Amulya for the third time.
The Kannada film producers weren’t happy with actors foraying into reality shows. They reasoned that these shows on the weekend affected the viewership of the films.
But actor Ramesh Aravind begs to differ and thinks actors must have the freedom to explore and experiment with different forms of entertainment. “The two best things that happened this year for me are ‘Weekend with Ramesh’ and the completion of the ‘Uttama Villain’. Both these things have enriched my experience and helped me create an excellent connect with the audience,” he states.
Interestingly, ‘December 1’, a film based on a true story by P Sheshadri, was the only Kannada film to be screened at the International Film Festival of India.