Sandalwood 2015: The sweet smell of success

It was a good year for Kannada films with 100-plus releases and a remarkable number of hits.  Here’s the year in flashback.

 Blockbusters

Rangitaranga: This was, without doubt, the surprise hit of the year. It had an unknown director, unknown hero, heroines, music director… well, let’s say there were no known names in the cast or crew.  And when it released it broke a nearly three-decade-old record and ran for 25 weeks.

Aatagara: Produced by the titan of Kannada industry, Dwarakish, and directed by K M Chaitanya, of Aa Dinagalu fame, this was a taut suspense thriller shot entirely on an island. The movie made more than a fair share of money for the producers and the actors reaped the benefits as well.

Uppi 2: This movie was the sequel to the mega blockbuster of yesteryears, Upendra. Directed and produced by Upendra himself, it caused a buzz from the moment it was announced and the box-office performance lived up to the hype.

Krishna Leela: Krishna came to the aid of debut producer Ajay Rao. If Krishnan Love Story established him as a bankable hero, with this movie, he proved himself to be a successful producer, too. Special mention must also be made of the hit song Pesal Man in the voice of Power Star Puneeth.

So-so

Rana Vikrama: Much was expected from this Puneeth-starrer, more so because the director was fresh from the success of Govindaya Namaha. Sadly, with a story line which had become stale, this movie did not make waves. The producers didn’t lose money, but they didn’t rake it in either.

Kenda Sampige: This movie was released with a tagline “Ginimari Case, part 2”. Critically appreciated, it did decent business. The bane of kannada movies, not getting the right theatres and right shows, continued to plague this one, too.

Abhinetri: Produced by Pooja Gandhi, who also featured as the lead, this was rumoured to be a take on the personal life of legendary Kannada actress Kalpana. There was a lot of interest in the film and it did decent business, too. Pooja Gandhi dubbed the role in her own voice, thus becoming a strong contender for the state award for best actress!

Ranna: Sudeep continued to seek comfort in being a remake hero with this remake of hit Telugu movie Attarintike Daaredi. After the initial hoopla by his fans, it settled down and did only average business.

Vajrakaya: The hit pair of Shivanna and Harsha came together once again for this movie, after the mega success of Bhajarangi. The highlight of this movie was the guest appearance of leading stars from Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam industries in the title song.

 Flop shows

 Mr. Airavatha: In the making for the longest possible time and in the news for all wrong reasons – apparently the hero slapped the director for taking too long to complete the movie – this was a disaster from day one. Darshan needs a huge hit to cement his position as the most bankable star after the debacle of his last two movies.

Raate: For director A P Arjun, nothing went right this year. This one was released before Mr. Airavatha, but was a big disaster. The title song was pleasing, the lead pair looked good. That’s about it.

Endendigu: When the most successful dance director in the industry today, Imran Sardaria, became a director with this movie, expectations were very high. The title song released on youtube looked stunning. Ajay Rao & Radhika Pandit looked gorgeous. That was all that was there to this movie.

Vaastu Prakara: The director was Yograj Bhat and the lead actor was Jaggesh. In supporting roles were Anant Nag and Sudha Rani. It was a dream cast and dream director, but success eluded the film.

Also Read

Kollywood 2015: Hits, Misses, Money-Spinners

Tollywood 2015: Stars who rocked the screen this year