Saarathi

Saarathi

Theatrical release poster
Kannada: ಸಾರಥಿ
Directed by Dinakar Thoogudeepa , Amin Jafarizadeh
Produced by K. V. Satya Prakash
Screenplay by Dinakar Thoogudeepa
Story by Dinakar Thoogudeepa
Chinthan A. V.
Starring Darshan
Deepa Sannidhi
R. Sarathkumar
Music by V. Harikrishna
Cinematography K. Krishna Kumar
Edited by K. M. Prakash
Production
company
Sri Araseshwari Cine Productions
Release dates
  • 30 September 2011 (2011-09-30)
Running time
 166 minutes
Country India
Language Kannada
Budget ₹10 crore[1]
Box office ₹15 crore[2]

Saarathi (English: Charioteer) is a 2011 Indian Kannada-language romance action film written and directed by Dinakar Thoogudeep. It stars Darshan and debutante Deepa Sannidhi in the lead roles. V. Harikrishna scored for the film's background and its soundtrack, lyrics for which was penned by V. Nagendra Prasad.

The film released theatrically on 30 September 2011 when the Darshan was under judicial custody for alleged domestic violence against his wife, Vijayalakshmi.[1] After initial denial, the makers admitted in February 2012 that the film was inspired from the 1994 film The Lion King.[3] It received three awards at the 2011 Karnataka State Film Awards, including the Best Entertaining Movie.[4]

Plot

The story revolves around Raja (Darshan), an auto-rickshaw driver, who falls in love with Rukmini (Deepa Sannidhi). But she has an enemy in Pratap (played by Ajay), a relative who wants to marry her, and takes her to his hometown - Durgakote. Raja follows her to the place and finds that she hails from the family of palegars who rule the place. The story takes a turn when Raja finds that Rukmini is the daughter of his father's sister. The movie ends with action sequences.

Cast

Production

Saarathi was initially under the production of Kannada cinema veteran KCN Chandrashekhar, but was later taken up by K. V. Satya Prakash as his first film venture.[5] As a result of which, the film has been in the making for over 2 years[6] including 90 days for the shooting and later the film release got delayed owing to actor Darshan's arrest by the police following a complaint of domestic violence by his wife Vijayalakshmi.[7] It was filmed at major South Indian tourist places like Chitradurga, Pondicherry, Chalakudy (in Kerala) and Hyderabad, the film ran 100days in around 5 theaters.

Soundtrack

The music and Background score was composed by V. Ramakrishna and lyrics for songs were penned by Nagendra Prasad

Saarathi
Soundtrack album by V. Harikrishna
Released 19 June 2011
Recorded 2011
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length 23:01
Label Anand Audio
No. TitleLyricsSinger(s) Length
1. "Kai Mugidhu Yeru"  V. Nagendra PrasadShankar Mahadevan 5:00
2. "Manase Manase"  V. Nagendra PrasadVijay Prakash 4:47
3. "Vajra Ballalaraya"  V. Nagendra PrasadKailash Kher 4:43
4. "Haago Heege"  V. Nagendra PrasadDarshan, Vani Harikrishna 4:57
5. "Kittappa Kittappa"  V. Nagendra PrasadShamita Malnad, Shankar Mahadevan 4:54
Total length:
 23:01

Release and reception

The film released in 147 theatres across Karnataka on 30 September 2011, including over 30 in the city of Bangalore, and an additional 20 screens were put up due to its commercial success in the opening weekend.[1] Upon release, it received good reviews from film critics[8] chiefly for its narration, tight screenplay, art work and technicalities like the use of computer graphics for stunts and song picturisation.[9] Darshan's acting performance in this film has been praised by the reviewers,[10] calling it even as his best movie till date.[8] Ravi Varma's stunts sequences and Eshwari Kumar's art work - who has assembled a 30 ft. statue of Goddess Chamundeshwari in water falls is also a noted aspect of the film.[11]

Bangalore Mirror rated it 4/5 stars[9] and the entertainment website Supergoodmovies also rated it with 4/5 stars.[11] While other newspapers like The Times of India and DNA India rated it at 4.5/5.[10] Bangalore Mirror summarised it by saying that "the real hero of the film is director Dinakar and it is a film to enjoy, being one of the biggest entertainers of the year."[9]

Awards and nominations

2011 Karnataka State Film Awards
1st South Indian International Movie Awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bangalore Mirror - Darshan makes a big hit again, this time with his film
  2. ↑ http://ibnlive.in.com/news/2011-success-rate-of-kannada-films-increased/215982-62-132.html IBN: 2011: Success rate of Kannada films increased
  3. ↑ "'Chingari' is Remake of 'Taken' - Darshan". supergoodmovies.com. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Suresh, Sunayana (14 March 2013). "Karnataka State Film Awards 2010-11 winners". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Two for the week - Darshan Sarathi big release
  6. ↑ Times of India - Darshan wants to be famous like Shankar Nag
  7. ↑ Bangalore Mirror - Darshan is a fine actor
  8. 1 2 DNA India Review - Review: Kannada film Sarathi is arguably Darshan's best film
  9. 1 2 3 Bangalore Mirror Movie Review - Sarathi: Killer punch
  10. 1 2 Times of India - Movie Review: Saarathi
  11. 1 2 Supergoodmovies.com - Sarathi Kannada Movie Review
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