Chigurida Kanasu

Chigurida Kanasu
Directed by	T.S. Nagabharana
Produced by	Vajreshwari Combines
Written by	Shivaram Karanth
Starring	Shivarajkumar Avinash
Music by	V. Manohar
Country	India
Language	Kannada

Chigurida Kanasu is an Indian Kannada film directed by T.S. Nagabharana, starring Shivarajkumar and produced by Vajreshwari Combines (owned by Rajkumar). It is based on a novel of the same name by Shivaram Karanth, a Jnanpith Award winner.

Plot

Shankar (Shivaraja Kumar) is born and raised in Delhi. He has a doting father (Anant Nag) and a loud, annoying mother who cannot say "I love you" without making it sound threatening. Shankar has a younger brother, a pilot. While Shankar is content with his life, something in his heart tells him this is not where he belongs. Shankar’s girlfriend (who lives in Delhi) is a Kannadati (Vidya Venkatesh) who teaches her Hindi-speaking friends Kannada. In the meantime, Shankar’s mother is planning to marry him off and he reluctantly agrees to meet his bride-to-be. During the meeting he realizes the letter "B" in his name is for "Bangaadi", a person or a town, and is curious about its significance. Shankar discovers he is also a Kannadiga when his father says, “Speak in Kannada, my son. It has been so long since I have heard that language”, and Shankar is moved to tears. His father confides that Shankar's grandfather abandoned his roots, and Shankar wants to rediscover his heritage.

Despite opposition from his Hindi friends, Shankar visits his college friend from Karnataka and realizes that Bangaadi is a small village near his friend's home. When he touches the cold stone floor of his friend’s house, Shankar knows he has found his real home.

Shankar meets his grand-aunt, an old, frail woman who is delighted to see her brother reincarnated before her eyes. She tells the story of her life, and what led Shankar’s grandfather to flee. She shows him their family's land and asks him to help rebuild their house, which has fallen into disrepair. Shankar's grand-aunt's master, Shaanbog, resents his arrival after all these years. He has a young, cheerful daughter (Rekha Tripathi), who teaches in the village school and falls in love with Shankar.

Shankar returns home with the news for his father, wanting to return to Bangaadi with his entire family (including his girlfriend); however, none of them want to go with him. His girlfriend, weeping, just misses seeing him off at the railway station on his new odyssey.

When Shankar returns to Bangaadi, he builds a bridge across the river (which Shanbhog enviously swears never to step on), attempts to bring electricity to the village and begins working the land. Shanbhog's daughter dreams of a life with him. Shankar’s Delhite Kannadati girlfriend arrives, competing with the teacher for a place in Shankar’s life, but sacrifices her claim and returns to Delhi with a broken heart.

Cast

• Shivarajkumar
• Vidya Venkatesh
• Ananth Nag
• Avinash

Soundtrack

Reception

Although Chigurida Kanasu received critical acclaim, it did not do well at the box office.

Awards

Chigurida Kanasu received four state awards in 2003-2004:

• Best Film
• Best Actor (Shivrajkumar)
• Best Dialogues
• Best Music

In addition, the film's producers received Rs. 1 lakh and a gold medal.^[1]

Inspiration

While a number of critics alleged that Chigurida Kanasu inspired the Bollywood film Swades (starring Shahrukh Khan), Swades' writer has denied this.^[2]

References