Godfather (2012 film)

Godfather
Grand 50 Days poster
Directed by	Sethu Sriram
Produced by	K. Manju
Screenplay by	K. S. Ravikumar
Story by	K. S. Ravikumar
Starring	Upendra Soundarya Jayamala Catherine Tresa
Music by	Songs: A. R. Rahman Background score: Rajesh Ramanath
Cinematography	Sethu Sriram
Release dates	27 July 2012 (2012-07-27)
Country	India
Language	Kannada
Budget	4.5 crores[1]
Box office	8 crores[2]

Godfather is a 2012 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by cinematographer-turned- director Sethu Sriram starring Upendra and Soundarya Jayamala in the lead roles. Catherine Tresa also plays a prominent role and Bhumika Chawla makes a special appearance.

The film is remake of the 2006 Tamil blockbuster Varalaru that starred Ajith Kumar, Asin Thottumkal and Kanika Subramaniam in the lead roles. Internationally acclaimed composer A. R. Rahman, who composed music for the original Tamil version, is the composer of the soundtracks and Rajesh Ramanath is the background score composer.

The film was released on 27 July 2012 and opened to a large number of highly positive reviews from the critics. Upendra's performance of a Bharatha Natyam dancer and as an old man bound to his wheelchair was highly acclaimed by critics and is considered one of the best performances of his career.^[3] Godfather performed moderately well at the box office and was declared an "above average grosser".^[4][5][6]

Plot

The film concerns a father's admiration for his son on one side and a son's sympathy to the mother. All four characters are connected in which three are Upendra and one is Catherine. Shiva is the 'God Father', who caters to his son's every need; however, he is confined to a wheelchair. He is well respected in the city. The hiccup is to his son Vijay (Upendra) from Ajay (Upendra). One is growing up with a 'God Father' and the other one is being raised by a 'Mad Mother'. For the situation of his mother Ajay wants to take revenge on his father, so he troubles Vijay in his marriage.

When the situation devolves to the extent of killing 'God Father' ('Shiva'), he gets up from his wheelchair to open his third eye. This Shiva flashback is the biggest draw of the film. One of the rarest characters, Shiva behaves like a female character, but he is an excellent dancer. In the village he is considered impotent and a eunuch. Sujatha, looking at a dance video of Shiva, agrees to marriage and travels straight to the marriage hall. The height of insult that Shiva faces makes him gutsy. He rapes Sujatha in her room. The result is the birth of twins, Vijay and Ajay.

In the climax Ajay falls sick and wants to kill his father Shiva and interrupts the marriage ceremony where he is told the truth. The 'God Father' is gunned down at this place.^[7]

Pre-production

The film went on floors on 28 April 2011 in Bangalore at Abbaiah Studios. Producer K. Manju first roped in Upendra and then went on to cast Simran and the daughter of yesteryear actress Jayamala, Soundarya, but Simran opted out after falling pregnant. Another budding actress, Catherine Tresa was also roped in to reprise the role originally played by Kanika Subramaniam in the Tamil version.^[8] It was P. C. Sreeram who insisted his long time friend A. R. Rahman compose the music for the movie.^[9]

Initial reports wrongly reported that cinematographer P. C. Sreeram would be the director of the film. Sethu Sriram, who had apprenticed under the veteran cinematographer and independently shot films like Samurai and Priyasakhi, directed the film.^[10]

Cast

• Upendra as Shiva/Ajay/Vijay
• Soundarya Jayamala as Divya
• Catherine Tresa as Sujatha
• Ramesh Bhat (Old man's servant)
• Hema Chowdhary (Shiva's mother)
• Bhumika Chawla in a special appearance

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album of the film was composed by Academy Award winning composer A. R. Rahman. The background score of the film was composed by Rajesh Ramanath. The soundtrack consists of seven songs, with most of the compositions retained from the Tamil version and composed only two new tracks for the Kannada version.^[11] The score was completed in a span of six months.^[12][13] The audio launch was held in a grand manner in Chancery Hotel, Bengaluru on 2 June 2012.^[14] The soundtrack album became very popular, and received highly positive critical reviews and met with many positive responses from audiences. Rahman got his first nomination in Kannada, by getting nominated in the Best Music Director category in the 2nd SIIMA Awards.

Release

As Superstar Upendra played lead roles in two films Katari Veera Surasundarangi and Godfather, the producers of those films had discussions over the back-to-back release of two films with the same lead actor. As per reports, the producer pushed the release date of Godfather to 3 May 2012.^[15] However, the mounting spar of the tussle over which film must release first was left unsolved. KFCC, part of South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce intervened the matter and stated that the film getting censored first would be released first.^[16] The producer of the film stated the production to be continuing for over 12 months and naturally wanted Godfather to release before Katari Veera Surasundarangi. The release was re-scheduled in the second week of May 2012. However, after several rounds of discussions, avoiding clashes with Upendra's other films, the release was confirmed for the second week of June 2012 as censoring was pending.^[17][18] The production house was unsatisfied with promotional activities done before release of the film, and the release date was pushed to 27 July 2012. The film was considered one of the major releases of the year after Katari Veera Surasundarangi.

Reception

Critical reception

Godfather opened to a large number of highly positive reviews from the critics upon release. DNA gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and stated, "Upendra has once again proved his mettle as the 'Real Star' in Sandalwood with this film. This is one of those films that can be watched by anyone - be it mass or class."^[19] The Times of India gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated, "A brilliant piece of directorial work by S Sriram who has chosen a serious family sentimental story and given it an excellent dramatic treatment which caters to all age groups. It's Upendra's extraordinary triple role that carries the entire story forward. Upendra stands out among others for his amazing performance from the beginning to the end. Enjoy a brilliant Bharatanatyam by Upendra, a highlight of the movie."^[20] S Shyam Prasad, entertainment editor of Bangalore Mirror, gave 3.5 stars out of 5 praising Upendra's performance in the flashbacks and stated that "Upendra alone makes this film a worthwhile watch. He ups the film several notches higher. The film is worth a watch and is a total entertainer."^[21] IBN Live praised Upendra's brilliant performance by stating that "the film rocks mainly because of Upendra's amazing performance which can go down as one of the best in his career. Upendra's performance in the role of a physically challenged old man who was a Bharatha Natyam dancer is really outstanding. Overall 'Godfather' is a clear winner because of Upendra's striking performance. Go and watch it for Upendra's awesome performance as a Bharathanatyam dancer."^[22] Supergood Movies gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and termed it a spectacular package.^[23] Sify gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and stated that "Upendra's style quotient and dialogue delivery are the highlights of this film. His portrayal of the Bharatha Natyam dancer and an old man pegged to his wheel chair is by far his best performance. Over all God Father is a pleasant watch and certainly one of the best movies which were released recently."^[24] Oneindia gave the movie 3.5 stars out of 5 stating that "Godfather is a well-made family entertainer that has a good story, which is rare in recent times. Upendra's character of the Bharatanatyam dancer will remain as the biggest highlight of the movie."^[25] Chitraloka also gave the film a very positive review by stating, "Super Star Upendra is all in all in cinematographer turned director Sriram directed Godfather. Upendra has mastered the art of performing the role of a psychopath. It is Uppi all the way. The film is marked by Uppi's princely performance for Uppi fans."^[26]

Box office

Godfather witnessed a tremendous opening at the box office on 27 July 2012 in more than 120 screens across Karnataka.^[27] The film opened to 80 to 90% occupancy levels all over Karnataka on its release day. On Friday, it raked in above 10 million with an average of 85% occupancy in most of the theaters. However, the collections showed a minor drop on Saturday and it managed to earn around 8.5 million. However, the movie picked up well on Sunday and collected more than 10.5 million and ended the weekend with an impressive gross of 29 million.^[28][29] According to distributor Prasad, the film recovered more than half of its budget by collecting almost 30 million during its opening weekend.^[30] Producer K Manju announced that the film managed to collect a total of 46 million in its first week and ended the first week on a decent note.^[31] The film grossed more than 75 million in two weeks and fetched a net share of more than 56 million for the distributor.^[32]

However, the film was severely affected by major non-Kannada releases such as Allu Arjun starrer Julai and Salman Khan starrer Ek Tha Tiger. Despite doing good business at the box office, the film faced tough times to retain screens due to the massive release of Salman Khan starrer Ek Tha Tiger. Irritated by the development, distributor Prasad approached the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce seeking their help to intervene and solve the issue. Prasad requested the film chamber to direct the theatres not to replace his movie with non-Kannada films.^[33] However, the issue showed political colour when none - not even KFCC - came forward to help Prasad.^[34] The film was further affected by the mammoth release of the Shivrajkumar starrer Shiva.

The film completed 50 days in release and did moderate business overall, bringing sufficient returns for the distributor through satellite rights^[35] and fetched a profit of 30 million for the producer. The film was declared an "above average grosser".^[36][37][38] However, the film's box office performance was much below expectations and nowhere near the expected blockbuster success.

References