Pancharangi

Pancharangi
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Yogaraj Bhat
Produced by	Yograj Bhat K Subramanya[1]
Screenplay by	Yogaraj Bhat Pawan Kumar. B.P
Starring	Diganth Nidhi Subbaiah
Music by	Mano Murthy
Cinematography	V . Thiyagarajan
Editing by	Deepu S. Kumar
Release dates	3 September 2010 (2010-09-03)
Running time	123 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada
Box office	50 million (first 4 weeks)[2]

Pancharangi (Kannada: ಪಂಚರಂಗಿ) is a 2010 Indian Kannada language romantic comedy film with philosophical overtones^[3] directed and produced by Yograj Bhat starring Diganth and Nidhi Subbaiah in the lead roles. The music has been composed by Mano Murthy, story and screenplay is written by Pawan Kumar.^[4] The film was predominantly shot in the coastal locales of Karnataka state.

It is a story that unfolds in a span of two days and tackles issues like education, love, profession, marriage, family, life and relationships in a "fun and non-preachy way."^[5] As a film with minimal budget under Bhat's maiden home production, it fared well at the box-office.^[6] The popular song Lifeu Ishtene was a runaway success and it was used as the title of Pawan Kumar's debut film.^[7]

Plot

A family goes to a village near Mangalore to finalize a bride for the elder son, Lucky, played by Pavan Kumar. Lucky is a US-based software professional, and is a teetotaler, always abiding by the pressure and demands of his parents, so much to the fact that he does not have the courage to speak out that he already has a girlfriend. Bharath Kumar, the youngest son, the character played by Diganth, is a carefree individual with weird ideas on life. Bharath meets a tomboyish girl, Ambika, who is the house-owner's niece, and they begin to mingle well due to the nature of their personalities.

However, following a few unusual twists and turns, the alliance is called off and the groom's family members walk out due to embarrassment. Ambika, who has now developed a strong feeling of love towards Bharath, goes ahead and confronts him. And finally, Bharath too says yes.

Production

The film was shot mostly in the coastal areas of Karnataka, especially in the villages Ucchila, Kaapu in the Udupi district.^[8] St Mary's Island near Malpe was used for song picturisation, with some additional scenes in Bangalore.

This was the fourth time Diganth has been cast as the main protagonist of the movie in a Yogaraj Bhat film. In addition to Diganth and Nidhi, the rest of the cast is the standard esemble of Anant Nag, Padmaja Rao, Sudha Belavadi and Raju Talikote, accompanied by senior artists such as Nagendra Shah. Pawan Kumar, who has worked with Bhat on the story and screenplay of the movie, plays a supporting role himself.

Cast

• Diganth as Bharath Kumar
• Nidhi Subbaiah as Ambika
• Ananth Nag as a wanderer (no name)
• Ramya Barna as Latha, bride
• Padmaja Rao as Padma, groom's mother
• Sundar Raj as Srinivas Rao, groom's father
• Sudha Belavadi as Vaishali, bride's mother
• Nagendra Shah as Narayan Rao, bride's father
• Raju Talikote as a marriage broker, Panchakshari
• Pawan Kumar as Lakshman "Lucky" Rao, groom
• Mithra as Keshavananda Swamiji, groom's uncle
• Priyanka Upendra in a guest appearance

Critical reception

Although the movie was mentioned in the circles as a typical Yograj Bhat movie, the film went on to become a box office success garnering significant returns in its first week itself. The "Lifeuu Ishtene" song from the movie describing the stark realities of middle-class urban life was the highlight of the movie, and has already spawned several mock versions in Kannada. The success of the movie has bolstered the career opportunities of Diganth and Nidhi and it completed 50 days.^[9] Rediff review summed it up calling it a good family entertainer.^[10]

Availability of high quality pirated DVDs with English subtitles within 50 days of the film's release dented the gross collection of the film.^[11]

Soundtrack

The audio of the movie was released on 14 August 2010 by Sonu Nigam, Puneeth Rajkumar in the presence of cast and crew of the movie.^[12] The music for the movie is scored by Mano Murthy, who has scored for many of the earlier movies of Yogaraj Bhat.

References

External links

• Pancharangi at the Internet Movie Database
• "Pancharangi is all about Life Istene," says Yogaraj Bhat Oneindia
• Sonu Nigam, Puneet unveil Pancharangi audio
• Online Media Partners of Pancharangi