Lifeu Ishtene

Lifeu Ishtene
Directed by	Pawan Kumar
Produced by	Yograj Bhat Manjunath Syed Salam Upendra Shetty
Written by	Pawan Kumar
Starring	Diganth Samyukta Hornad Sindhu Lokanath Sathish Ninasam
Music by	Mano Murthy
Cinematography	Sugnana
Production company	Yograj Movies KK Films
Release dates	9 September 2011 (2011-09-09)
Running time	130 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada
Box office	6 crores [1]

Lifeu Ishtene (Kannada: ಲೈಫು ಇಷ್ಟೇನೆ) is a dark comedy-drama Kannada film written and directed by Pawan Kumar.^[2] It features Diganth, Sindhu Lokanath and Samyukta Hornad in the lead roles. The music is directed by Mano Murthy (which is his 25th movie)^[3] and the music album was released in July 2011 with lyrics being penned by Jayanth Kaikini along with Yograj Bhat^[4] who has also co-produced the film.

The film was released in over 40 theaters across Karnataka on 9 September 2011 to a collection of over 6 crores^[1] in three weeks and received good critical reviews.^[5][6]

Plot

Vishaal (Diganth) is a careless youngster who does not have any set goals in life. In contrast, his friend Shivu (Sathish Ninasam) is serious and advises Vishaal to reform himself. But Vishaal, whose parents allow him a lot of freedom, finds his own way to deal with his love affairs. He falls in love with Nandini (Sindhu Loknath) and wants to marry her. Nandini wants Vishaal to take up a job as it will help her discuss the marriage proposal with her father. He thinks she is the one for him, but only till the point where he has to choose between his music career and her. At this point they break up.

Later Vishaal meets television anchor Rashmi (Samyukta Horanadu) who is ready to marry him but Vishaal realises he wishes to be alone. Meanwhile, his best friend Shivu falls ill and the film ends with both of them video-conferencing about life in general.^[7]

Production

Director Pawan Kumar had previously worked as an Assistant Director for Yograj Bhat's recent films like Manasaare and Pancharangi which were well received by critics. The title lifeu ishtene was taken from one of the most popular Kannada songs in 2010 from Pancharangi movie.^[8] Three weeks after the successful show of the film, Pawan Kumar said he is planning a sequel to the film which is tentatively titled Wifeu Ishtene which will "show how marriage is a bad idea for the character that Diganth played in Lifeu Ishtene."

Cast

• Diganth as Vishaal, an MBA student
• Sindhu Lokanath as Nandini
• Samyukta Hornad^[9]
• Ramya Barna
• Sathish Ninasam as Shivu - Vishaal's close friend
• Srinivas Prakash^[10]

International release

The film will be screened overseas in the countries of USA, UK, Australia, Singapore, among others from October 2011 onwards. In California's Bay Area, the screening is scheduled for 14, 15, 16, 22 and 23 October at Serra Theaters.^[11][12]

Online Release

The movie got released online to curb piracy and to reach out to NRI audience.The film released in two versions. While the high resolution one is priced at five dollars, the low resolution version for two dollars and fifty cents.^[13]

Reception

Overall, the film garnered very good reviews from critics. Newspapers like Bangalore Mirror and Times of India both rated the film 4/5 stars.^[14][15] The film is noted for its story, screenplay and dialogues - all composed by the director Pawan Kumar.^[15]

Magazine Just Femme has praised the film's just portrayal of feminine characters by saying that "the women in the film are real and they are not the usual whitened, straight-haired, fake-boobed, dolled-up women who constantly forgive the men around them."^[16] The Times of India summed it by calling it a 'film for the GenNext' which is a "brilliant directorial debut by Pawan Kumar who has infused freshness in the story combined with excellent script, lively narration and not a single dull moment in the story with punchy dialogues that reminds of a 'Yograjbhat touch.'"^[14]

Soundtrack

Lifeu Ishtene
Soundtrack cover
Soundtrack album by Mano Murthy
Released	21 July 2011
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	26:34
Language	Kannada
Label	Alpha Digitech

Lifeu Ishtene music album, composed by Mano Murthy, was released on 21 July 2011. The rights for the album was purchased by Ashwini Audio House. The music director Mano Murthy of Mungaru Male fame has introduced two new singers Renju and Ankitha Pai for this film.

During the audio release ceremony, lyricists Jayanth Kaikini and Yograj Bhat spoke not on the significance of the song but when and under what situation it was written and recorded. Director Soori, who is a close friend of Yograj Bhat, was also present during the audio release.^[17]

References

External links

• Lifeu Ishtene at the Internet Movie Database
• Lifeu Ishtene extended version trailer on YouTube
• Lifeu Ishtene photo gallery
• California Serra Theatres' screening schedule