Aa Dinagalu
| Aa Dinagalu | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | K. M. Chaitanya |
| Produced by |
Syed Aman M. S. Ravindra |
| Written by | Agni Shridhar |
| Starring |
Chethan Kumar Sharath Lohitashwa Ashish Vidyarthi Atul Kulkarni Veda Sastry Girish Karnad |
| Music by | Ilayaraja |
| Cinematography | H. C. Venu |
| Edited by | Nagendra Urs |
Production company |
Megha Movies |
Release dates | 19 October 2007 |
Running time | 137 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
Aa Dinagalu (Kannada: ಆ ದಿನಗಳು; English: Those Days) is a 2007 Indian Kannada language crime drama film based on the non-fiction novel Daadaagiriya Dinagalu by Agni Shridhar, and directed by K. M. Chaitanya. It stars Chethan Kumar in the lead role. The supporting cast features Sharath Lohitashwa, Ashish Vidhyarthi, Atul Kulkarni and Veda Sastry. The plot revolves around mafia in Bangalore during the 1980s when gangsters Kotwal Ramachandra and M. P. Jayaraj dominated the Bangalore underworld. The film's soundtrack and background music was scored by Ilayaraja.
Upon theatrical release on 19 October 2007, the film received positive reviews from critics who acclaimed the screenplay and the acting performance of Sharath Lohitashwa who portrayed the role of Kotwal Ramachandra. The film won three awards each at the 2007–08 Karnataka State Film Awards and 55th Filmfare Awards South; the awards at the latter ceremony being Best Film, Best Director (K. M. Chaitanya) and Best Supporting Actor (Sharath Lohitashwa).
Plot
Aa Dinagalu is a story about the Bangalore underworld of the 1980s. In the film, Agni Shridhar narrates the preview as story of Kotwal Ramachandra era (1975) coincidentally with declaration of emergency by Indira Gandhi, which led to grooming of M. P. Jayaraj as the uncrowned don of Bangalore mostly working with Knives, Sickles, Machetes for terrorising people. Eventually he seems to have got jailed for contempt of court for 10 years. When he returns in 1985, after the death of Indira Gandhi he finds Kotwal Ramachandra to have taken his spot. In this backdrop how a love story finds its place has been shown in the movie.
The story although is based on backdrop of violence is screened with artistic and cinematic touch for which Kannada Industry is famous for. There is no place for violence, fight scenes but still the film succeeds in bringing the atmosphere of 1986 Bangalore in 2007 (release date). K.M. Chaitanya (grandson of Rashtra Kavi G. S. Shivarudrappa) has directed a gripping, realistic film which broke the boundaries between art and commercial cinema.
The screenplay was written by Girish Karnad and Agni Shridhar. While the story and dialogues were written by Agni Shridhar.The film was widely critically acclaimed and went on to be one of the biggest box office hits in Kannada. The Week magazine listed it among the Top 10 Indian films of 2007.
Cast
- Chethan Kumar as Chethan Naik
- Veda Sastry (credited as Archana) as Mallika
- Sharath Lohitashwa as Kotwal Ramachandra
- Ashish Vidhyarthi as M. P. Jayaraj
- Atul Kulkarni as Agni Shridhar
- Achyuth Kumar as Oil Kumar
- Dinesh Mangalore as Seetharam Shetty
- Girish Karnad as Girish Naik, Chethan's father
- Vinaya Prasad as Chethan's mother
- Natak Amaan as Muneer
- Aryan deepak as Bachchan
- Satya as Sardar
- Asif Farooqi as Siraj
- Dharma as Sub-inspector Shivaraj
- Kishan Shetty as Daniel
- Nagendra Urs as Balarama
- Akbar as Rajendra
- Prabhakar as Samson
- Samyukta Hornad as Divya Naik
- Shwetha Srivatsav as Kothwal's wife
Story
The Story is based upon book Dadagiriya Dinagalu (The days of DadaGiri or Rowdyism) by Agni Sridhar, who was once a criminal identified himself with Bangalore underworld in 1980s.
Soundtrack
| Aa Dinagalu | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Ilayaraja | |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Label | Anand Audio |
Ilayaraja composed the film's background score and music for its soundtrack. The album consists of three tracks.[1] Lyrics for them were penned by K. Kalyan and D. Sumana Kittur.
| Tracklist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Sihi Gaali" | K. Kalyan | Ilaiyaraaja, Nanditha | |
| 2. | "Aa Dinagalu" | D. Sumana Kittur | Vijay Yesudas | |
| 3. | "Aa Dinagalu" | D. Sumana Kittur | Vijay Yesudas, Nanditha | |
Critical reception
Upon theatrical release, Aa Dinagalu received generally positive reviews from critics. R. G. Vijayasarathy of Rediff reviewed the film rating it 3.5/5 and wrote, "Chaitanya has used a straightforward, simple narration resulting in a profound impact. The background score by Ilayaraja is one of the best heard in the recent times in Kannada films. Cameraman H.C.Venu has done a terrific job behind the camera. Sharath Lohithashwa is wonderful as Kothwal Ramachandra, while Atul Kulkarni, Ashish Vidyarthi, Girish Karnad, and the new face Chethan have all given wonderful performances in their respective roles" and concluded writing "Commendable direction, excellent star cast, high class technical crew and a fantastic script..."[2] The Times of India in its review rated the film 3/5 and called the film a "brilliant portrayal of underworld don Kotwal Ramachandra." The reviewer concluded writing, "Sharath Lohithshwa, Ashish Vidyarthi and Atul Kulkarni are brilliant. While Girish Karnad gives a consummate performance, Archana shines and Dharma excels. H C Venu's camerawork is excellent. Ilayaraja's music is pleasing."[3] The reviewer for Deccan Herald felt the film was "a damp squib". He felt, "the subject [was dealt] in a straight, staccato fashion that renders Aa Dinagalu more like docu-feature than a film that sparkles with auteur’s classic feel of the medium."[4]
Awards
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Won | [9] |
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DVD
The DVD of the movie has been released on Anand Audio. This is the first time a Kannada movie with 5.1 surround sound is releasing on a DVD.[10]
Box-Office
The film has been completed 100-days in banglore region.[11]
See also
References
- ↑ "Aa Dinagalu (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ Vijayasarathy R. G. (22 October 2007). "Aa Dinagalu is worth a watch". Rediff. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "Aa Dinagalu review". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "This Dinagalu is a damp squib". Deccan Herald. 22 October 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "Karnataka State Film Awards 2007-08". kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "2008 Filmfare Awards South". Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "Kanfida film awards for 2007 announced". The Hindu. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 "Sharath Lohitashwa achieves a rare feat". 24x7filmnews.wordpress.com. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- 1 2 "Rolling Frames Short Film Summit 2014" (PDF). rollingframes.in. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ Archived 20 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Gaja is biggest draw at Kannada box office". bangalore365.com. January 24, 2008.