''Accident'' is a 1984 Indian Kannada language film directed by

Shankar Nag Shankar Nagarakatte (9 November 1954 – 30 September 1990) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as ...

Plot

Deepak, the spoilt son of a powerful

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Dharmadhikari, runs his car over pavement dwellers one night under the influence of drugs. All are killed, except Ramanna, who identifies the driver. His friend Rahul, son of an

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

chief, is with him during the accident. The shock of the accident leaves Rahul deeply traumatised. Unable to hold the secret any longer, Rahul shares the truth with his mother. She in turn implores Dharmadhikari to save them. Dharmadhikari who is slated to win a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election use ...

cannot afford to let this accident ruin his political ambitions. He hushes up the case with the help of

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

and sends his son on a trip abroad.

Sub-Inspector Sub-inspector (SI), or sub-inspector of police, is a rank used extensively in South Asia: in the police forces of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, which is primarily based on the British model. It was formerly used in most British col ...

Rao takes charge of the case as an investigative officer. Ravi, a daring

investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

, joins Rao and they investigate the case together. When Rao identifies the culprits, Dharmadhikari asks his retired driver to say he was driving the car. As a result of the events that have transpired, Rao is asked to go on leave and Ravi's editor refuses to run the story. On his way to the airport, Deepak dies in an accident.

Cast

Anant Nag Dr Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and En ...

as Dharmadhikari, a politician *

as Ravi, a journalist *

Arundhati Nag Arundhati Nag (née Rao; born 1955/1956) is an Indian actress. She has been involved with multilingual Theatre in India, for over 25 years, first in Mumbai where she got involved with Indian People's Theatre Association ( IPTA), and did variou ...

as Maya Rani * Ashok Mandanna as Deepak * Makeup Naani as Editor Shamanna *

Srinivas Prabhu Srinivasa Prabhu is an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry and a theatre artist in Karnataka, India. Some of the notable films of Srinivasa Prabhu as an actor include ''Bimba - Those 90 Minutes'' (2018), '' Kanooru Heggadithi'' (1999), Hudug ...

as Rahul *

Ramesh Bhat Ramesh Bhat is a multiple-award–winning Indian actor. He has worked predominantly in Kannada films and television serials. Early life Ramesh Bhat was born in Kundapur. He completed his primary education at Manki and portrayed national leader ...

as Inspector Rao * T. S. Nagabharana as Ramanna * H. G. Somashekar Rao as Mechanic Pinto * Shimoga Venkatesh as Police Commissioner

Analysis

Contrary to stereotypes of Indian cinema which include romantic interests and musical sequences, ''Accident'' takes a neo-noir approach. This can be considered one of the earliest attempts towards a paradigm shift in film making in India which didn't take off until the early 2000s as a result of the death of Shankar Nag in 1990.

Notes

The film starred Shankar Nag's brother

and his wife

. The film was produced in two months. While filming the climax, Anant Nag who was playing the politician, was to be shot in the courtyard of his house. He had wanted to base it around the

assassination of Indira Gandhi Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated at 9:30 a.m. on 31 October 1984 at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was killed by her bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star ...

. Shankar Nag agreed that it had to be that way and therefore changed the ending of the film.

Reception

The film won the first

National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues The National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues is one of the category in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in In ...

at the

32nd National Film Awards The 32nd National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1984. Ceremony took place in J ...

in 1985. It also won multiple awards at the 1984–85 Karnataka State Film Awards including the award for First Best Film. The film was praised for placing a politician against justice system and media revealing the nexus between politics and drug mafia.

Awards and Recognitions

;

1984–85 Karnataka State Film Awards The Karnataka State Film Awards Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They a ...

* First Best Film * Best Supporting Actress – Arundathi Nag *

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

– Vasantha Mokashi * Best Sound Recording – Pandurangan * Special Award (Stunts) – Hasan Raghu ;14th International Film Festival of India * Screening; homage to Shankar Nag

References

External links

* {{National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues 1985 films 1980s Kannada-language films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award winners Films directed by Shankar Nag