''Bandhana'' is a 1984 Indian
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
-language
romantic drama
Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...
film directed by
Rajendra Singh Babu
S. V. Rajendra Singh Babu (born 22 October 1952) is an Indian filmmaker and occasional actor who works primarily in Kannada cinema. He was born and brought up in Mysore. His father Shankar Singh produced many films under the banner Mahatma Pict ...
from a screenplay by H. V. Subba Rao and Rajendra Singh Babu, based on a novel of the same name by Usha Navaratnanram. The film revolves around the relationship between a psychiatrist, Harish and his protégé Nandini. The film stars
Vishuvardhan as Dr. Harish and
Suhasini
Suhasini Maniratnam (born 15 August 1961) known mononymously as Suhasini, is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her ...
as his protégé Nandini, along with
Jai Jagadish
Jai Jagadish (born 29 June 1954) is an Indian actor, director and producer in the Kannada film industry. Starting his career as an actor in '' Phalitamsha'' (1976), he went on to feature in over 300 films as an actor. In 1998, he turned produce ...
,
Roopadevi and
G. K. Govinda Rao in supporting roles.
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 ...
, the film was awarded the
Best Feature Film in Kannada. The film also won two awards at the 1984
Karnataka State Film Awards:
Best Actor for Vishnuvardhan and
Best Music Director for
M. Ranga Rao
M. Ranga Rao (26 April 1932 – 3 August 1990) was a prominent Indian composer who predominantly worked in Kannada cinema. Rao was known for his mellifluous scores and lilting tunes backed with strong classical nuances. "Ranga Rao" composed tune ...
. In addition to this, the film also won two
Filmfare Awards South
Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...
:
Best Actor for Vishnuvardhan and
Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...
for Suhasini. The film was a critical and commercial success and is often regarded as a classic in Kannada cinema. The film was remade in Tamil in 1985 as ''Prema Paasam''. It was dubbed in Telugu as ''Dr. Nandini''.
Plot
Harish is a doctor, who falls in love with his protégé Nandini but is too shy to express his feelings for her. When he finally musters the courage to tell her that he loves her, he finds out that she holds him in high esteem more as a teacher. She tells him she is unable to reciprocate his feelings. Nandini marries an engineer Balu, who is incidentally Harish's friend. Harish starts withdrawing into a shell. However, The Marital problems crop between Nandini and Balu because of her dedication to her career as a doctor. Harish develops a heart enlargement condition which draws Nandini closer to him in the hospital. This frustrates Balu, who accuses her of having an affair with Harish. When Nandini discovers that Balu has assaulted their house maid, she decides to leave him. Harish tries to convince Balu that his relationship with Nandini is pure but Balu misbehaves with him. Harish saves Nandini's child but dies because of his advanced heart condition. Nandini divorces her husband and moves on with her new born child.
Cast
*
Vishnuvardhan as Doctor Harish
*
Suhasini
Suhasini Maniratnam (born 15 August 1961) known mononymously as Suhasini, is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her ...
as Doctor Nandini
*
Jai Jagadish
Jai Jagadish (born 29 June 1954) is an Indian actor, director and producer in the Kannada film industry. Starting his career as an actor in '' Phalitamsha'' (1976), he went on to feature in over 300 films as an actor. In 1998, he turned produce ...
as Balu
*
Roopadevi
*
G. K. Govinda Rao
*
Kanchana
*
Shivaram
S. Shivaram (28 January 1938 – 4 December 2021), popularly known simply as Shivaram or Shivaramanna, was an Indian actor, producer and director whose Kannada cinema career has spanned six decades. He has played roles including lead hero p ...
*
Mysore Lokesh
*
Musuri Krishnamurthy
Musuri Krishnamurthy (10 March 1930 – 16 March 1985) was an Indian actor, film director, producer, working in Kannada cinema. He was known mostly for his roles as a comedian.
Early life
Krishnamurthy was born on 10 March 1930 to B. S. Vish ...
Production
Development
Usha Navratnaram's novel was a literary romance that dealt with the inner feelings of the lead players. The director of the film came across the novel in 1977 and saw the potential of the story and wanted to make it into a film. Originally actress
Kalpana held the rights to the script and happened to give it to Babu on request, just before her death on 12 May 1979 at the age of 35.
Casting
When director Rajendra Singh Babu cast Vishnuvardhan for a love story like ''Bandhana'', the industry had been skeptical, for Vishnuvardhan was known more for his action roles. But the director's faith in the actor and the way Vishnuvardhan managed the role of Dr. Harish built up reputation in the industry.
In 1983 when Babu set about to make the movie, his first choice for the heroine's role was
Aarathi. But her date diary was full and the search for the heroine started. He happened to meet Suhasini who was acting with his sister, and immediately knew she was going to be Dr. Nandini. The negative role portrayed by
Jai Jagadish
Jai Jagadish (born 29 June 1954) is an Indian actor, director and producer in the Kannada film industry. Starting his career as an actor in '' Phalitamsha'' (1976), he went on to feature in over 300 films as an actor. In 1998, he turned produce ...
was first offered to veteran actor
Ambareesh
Malavalli Huchchegowda Amarnath (29 May 1952 – 24 November 2018), known by his screen name Ambareesh, was an Indian actor, media personality, politician from the state of Karnataka. Alongside Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan, he is counted in ...
, who refused the role.
Filming
The film was shot in several scenic locales such as Lakya Dam,
Hanumanagundi Falls, Lalitha Mahal Palace, Krishnarjuna Sagar Dam, Harangi Dam and the Grand Ashok Hotel in Bangalore.
Soundtrack
M. Ranga Rao
M. Ranga Rao (26 April 1932 – 3 August 1990) was a prominent Indian composer who predominantly worked in Kannada cinema. Rao was known for his mellifluous scores and lilting tunes backed with strong classical nuances. "Ranga Rao" composed tune ...
composed the soundtrack, and the lyrics were written by
R. N. Jayagopal
R. N. Jayagopal (1935 – 19 May 2008) was an Indian film director and lyricist in Cinema of Karnataka, Kannada cinema. He had written over 12,000 film songs.
Early life and education
R. N. Jayagopal, known to friends and fans as RNJ, was ...
. The album consists of four soundtracks. The track of ''Banna Nanna Olavina Banna'' was based on the tune of the track ''Per Qualche Dollaro In Più - Spanish Intro Opening Theme'' from the 1965 English-language film ''
For a Few Dollars More''. The songs of the film were chartbusters.
Release and reception
The film was certified with a U certificate on 26 July 1984 and was released in theatres on 24 August the same year.
Critical response
The film garnered widespread critical acclaim. The film was praised for its story, script, direction and soundtrack. The soundtrack of the film is considered one of the greatest in the Kannada film industry. The performance of the lead cast was also appreciated. A film critic from ''
Screen
Screen or Screens may refer to:
Arts
* Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing
* Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry
* Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which mul ...
'' writes: "Babu with his strong command of film-making techniques, effectively adapted the novel into a screenplay rich in visuals and external drama that are required for the medium of cinema. He also showed a penchant for filming on a grander scale like the Hindi movies of the time - be it the Holi song or the prominent presence of the grand piano in the wedding song." Vishnuvardhan's portrayal of Dr. Harish is considered one the best performances of his career. The
National Film Archive of India writes in a tweet: "Recognized as among the path-breaking performances of Vishnuvardhan, he mesmerized the audiences with his portrayal of a sacrificial lover."
Box office
The movie ran for 100 days in 18 theatres and 25 weeks in many first class theatres. The film had a 30 weeks run in two theatres (a record at the time) and completed 469 days of run in one theatre, making the film the second longest running Kannada film in theatres at the time. ''Bandhana'' went on to become the highest grossing film of year and was declared an industrial hit.
Remake
The film was remade in Tamil as ''Premapasam''. The Tamil version released in 1985 and had
Sivakumar
Palaniswamy, better known by his stage name Sivakumar (born 27 October 1941), is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has portrayed a wide range of leading and supporting roles onscreen in Tamil cinema and television. He made his actin ...
and
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won several ...
in lead roles. The film was directed by
K. Vijayan
K. Vijayan was an Indian film director. He predominantly worked in Tamil cinema. He mainly worked with Sivaji Ganesan. He directed many Malayalam films as well.
Career
K. Vijayan was an employee of the Golden Rock Railway Workshop in Tiruchi ...
and had musical score by
Gangai Amaran
Gangai Amaran is an Indian music composer, singer, lyricist, writer, film director and actor in Tamil films.
Personal life
Gangai Amaran was born in Pannaipuram in Theni district, Tamil Nadu in December 1947, as the youngest son of Daniel Ram ...
.
Awards
National Film Awards
*
National Film award for Best Feature Film in Kannada
The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of severa ...
- Rajendra Singh Babu (Rohini Pictures)
Karnataka State Film Awards
*
Best Actor - Vishnuvardhan
*
Best Music Director - M. Ranga Rao
Filmfare Awards South
*
Special Award For Excellent Performance - Vishnuvardhan
*
Filmfare Award for Best Actress
The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Bollywood, Hindi films, to recognise the female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first gi ...
- Suhasini Maniratnam
Legacy
In ''Bandhana'', Vishnuvardhan played the role of a shy doctor who fails to express his love to a girl and ends up as a tragic hero by developing a fatal heart condition. The role of Dr. Harish brought him critical appreciation. The success of ''Bandhana'' was a turning point in Vishnu's career. He began acting in more family-oriented movies like ''
Krishna Nee Begane Baro
''Krishna Nee Begane Baro'' is a 1986 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by H. R. Bhargava and produced by Amrutha Singh, Anuradha Singh and Dushyanth Singh. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Bhavya, Kim and Mukhyamantri Chandru. The film has ...
'',
''Karunamayi'', ''
Sowbhagya Lakshmi
''Sowbhagya Lakshmi'' is a 1987 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by H. R. Bhargava and produced by S. P. Rajashekar. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Lakshmi, Radha and Aruna. The film has musical score by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam. The film ...
'', ''
Suprabhatha'' and carved another niche among family audience. The film also made Dr. Vishnuvardhan - Suhasini duo a much celebrated pair onscreen. Following the immense success of ''Bandhana'' they acted together in several films like ''
Suprabhatha'', ''
Muthina Haara
''Muttina Haara'' () is a 1990 Indian Kannada-language war-drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu. It stars Vishnuvardhan and Suhasini Maniratnam in the lead roles. K. S. Ashwath, Kavya and Ramkumar feature in supporting roles. The film spe ...
'' and ''Himapaata''. The song ''Noorondu Nenapu'' from this film is now considered an evergreen song and later inspired the title of a
2017 film.
References
External links
*
{{National Film Award Best Feature Film Kannada
1980s Kannada-language films
1984 films
Films scored by M. Ranga Rao
Films based on Indian novels
Kannada films remade in other languages
Kannada literature
Best Kannada Feature Film National Film Award winners
Films directed by Rajendra Singh Babu