''Bettada Hoovu'' () is a 1985 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 film directed by N. Lakshminarayan, based on the Shirley L. Arora's novel ''What then, Raman?''. Produced by

Parvathamma Rajkumar Dr.Parvathamma Rajkumar (6 December 1939 – 31 May 2017) was an Indian film producer and distributor. She was the wife of veteran Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar. She produced successful films featuring Rajkumar and their sons Shiva Rajkumar, Punee ...

, it stars her son

Puneeth Rajkumar Puneeth Rajkumar (17 March 1975 – 29 October 2021), colloquially known as Appu, was an Indian actor, playback singer, television presenter, and producer, who worked in Kannada cinema. He was the youngest son of actor and matinee idol Dr. Rajk ...

in the lead role. Puneeth plays Ramu, a young boy born into a poor family, who is fond of reading books, but is forced to discontinue his studies and support his family financially. His performance earned him the

National Film Award for Best Child Artist The National Film Award for Best Child Artist is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards pr ...

. ''

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...

'' rated the film number one among the best "children's movies in Kannada". The film won three

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 ...

Plot

Ramu is a young boy born into a poor family, living with his parents and two siblings in a hill station. His parents hardly make ends meet; mother working as a fruit- and vegetable-seller, and father running errands in and around the village, often as a help to the visiting tourists. However, Ramu likes reading his books and going to the school. He even friendship with a healthcare worker, who teaches him English after school. He is fascinated after watching a screening of the film ''

Sri Ramanjaneya Yuddha ''Sri Ramanjaneya Yuddha'' is a 1963 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by M. Nageshwara Rao and M S Nayak. The film stars Rajkumar, Udaykumar, K. S. Ashwath and Dikki Madhavarao. The film has musical score by Chellapilla Satyam who made hi ...

'' in his village and also upon seeing

Kuvempu Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He was ...

's ''

Sri Ramayana Darshanam Sri Ramayana Darshana (ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಮಾಯಣ ದರ್ಶನ) is the most popular work and the magnum opus by Kuvempu in Kannada based on the Hindu epic Ramayana. It earned him many distinctions including the Sahitya Akademi Award and t ...

'' at a bookstore, both based on the epic

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

, and wishes to buy the latter to read. Costing 10, he begins working towards it. Due to an off-season when tourists return home, Ramu's family situation becomes dire and his father has to move to the city in search of work, leaving the responsibility of managing the family to young Ramu. Ramu is now forced to drop out of school to and to earn for his family. He starts doing little chores around the village, while saving a part of his earnings towards buying the book. He begins selling wildflowers to an American teacher, who is writing a book on Indian wildflowers. He earns ten rupees, enough to buy the book, when he brings an orchid flower to the teacher. However, when he goes to buy the book, he has a rethink. He has to make a decision between buying the book or a blanket to comfort his family members from the chilling winter cold. In the end, he decides to get the blanket, much to the happiness of his family. But then his dream of buying the book is shattered.

Cast

as Ramu (credited as Master Puneeth) *

Padma Vasanthi Padma Vasanthi is an Indian actress in the Kannada film industry. Some of the films of Padma Vasanthi as an actress include ''Maanasa Sarovara'' (1982) ''Bettada Hoovu'' (1985), '' Mussanje Mathu'' (2008). Awards Career Padma Vasanthi has bee ...

as Parvati, Ramu's mother * Marcia Jamal as a teacher * Roopadevi as a healthcare worker (cameo) * Mohan Kumar as Chinnappa, Ramu's father (credited as Aalemane Mohan Kumar) *

Balakrishna Bala Krishna ( sa, बाल कृष्ण, lit=child Krishna/divine child Krishna, translit=Bālakṛṣṇa). Present day Krishna worship is an amalgam of various elements. According to historical testimonies Krishna-Vasudeva worship alread ...

as Doddajja * Shivaprakash *

Sadashiva Brahmavar Sadashiva Brahmavar (1928–2018), known as Brahmavar, was an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada films. He is best known for his supporting roles in such movies including Guri (1986), Samyuktha (1988) and Sri Manjunatha (2001). Personal lif ...

as Muthanna, shopkeeper * Shankanada Aravind as Somanna (credited as Anubhava Aravind) *

Honnavalli Krishna Honnavalli Krishna is an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry. Some of the notable films of Honnavalli Krishna as an actor include '' Ratha Sapthami'' (1986), ''Aasegobba Meesegobba'' (1990), ''Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu'' (1974), ''Janumada Jo ...

as Linganna *

Kunigal Ramanath Kunigal Ramanath (1932/3 – 1 February 2016) was an Indian Kannada actor, known for Ranganayaki Ranganayaki, is the presiding goddess of the Sri Ranganathaswami Temple at Srirangam. Affectionately called ''Thayar'' ("Holy Mother" in Tamil), ...

* B. Ramamurthy *

Vijay Raghavendra Vijay Raghavendra is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Kannada films. Referred to popularly as " Chinnari Mutha", Vijay is the son of producer S. A. Chinne Gowda and nephew of actor Dr.Rajkumar. Vijay started his career as a child a ...

(credited as Master Vijaya Raghava) * Savitha as Vasanthi, Ramu's sister (credited as Baby Savitha)

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

Rajan–Nagendra Rajan–Nagendra were an Indian musical duo who were prominent composers of film music in Kannada and Telugu cinema from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Rajan, along with his brother Nagendra, created a niche for themselves for nearly four de ...

. # "Patte Huli Balu Ketta Huli" –

C. Aswath Channarayapatna Ashwath ( kn, ಸಿ. ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ್ , lit=C. Ashwath; 29 December 1939 – 29 December 2009) was an Indian music composer and exponent of Bhavageete ("expressive poetry") in the Kannada language. He was also a si ...

# "Bisile Irali Maleye Barali" –

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...

, Master Puneeth # "Thaayi Sharade" – Master Puneeth,

P. B. Sreenivas Prathivadhi Bhayankara Sreenivas (22 September 1930 – 14 April 2013) widely known as P. B. Sreenivas was an Indian playback singer, composer, harmonium player, lyricist, littérateur, and poet known for his works in South cinema, and Bollyw ...

Awards

; National Film Awards – 1985 * Best Kannada Film —

* Best Child Actor –

;

1984–85 Karnataka State Film Awards The Karnataka State Film Awards 1984–85, presented by Government of Karnataka, to felicitate the best of Kannada Cinema Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the productio ...

* Second Best Film —

* Best Story Writer – Shirley L. Arora ;

33rd Filmfare Awards South * Best Film - Kannada -

* Best Director - Kannada - N. Lakshminarayan * Special Award Best Child Actor -

References

External links

* {{National Film Award Best Feature Film Kannada 1980s Kannada-language films 1985 films Films scored by Rajan–Nagendra Indian children's films Films based on Indian novels Best Kannada Feature Film National Film Award winners Indian drama films Films directed by N. Lakshminarayan