''Eradu Kanasu'' () is a 1974 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 the duo

Dorai–Bhagavan Dorai–Bhagavan were an Indian filmmaking duo consisting of directors B. Dorai Raj (died 2000) and S. K. Bhagavan (born 1933), active mainly in Kannada cinema. They directed fifty films, most of which starred Rajkumar and were highly successfu ...

, and is based on the novel of the same name by

Vani Vani ( ka, ვანი) is a town in Imereti region of a western Georgia, at the Sulori river (a tributary of the Rioni river), 41 km southwest from the regional capital Kutaisi. The town with the population of 3,744 (2014) is an administr ...

. The film stars Rajkumar, Kalpana and

Manjula Manjula (Sanskrit: मंजुला) is a Hindu and Sanskrit female given name, which means, "melodious". Notable people named Manjula * Manjula (Kannada actress) (1954–1986), Indian actress * Manjula Chellur (born 1955), Indian doctor and ...

. The film was a musical blockbuster with all the songs 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 ...

considered evergreen hits. They were awarded with the

Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director is a state film award of the Indian state of Karnataka given during the annual Karnataka State Film Awards. The award honours Kannada language films. Superlative winners Winners The following ...

for 1974–75. The movie saw a theatrical run of 30 weeks. The movie completed 100 days when it was re-released in 1982. The film's success led to its second re-release on 6 February 2015 across Karnataka state. The movie was remade in Telugu in 1975 as '' Pooja'' with three songs of this movie retained in the Telugu version.

Plot

Ramachandra "Ramu" is a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

at a college in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

, who is married to Gowri, the daughter of a lawyer for his mother's wishes, but is brooding over his past relationship with his cousin/love interest Lalitha, when her father refused to let Ramu marry Lalitha, due to some internal disputes. After their marriage, Ramu doesn't behave properly with Lalitha, who remains devoted to Ramu and is yearning for husband's love from Ramu. Ramu's parents observe his behaviour and leave for a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

, thinking that their absence might unite them. Gowri ask about Ramu negligent behaviour towards her, but to no avail. When Ramu visits his lecturer friend, he learns that his friend is happily married to Lalitha and has a child, where he realize his mistake of neglecting Gowri and heads to meet her at a temple. When Ramu meets Gouri (who is overjoyed), the former meets with an accident. Ramu admits her to an hospital, where she is shown terminally wounded. It leaves the viewer in a question that the women in Ramu's life were just two dreams ? (Eradu Kanasu)

Cast

* Rajkumar as Ramu * Kalpana as Gowri *

as Lalitha *

K. S. Ashwath Karaganahalli Subbaraya Ashwathanarayana (25 March 1925 – 18 January 2010) was an Indian veteran actor who appeared in Kannada films He appeared in over 370 films during his five-decade-long career. His only memorial in the whole of Karnata ...

as Ramu's father *

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 uncle *

Rajanand Venkataraju known by his professional name Rajanand (1927-2004), was an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry. Some of the notable films of Rajanand as an actor include '' Operation Diamond Racket'' (1978), '' Mayura'' (1975), and '' Eradu Ka ...

as Lalitha's father * Sampath as Gowri's father *

Advani Lakshmi Devi Advani Lakshmi Devi is a retired Indian actress known for her work in Kannada cinema. She has played a variety of roles such as heroine, vamp, mother, grandmother in hundreds of Kannada movies over the last 50 years. Her role in films '' Gandh ...

as Ramu's mother * M. Jayashree as Gowri's mother * Bhargavi Narayan as lecturer * Ramgopal as Lalitha's husband *

Vaishali Kasaravalli Vaishali Kasaravalli (12 April 1952 – 27 September 2010) was a noted Kannada actress, television serial director, and costume designer. Early life She was born on 12 April 1952 in Gulbarga to theatre enthusiast parents Dr. Chitagopi and Ni ...

as Latha *

Pandari Bai Pandari Bai (1930 – 29 January 2003) was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted as both heroi ...

in Special Appearance

Production

''Eradu Kanasu'' is based on the novel of the same name by

. The song ''Endendu Ninnanu Martha'' was shot at Gajanur dam in Shivamoga district.

Themes and influences

Though ''Eradu Kanasu'' is based on a novel, Muralidhara Khajane of ''The Hindu'' mentioned that the plot was similar to

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's '' Romeo and Juliet''.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

with lyrics penned by

Chi. Udaya Shankar Chitnahalli Udayashankar (18 February 1934 – 2 July 1993; born in Chitnahalli) was an Indian lyricist and dialogue writer in the Kannada film industry for over three decades, who penned more than 3000 songs for films and devotional songs. H ...

. The album consists of six tracks. All the songs composed for the film were received extremely well and considered as evergreen songs. The song ''Thamnam Thamnam'' was remixed by Mano Murthy in '' Abhinetri'' (2015). Three songs from this movie were retained by

in the Telugu version '' Pooja''. The song ''Endendu Ninnanu Marethu'' was retained in the Telugu version as ''Enneno Janmala Bandham''. The song ''Baadi Hoda Balliyinda'' was retained in the Telugu version as ''Malleteega Vaadipoga Marala Poolu Pooyuna''. The song ''Poojisalende Hoogala Thande'' was retained in the Telugu version as ''Poojalu Cheya Poolu Tecchanu''. The tune of the song ''Endendu Ninnanu Marethu'' was used in the 1992 Hindi movie ''

Jaan Se Pyaara Jaan Se Pyaara is a 1992 Hindi-language action-romantic comedy film directed by Anand. It stars Govinda and Divya Bharti. Aruna Irani, Kiran Kumar, Raza Murad appear in supporting roles. The film was an unofficial remake of '' Heart of Dragon'' ...

'' as ''Bin Tere Kuch Bhi Nahi Hai Jeevan Mera''.

Awards

At the 1973–74 Karnataka State Film Awards, the film won the award for Best Music Director (

Legacy

The film is considered as one of the greatest romantic films in Kannada noted for the strong performances of lead actors Rajkumar and Kalpana. The film's title inspired a 2017 film of same name starring Vijay Raghavendra.

References

External links

* {{Dorai–Bhagavan 1974 films 1970s Kannada-language films Indian romantic drama films Indian romantic musical films Films scored by Rajan–Nagendra Films based on Indian novels Kannada films remade in other languages 1974 romantic drama films 1970s romantic musical films Films directed by Dorai–Bhagavan