''Gandhada Gudi'' () is a 1973 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 action drama film directed by Vijay and produced by

M. P. Shankar M. P. Shankar (20 August 1935 – 17 July 2008) was an Indian actor in Kannada cinema. He acted in films like Satya Harishchandra (1965 Kannada film), Satya Harishchandra as 'Veera Baahu', Naagarahaavu as 'Pailwan Basanna', ''Bhootayyana Maga Ay ...

. Rajkumar in his 150th film portrays an honest forest officer Kumar while Vishnuvardhan plays the antagonist, Anand, though his character is redeemed at the end of the film. Kalpana,

, Narasimharaju and Balakrishna performed other important roles. It was the first Indian movie made on the concept of protection of forests and wildlife conservation. It is the only movie in which Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan appeared together. The film was seen as a milestone in the career of Rajkumar. The movie became a

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

and saw a theatrical run of 25 weeks. This movie was reported to be the first mainstream Indian film on forest conservation. It was the time when

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

– 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora was signed.

aimed to reduce the economic incentive to poach endangered species and destroy their habitat by closing off the international market.The movie was praised for portraying the rich bio diversity of the state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. The movie was remade in Hindi in 1979 as '' Kartavya''. The grand success of this movie prompted NTR to work on a script based on the forest backdrop leading to the 1977 Telugu movie '' Adavi Ramudu''. The movie was dubbed in Malayalam in 1974 as ''Chandana Kaadu''. The success of ''Gandhada Gudi'' led to a sequel in 1995 titled ''

Gandhada Gudi Part 2 ''Gandhada Gudi Part 2'' is a 1994 Indian Kannada-language adventure film directed by Vijay and produced by M. P. Shankar. A sequel to ''Gandhada Gudi'' (1973), the film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Tiger Prabhakar, Rajeshwari and Charan Raj. Actor ...

'' starring

Shiva Rajkumar Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy (born 12 July 1962) known by his screen name Shiva Rajkumar, is an Indian actor, producer and television presenter, predominantly works in Kannada cinema.

Plot

Kumar is an IFS officer, who arrives at the Nagarhole National forest on a mission to protect the

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

. His main rival is a

poacher Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

named Anand, who is actually Kumar's long-lost brother. Anand has been kidnapped and raised by Raja Venkatappa Nayaka to exact vengeance on his father, which is unknown to Anand. After many hurdles, Anand holds his mother and asks Kumar not to interfere or that he will set fire to the forest, but Kumar shoots Anand, fatally injuring him. Venkatappa arrives and reveals about Anand's origin and his plan to use him take vengeance on his family. Venkatappa tries to kill Kumar, but Anand kills him and dies on his mother's lap. After the mission, Kumar receives a bravery award for defending the forest against the poachers.

Cast

Production

The film has brilliant cinematography of the Nagarhole and Bandipur forest in Mysore which is the seat of the royal family of Karnataka. The entire cast has given excellent dimensions to their role. During the shooting of the film where Vishuarvadan's character "shoots" Rajkumar's character's mother, the prop gun was accidentally switched to a real gun. Prabakaran, a forest ranger who realised someone took the gun, ran to the shooting spot to avert untoward incident. Just as Vishnuvardhan was about to pull the trigger, Prabakaran begged for him to stop. The incident caused trauma for Vishuvardan who got death threats from Rajkumar fans . Despite this, both Rajkumar and Vishuvardhan remained on good terms afterwards.

Soundtrack

Music for the film and soundtracks were composed by the duo

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 ...

Reception

The title song, filmed on

and

is still popular among the Kannadigas. The song can be heard even today on any festival or function in

Sequel

The sequel to Gandhada Gudi had Shiva Rajkumar in the role of a forest officer who is posted in the same forest where his father has created a history. His character now has to carry his father's mission and protect the forest. Many considered the sequel to be a disappointment when compared to the legacy of the original.

Legacy

The film which speaks about the preservation of forests inspired other Kannada films – '' Jayasimha'', '' Mrugalaya'' and '' Maasti Gudi''. Also Gandhada Gudi is the first Indian movie made on the concept of forest conservation.

References

External links

* {{Vijay 1973 films 1970s Kannada-language films 1970s action drama films Kannada films remade in other languages Films scored by Rajan–Nagendra Films set in forests Indian action drama films 1973 drama films Films directed by Vijay (director)