''Kariya'' is a 2003 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
gangster film
A gangster film or gangster movie is a film belonging to a genre that focuses on gangs and organized crime. It is a subgenre of crime film, that may involve large criminal organizations, or small gangs formed to perform a certain illegal act. The ...
written and directed by
Prem, starring
Darshan and
Abinayasri
Abhinayashree is an evicted contestant on ''Bigg Boss (Telugu season 6)''.
Career
Her first major role came in Siddique's 2001 Tamil comedy ''Friends'', which featured her alongside Vijay and Suriya. She received a breakthrough in her caree ...
. It narrates the tragic story of a homeless
assassin-for-hire Kariya, who falls for Maya, a well educated and rich dancer. Although she tries to convey her feelings, Kariya hesitantly moves away causing her to pledge that she will only reciprocate his feelings if he proclaims his love for her. Meanwhile, a few local thugs try to entrap Kariya and seek vengeance for the death of their friend.
Cast
*
Darshan as Kariya
*
Abinayasri
Abhinayashree is an evicted contestant on ''Bigg Boss (Telugu season 6)''.
Career
Her first major role came in Siddique's 2001 Tamil comedy ''Friends'', which featured her alongside Vijay and Suriya. She received a breakthrough in her caree ...
as Maya
* Mico Nagaraj
* Umesh Punga
* Nanda Kishore
* Dashavara Chandru
* Nandesh
* John
*
B. Jayashree
B. Jayashree (born 9 June 1950) is a veteran Indian theatre actress, director and singer, who has also acted in films and television and worked as dubbing artist in films. She is the creative director of Spandana Theatre, an amateur theatre co ...
* Five Star Ganesh
* Dr. Suresh Sharma
The film features twenty-three real underworld gangsters.
Soundtrack
Production
Kariya is the debut film of
Prem as a director before ''Excuse Me''. Having a gangster backdrop, director Prem and producer Anekal Balaraj bailed out 23 criminals to act in the film. Balraj tried to persuade a female mobster Mari Mutthu to act in the film. However, Mari Muthu who was a councilor refused the offer, and kariya movie creates violence in society and fearing it might tarnish her reputation. Certain scenes involving these rowdies were shot in exactly the same spot where they have killed or assaulted their targets in the past.
Darshan, who made his debut through the crime film ''
Majestic'' was chosen to play the titular role, while
Abhirami, daughter of actress Anuradha was signed in to play the female lead.
Gurukiran
Gurukiran or Gurukiran Shetty is an Indian music director of the Kannada film industry in India. He started his career as a music director of the Kannada movie '' A'', directed and acted by Upendra. His music for his next movie ''Upendra'' furt ...
has scored and composed the film's soundtrack. The cinematography was handled by Seenu.
Release
Kariya received an ''A certificate'' from regional office of the
Censor Board
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...
at
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
with the certificate dated 30 December 2002. The film was released on 3 January 2003.
Reception
Critical reception
The film received mixed response from critics upon release. Gangadhara of ''
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 ...
'' felt the film "fails to have a tight storyline" but is technically, "well-made". He added, "As the debutant director
Prem fails to effectively convey the story, it gets dragged on till the end. Also, the director is quite unconvincing in giving the film a definite flow." He opined that the film had shades of ''
Om'' (1995) and
Darshan's own ''
Majestic'' that released earlier that year. He further wrote, "Darshan looks insipid and tired throughout the film as he has neither worked on his looks nor on his expressions, which seem monotonous. Darshan could have been a bit sharper. Abhinayashri looks smarter than Darshan. She attracts a lot of attention in acting department as well as dance sequences. M R Seenu's cinematography is superb. Debutant director Prem seems to be too excited with the script as a newcomer to the medium." According to ''Viggy.com'', "There are some catchy dialogues and comedy to make you laugh if you are freezed looking at the blood pool." Though they criticized the musical score by Gurukiran and the wrong casting of Darshan in the lead role, the film's cinematography and Prem's direction received praise. The similarities of certain scenes with that of Om and Satya were pointed out. ''Chitraloka'' criticised the film for not catering much to the women or the younger generation. But the reviewer praised Darshan's performance, Gurukiran's music and M. R. Seenu's camerawork. The film was also lauded for its technical prowess. ''Nettv4u'' gave the film 3.5 stars on 5 calling ''Kariya'' one of Darshan's best films which could draw more of his fans to theatres to watch the different effort. While the film received praise for its technical aspects, direction and cinematography the film was criticized for its violence.
Box office
Kariya had a big opening. It ran for 56 days at Kapali theatre during its first release. At the end of its first run, the film was declared a
sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...
. However, due to demand by the viewers, the film was released again when it turned out to be a greater success, enjoying a theatrical run of more than 100 days. During its second release, the film was declared 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 ...
completing a theatrical run of 675 days in
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 ...
.
Controversy
There is a song in the film called "Avalu Nanage Sigadiddare Acid Hakuve" ("If I don't get you, I will
pour acid on you"). The ''Karnataka State Commission for Women'' has asked the censor board to ban such films, claiming they encouraged crimes against women.
Legacy
The sequel ''
Kariya 2'', which was unrelated to the 2003 film was released in 2017. However, both films were produced by Anekal Balaraju.
References
{{Prem (director)
Films set in Bangalore
2003 films
2000s Kannada-language films
Films scored by Gurukiran
Films shot in Bangalore
Indian gangster films
Indian crime action films
2003 action films
Films directed by Prem