''Koormavatara'' ( kan, ಕೂರ್ಮಾವತಾರ) is a 2011 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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Girish Kasaravalli Girish Kasaravalli (born 3 December 1950) is an Indian film director, in the Kannada cinema, and one of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema. Known internationally for his works, Kasaravalli has garnered fourteen National Film Awards, including f ...

, based on short story of the same name written by Kum. Veerabhadrappa. It stars Shikaripura Krishnamurthy, Jayanthi and Apoorva Kasaravalli in the lead roles, and Harish Raj, Cheswa, Rashmi Sumukha, Goa Dattu and Sumukha Bharadwaj feature in supporting roles. The story revolves around a government employee cast in a play to portray

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, who, on course, realizes that playing Gandhi is easier than imbibing and implementing his principles in real-life. The film was screened in 17 film festivals and won acclaims

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. At the

59th National Film Awards The 59th National Film Awards, presented by the Directorate of Film Festivals, honoured the best of Indian cinema for 2011 and took place on 3 May 2012 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. Awards were presented in 38 categories in the Feature Films se ...

, it was awarded the Best Feature Film in Kannada.

Plot

Rao, who is at the edge of retirement from government service, happens to play the role of Mahatma Gandhi in a television serial. Unknowingly the qualities of Gandhiji imbibe in him. How resurrect is the crux of the film? ‘One would certainly question himself after seeing this film' opines Dr Girish.

Cast

* Shikaripura Krishnamurthy as Anand Rao /

* Jayanthi as Susheela /

Kasturba Gandhi Kasturbai Mohandas Gandhi (, born Kasturbai Gokuldas Kapadia; 11 April 1869 – 22 February 1944) was an Indian political activist. She married Mohandas Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, in 1883. With her husband and her eldest so ...

Apoorva Kasaravalli Apurva Kasaravalli or Apoorva Kasaravalli is an Indian businessman, actor and filmmaker known for his work in Kannada cinema. Personal life Apurva is the son of Girish Kasaravalli and Vaishali Kasaravalli, and brother of Ananya Kasaravalli. He ...

as Chandan *

Harish Raj Harish Raj is an Indian actor and director based in Kannada cinema. He made his acting debut in the television serial ''Hosa Chiguru Hale Beru'' in 1996 and his debut in feature films was with ''Doni Saagali'' in 1998. After featuring in a stri ...

Nathuram Godse Nathuram Vinayak Godse (19 May 1910 – 15 November 1949) was the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. He was a Hindu nationalist from Maharashtra who shot Gandhi in the chest three times at point blank range at a multi-faith prayer meeting in Birla ...

* Cheswa * Rashmi Hariprasad * Goa Dattu * Praveen Rabakavi * Sumukha Bharadwaj * Vikram Soori as Iqbal * Nanjunda * H. G. Somashekar Rao * Akki Chennabasappa * Babu Hirannayya * Bangalore Nagesh * Radha Ramachandra

Production & Casting

Former President of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, hotelier and actor Basanthkumar Patil is producing this film that has completed 15 days shooting in Bengaluru. "Abhinayasharadhe" Jayanthi plays the ‘Kastura Bai’ role in this film. Dr Shikaripura Krishnamurthy plays the lead protagonist role. HG Somasekhara Rao, Goa Datthu, Ninasam Chaswa, Rashmi, Vikram Soori, Nanjunda and Apoorva Kasaravalli forms the rest of cast. Issac Thomas scores the music and G.S.Bhaskar another stalwart in cinematography, is behind the camera.

Reception

Critical response

B S Srivani from ''

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 ...

'' wrote "In Kanasemba Kudureyaneri, Kasaravalli had poked inside the psyche of the rural man while in “Kurmavataara” it is the suave urbanite who undergoes sharp scrutiny. But does it suffice for the moment?". A critic from

Bangalore Mirror ''Bangalore Mirror'' is a daily English-language newspaper published in Bangalore, India. It is a deputed newspaper and is the second-largest circulating English newspaper in the city ''Vijay Times'' ''Vijay Times'' was an English newspaper st ...

wrote "Veteran Jayanthi and Harish Raj, both playing actors and Kastura Ba and Nathuram Godse, deliver top-class performances. The film has been released in five screens in Bangalore and there is no reason to skip it. Indulge in some Gandhian duty".

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 several ...

References

External links

* 2011 films 2010s Kannada-language films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Girish Kasaravalli Best Kannada Feature Film National Film Award winners {{2010s-Kannada-film-stub