''Raja Nanna Raja'' () is a 1976

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 thriller A romantic thriller is a narrative that involves elements of the romance and thriller genres. A good thriller provides entertainment by making viewers uncomfortable with moments of suspense, the heightened feeling of anxiety and fright. A thril ...

film, written by

Salim–Javed Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, working in Bollywood. They are noted for being the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, becoming the most successful Indian screenwriters ...

, and the screenplay was created 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 film was directed by A. V. Sheshagiri Rao, and produced by A. L. Abbaiah Naidu. The film starred Rajkumar, Aarathi and Chandrashekhar. The songs composed by

G. K. Venkatesh Gurusala Krishnadas Venkatesh (21 September 1927 – 17 November 1993) was an Indian film score composer who primarily worked in Kannada cinema during the 1960s, 1970s and until the late-1980s. He also composed music for Telugu, Malayalam and Ta ...

were received extremely well and considered as evergreen hits. The film deals with reincarnation as the main subject, with the lead actors romancing in both the incarnations. The film was a huge success at the box-office after its release. In an episode in '' Weekend with Ramesh'' ,

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 ...

had revealed that Ilaiyaraaja was working under

as a guitar player for this movie. This movie popularized the role of the suave

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

in Kannada films. The film was released on 27 May 1976. It had a theatrical run of 25 weeks. Similarities were noted between the core plot element of this movie and ''

Magadheera ''Magadheera'' () is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action film directed by S. S. Rajamouli and produced by Allu Aravind's Geetha Arts, on a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film stars Ram Charan, Srihari, Kajal Aggarwal and Dev Gil ...

''.

Cast

* Rajkumar as Raja * Aarathi as Ganga / Geetha *

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 ...

* Chandrashekar *

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 ...

* Sampath *

Thoogudeepa Srinivas Mysore Srinivas (17 April 1943 – 16 October 1995), known by his stage name Thoogudeepa Srinivas was an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada films and is remembered for his portrayal of negative-shaded characters. He is the father of actor, D ...

* M. P. Shankar

Soundtrack

composed the soundtrack and the lyrics were written by

. The album consists of five soundtracks. The song ''Thanuvu Manavu'' had another video version which was deleted from the movie. However, the version was used in Kashinath's 1989 movie ''Preyasi Preethisu'' (at the 12th minute).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raja Nanna Raja 1976 films 1970s Kannada-language films 1970s romantic fantasy films Films about reincarnation Films scored by G. K. Venkatesh Films with screenplays by Salim–Javed Indian romantic fantasy films Films directed by A. V. Seshagiri Rao