''Super'' (pronounced '' Super '', originally known only by the
Vitarka Mudrā
A mudra (; sa, मुद्रा, , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ,) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers.
As wel ...
hand symbol) is a 2010 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
political drama
A political drama can describe a play, film or TV program that has a political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events.
Dramatists who have written political dramas in ...
film written and directed by
Upendra
Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born sub ...
. The film was released on 3 December 2010 in its
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 ...
version, and on 11 March 2011 in its Telugu version. This
utopian
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...
film had a concept of a contrasting futuristic India set in the year 2030, and the contemporary image of India.Super: A revolutionary concept Sify.com.
The film revolved around Subash, an NRI who is challenged by his fiancé who is completely modern in outlook to change India. Rest of the film shows how Subash tries to bring change in Indian country. The film generated humungous hype in media as it marked the comeback of Upendra as a director after 10 years of gap. The film received positive critical acclaim with critics praising the concept and screenplay.
With the title of the film depicted only by a symbol, it stars
Upendra
Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born sub ...
and
Nayanthara
Diana Mariam Kurian, known professionally as
Nayanthara, is an Indian actress and film producer who is known for her work in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. She was in the ''Forbes India'' "Celebrity 100" 2018 list, with her total annual ...
and is produced by Rockline Venkatesh, while
V. Harikrishna
V. Harikrishna (born 5 November 1974) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer, playback singer and film producer. He has mainly scored music for Kannada films. After his stint as a programmer and assistant musician, Harikrishna made h ...
scored the music.
Plot
Cast
*
Upendra
Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born sub ...
as Subhash Chandra Gandhi (the name is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words'Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma 'Gandhi'—the former is known for his revolutionary views to attaining Indian freedom, and the latter, for his non-violence)
*
Nayanthara
Diana Mariam Kurian, known professionally as
Nayanthara, is an Indian actress and film producer who is known for her work in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. She was in the ''Forbes India'' "Celebrity 100" 2018 list, with her total annual ...
as Indira
*
Tulip Joshi
Tulips (''Tulipa'') are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in war ...
Shylashri
Shylashri is an Indian actress who acted in Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam cinema. She was awarded the Rajyotsava Award in 2019 for her contributions to Kannada Cinema.
Shylashri is known to be one of 3 daughters of a classical musician, Veena G ...
as Subhash's parents
*
Sadhu Kokila
Sahaya Sheelan Shadrach (born 24 March 1966) known by his screen name Sadhu Kokila, is an Indian musician, actor, comedian, film director and producer, and an occasional screenwriter and lyricist who works in Kannada cinema. He began his care ...
and
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...
as the ''Chaddi'' Brothers (term ''
chaddi
Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they a ...
'' means ''shorts'' and is a
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
Dhandapani
Kadhal Dhandapani (17 April 1943 – 20 July 2014) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. He rose to fame portraying the antagonist in Balaji Sakthivel's ''Kaadhal'' (2004), and is credited with the film's name as ...
as the Chief Minister
*
Yograj Bhat
Yogaraj Bhat (born 8 October 1972) is an Indian Kannada film-maker, director, screenwriter, lyricist and producer. He is most known for the 2006 film ''Mungaru Male''. The film recorded the highest box-office collections in the history of Kannad ...
is featured as an off-screen narrator (uncredited)
*
Rockline Venkatesh
Thirupathi Narasimhalunaidu Venkatesh (born 23 March 1963), better known by his stage name Rockline Venkatesh, is an Indian actor and producer known for his works in Kannada, and Hindi cinemas. He is the founder and owner of the production and d ...
(producer) guest stars as the leader of a folk dance troop
Production
Upendra returned to direction after nearly ten years. The nameless film was originally represented only by the hand symbol (seen in posters) and Upendra wanted the audience to name the film. The hand symbol could mean ''zero'', or ''three'' or the '' Om'' symbol or ''
Vitarka Mudrā
A mudra (; sa, मुद्रा, , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ,) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers.
As wel ...
'' (an ancient
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
gesture), public and media stuck to calling it ''Super''.
Shooting began on 18 February 2010 at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium with the planned schedule for 90 days which included various locations in
Bengaluru
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 ...
,
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
and
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. It was produced by Rockline Venkatesh under the banner Rockline Productions, which is its 25th venture. The film saw the debut of Tamil-Malayalam actress Nayanthara in Kannada films. Being a multilingual film, several artists from Telugu and Tamil film industries like Ali, Kadal Dandapani, Jeeva are also featured.
Prior to release, much information about the film was kept under wraps. During the promotion of the film at an interview on a radio station, Upendra expressed his disappointment being labeled as a "different director" and explained that most of his directorial ventures deal with the things that he had undergone in his real life. When asked about the ten-year break, Upendra said he thought he would work on his acting career, but then it sucked him in like a vacuum which he could not get out of. After reaching a point where he was afraid he had lost his ability to direct films, he had to fight his fear and that is when he started working on the script of ''Super''.
Theme
A symbol being the title of the film, it is replete with symbolism from the
title sequence
A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with visu ...
is displayed. Uppi has made the movie Super that is named after hand symbol completely a different film and that different trick starts right from the displaying title cards, which has never been attempted by anyone in Indian cinema. For instance, the credit for direction just shows "U" with an index finger pointing towards the audience. This story of India is narrated
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
ically through the story of Indira, the female lead.
''Super'' depicts a
Utopian
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...
India in the year 2030 where Indians are pictured to be wealthy, hard-working, and are seen wearing traditional clothing consisting of
Ilkal saree
Ilkal sari is a traditional form of ''sari'' which is a common feminine wear in India. Ilkal sari takes its name from the town of Ilkal in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka state, India. Ilkal saris are woven using cotton warp on the body ...
westerners
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.
are the ones taking care of menial jobs like taxi driving, janitorial, etc. It is a future where the
rupee
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
is valued 70 times the British pound and people who cannot speak
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 ...
are considered illiterates (and Westerners are visibly apologetic about the same). From this setting, the film regresses back to the current year 2010 where India is beset with problems of corruption, red-tapism, pollution and unemployment.
Political satire
Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...
is played out by using sounds of horses and donkeys when ministers appear on the screen, which represents the political
horse trading
Horse trading, in its literal sense, is the buying and selling of horses, also called "horse dealing". Due to the difficulties in evaluating the merits of a horse offered for sale, the sale of horses offered great opportunities for dishonesty, l ...
witnessed in recent times in the state of Karnataka. Scenes of raping Indira and the auctioning process of an entire Indian state are interspersed to draw a parallel between the two. The film finds a climax back in 2030 where a foreigner asks an Indian as to who was responsible for all the good changes in India, and the film ends abruptly again with the index finger pointing at the audience, symbolizing that it's the people who are ultimately responsible for the course of a nation.
Release
India
In Karnataka, the Kannada version was released at over 180 theaters on 3 December 2010. The Telugu version of the film was released on 11 March 2011 in more than 95 screens across
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. Fearing copyright violation, the production team postponed the international release to mid-2011 as there were chances of film getting leaked on the Internet during overseas release.
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
film personality
Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
flew to
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 ...
to attend a private screening of the film arranged by the producer Rockline Venkatesh. The film saw a special screening in
Infosys
Infosys Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Ba ...
at its
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
campus. It was also screened at the fourth Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFF) in December 2011 as part of the 'political satire' category.Upendra's Super to be screened at 4th Bengaluru International Film Festival Oneindia. (12 December 2011). The film was later dubbed into Hindi as ''Rowdy Leader 2'' by Goldmines Telefilms in 2017.
Overseas release
Kannada version of ''Super'' was released in the US by Upendra's close friend Shivamurthy. The film was screened in USA's Chicago and
Edison, New Jersey
Edison is a township located in Middlesex County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub, home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India. It is ...
. It was scheduled for two shows in the town of
Matthews, North Carolina
Matthews is a town in southeastern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte. The population was 27,198 according to the 2010 Census.
History
In the early 19th century, the new settlement that would become Ma ...
on 23 and 24 April at
Cinemark Theatres
Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (stylized as CineMark from 1998 to 2022 and CINEMARK since 2022) is an American movie theater chain that started operations in 1984 and since then it has operated theaters with hundreds of locations throughout the America ...
. In the city of
Garland, Texas
Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin and Rockwall Counties. At the ...
, it was screened in August 2011. The film was released in Australia in late August 2011, by a Kannada film distributor in Australia, Arunroopesh. It was screened in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Sydney,
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
and
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
.
Reception
Box office
Kannada
In Karnataka, the Kannada version was released at over 180 theaters on 3 December 2010. The film reported sold-out shows all over the state of Karnataka. Some fans who could not get hold of tickets any other way bought them on the
black market
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...
. It celebrated 100 days of run at over 90 centres, 125 days of run at its main centre and 175 days of run at PVR in
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 ...
.
Telugu
After receiving good response for the audio track, ''Super'' was released in
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
in its
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
version on 11 March 2011. Screened at more than 95 theaters across
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, ''Super'' had an opening across the state.
Upendra
Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born sub ...
was quite happy about receiving extraordinary reviews from Telugu and English daily newspapers and websites. It received a widespread appreciation from Telugu newspapers like
Eenadu
''Eenadu'' () is the largest circulated Telugu-language daily newspaper of India sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.Vaartha
''Vaartha'' is a Telugu newspaper headquartered in Hyderabad, India. ''Vaartha'' means "news" in Telugu.
History
''Vaartha'' was launched in 1996 with A.B.K Prasad as its first editor. It claimed to be the first Telugu daily in Tel ...
which described ''Super'' as 'Upendra's best creative attempt' and was reported to be doing well in Andhra Pradesh. Reviews on the websites were also quite positive about the film. According to Upendra, the film's good reviews boosted the collections and that the film as a whole has been appreciated and the fresh concept of the story has been widely discussed in media. The distributors were quite happy about the response received throughout Andhra Pradesh. According to the box office analysts of Andhra Pradesh, the film surprisingly caught the attention of the B, C centre audience in a big way and scored good success.
Critical reception
Critically, the film was widely well received in its Kannada version with the
Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...
rating it 4/5 stars and describing that the film "succeeds in keeping the audience entertained with witty dialogs, neat script and lively narration, along with Upendra's antics, and, at times, his strange make-up."
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 ...
termed the film as "something extraordinary" and praised Upendra's grand return to the direction "by confusing and exciting the audience right from the movie’s inception, with a hotchpotch of his trademark films and roles" while downplaying the characterization of heroines.
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
called it a "revolutionary concept" in story-telling which "will make people ponder over the contemporary events and see how the country is plundered by the greedy politicians and corporate community."
DNA India
''Zee Media Corporation Limited'' (abbreviated as ZMCL; formerly Zee News Limited) is the news broadcasting company of the Essel Group which is controlled by Subhash Chandra. The company is engaged mainly in the business of broadcasting of news ...
also rated it 4/5 stars with a consensus that "Upendra still has all it takes to churn movies that are 'his style,' but contemporary in nature and he puts forth a message through this film as well, as he ruthlessly mocks the current political scenario." Other reviewers have largely appreciated the multifaceted film for its technicality, complex script dished out in an out-of-the-box narratorial technique while keeping the commercial aspect intact. Performances of all artists, especially Upendra's, has been another highlighted feature of the film.
Special screenings
In 2011,
Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
attended a private screening of ''Super'' arranged by the producer Rockline Venkatesh. "It all started a couple of months ago when I met Rajini sir and told him about the film I was going to produce with Uppi as director. When he heard the story of the film, he was very happy," said Rockline. "When he learnt that it was a hit, he was thrilled and asked me to hold a screening for him, too." After the screening, Rajinikanth commented: "I like watching Upendra's films and this was no exception. He is an excellent director and is one of a kind in the country. The kind of subject he has chosen is excellent. We need more films of this kind which are thought-provoking and also well-made. It's amazing that a film of this scale has been made in Kannada. If I get an opportunity and an impressive script, I'd like to do a Kannada film in the future."
The film saw a special screening in
Infosys
Infosys Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Ba ...
at its
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
campus where thousands of employees, which included non-Kannadigas, watched the film. It was screened at the fourth
Bangalore International Film Festival
The Bengaluru International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Bengaluru, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka, which previews films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1996, Suchitra Ba ...
(BIFF) in December 2011.
Soundtrack
The ''Super'' soundtrack album rights was acquired by Madhu Bangarappa of Akash Audio for a record price of 12.5 million. Composed by V Harikrishna, the album has five songs and Upendra has penned lyrics for three and remaining two have been written by
Yograj Bhat
Yogaraj Bhat (born 8 October 1972) is an Indian Kannada film-maker, director, screenwriter, lyricist and producer. He is most known for the 2006 film ''Mungaru Male''. The film recorded the highest box-office collections in the history of Kannad ...
and V Manohar. It was officially released on 19 November at Leela Palace by
Puneeth Rajkumar
Puneeth Rajkumar (17 March 1975 – 29 October 2021), colloquially known as Appu, was an Indian actor, playback singer, television presenter, and producer, who worked in Kannada cinema. He was the youngest son of actor and matinee idol Dr. Rajk ...
and
Raghavendra Rajkumar
Raghavendra Rajkumar (born 15 August 1965) is an Indian actor, singer and producer of Kannada cinema. He is the son of actor Dr. Rajkumar and film producer Parvathamma Rajkumar. He made his debut as a lead in the film ''Chiranjeevi Sudhakar'' ...
.
Unlicensed copies of the album were available online within hours after the release, and a team was formed by the production unit to fight audio infringement. This resulted in some Kannada music websites being brought down permanently.