''Puttakkana Highway'' ( kn, ಪುಟ್ಟಕ್ಕನ ಹೈವೇ) 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 ...

starring Shruti and

Prakash Raj Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films, he is the recipient of several ...

in the lead roles. The film was directed by

B. Suresha B. Suresha is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor who works in Kannada-language films. He is known for directing the films ''Artha'' (2003) and ''Puttakkana Highway'' (2011). Career B. Suresha made his debut as a child ac ...

Prakash Rai Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu language, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films ...

and Shylaja Nag jointly produced this venture under

Duet Movies Duet Movies aka Prakash Raj Productions is an Indian film production and distribution company based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and owned by actor Prakash Raj Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, produ ...

and Media House banner.

Hamsalekha Gangaraju (born June 23, 1951), professionally known as Hamsalekha, is an Indian film composer and a songwriter who works in South Indian cinema, predominantly in the Kannada film industry since the late 1980s. He is also a screenplay writer, di ...

composed the music and H. M. Ramachandra was the cameraman. The story is based on the novel by acclaimed writer

Nagathihalli Chandrashekar Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar is an Indian director, actor, screenwriter and a lyricist who predominantly works in Kannada Cinema. He made his film debut as a screenplay writer in ''Kadina Benki'' (1986) which won the National Film Award for Best ...

Plot

The story exploits the dark and bright sides of the land acquisition scam. ''Puttakkana Highway'' is set in a remote village where people make their living through farming. A couple working as farmers in the village get notice for eviction as a highway is being planned to be built, subsuming their small property of land. The wife decides to go to the capital city and meet the ministers in charge. She, being a poor farming laborer, faces many challenges in meeting the politician. But she ultimately meets him. Back to her native, she finds her land is gone, a highway built over it. She learns through her neighbors her husband died in poverty and the highway has passed across his grave. Greater tragedy lies when she learns that her daughter, out of destitution, has become a sex worker. Human nature of all the types has been well depicted across all characters. Hence, the movie calls for a humane approach towards development.

Cast

* Shruti as Puttakka *

as Shani Krishna *

Achyuth Kumar Achyuth Kumar is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada cinema. Born in the town of Belur, in the district of Hassan and brought up in Tiptur. He graduated in bachelor of commerce from the Kalpatharu First Grade College, which was t ...

Mandya Ramesh Mandya Ramesh is an Indian actor, comedian, director and theatre personality who mainly works in the Kannada films and theatre. He is the founder secretary oNatanaRangashaale, Mysore, one of the eminent theatre training institutions of India. ...

* Srinivas Prabhu *

Veena Sundar Veena Sunder is an Indian actress who appears in Kannada films and soaps. For her performance in the movie Aa Karaala Ratri, she won Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2018. Personal life Veena married to actor Sundar. T ...

Sathish Ninasam Shiva, known by his screen name Sathish Ninasam, is an Indian actor who appears in Kannada films. Having made his film debut with '' Madesha'' (2008), Sathish appeared in small but significant roles in films like ''Manasaare'' (2009), '' Panch ...

in a cameo appearance

Reception

Critical response

A critic from ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' scored the film at 4 out of 5 stars and says "Hats off to Shruthi for her brilliant portrayal of Puttakka, a rustic woman. Equally good is Prakash Rai, who gives a comic touch to the narration as Shani Krishna. Achuth Kumar, Srinivasa Prabhu and Veena Sundar are brilliant. The real hero is H M Ramachandra, for his pleasing cinematography. Music by Hamsalekha has a desi touch". 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 "Veena Sundar’s performance raises expectations of more. Only the sensitive can sift through staid pace and performances to appreciate the sub-texts. But what about those who are not exposed to such realities?An honest effort no doubt, but Puttakkana Highway ultimately fails to bridge the urban-rural gap - a lost opportunity". Shruti Indira Lakshminarayana from

Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...

scored the film at 3 out of 5 stars and says "Puttakkana Highway is a story that spans over 16 years, not to forget that there are no short cuts while fighting for justice! Watch Puttakana Highway to understand the other flip side of development". 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 "It is rather a textbook effort at presenting serious questions ad answers. You know the answer and the fact that it is not the solution. A god ride, but it lacks a soul".

Awards

* The movie won the

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 severa ...

for the year 2010–2011. * ''Puttakkana Highway'' won an award in 4th Bengaluru International Film Festival 2011.

References

2010s Kannada-language films 2011 films Films scored by Hamsalekha Indian drama films Films based on Indian novels Best Kannada Feature Film National Film Award winners Films directed by B. Suresha {{2010s-Kannada-film-stub