Shhh! (film)
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''Shhh!'' is a 1993 Indian
Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
-language
horror thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
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 subs ...
. It stars
Kumar Govind Kumar Govind is an Indian actor and director in the Kannada film industry, known for starring in hit films like '' Shhh!,'' his debut as Hero and '' Anuraga Sangama'' with Ramesh Aravind and Sudha Rani. Career Kumar Govind made his acting d ...
, Kashinath and
Suresh Heblikar Suresh Heblikar () is a Kannada filmmaker, director, and actor. Life He is also a environmentalist, founding the Eco-Watch NGO in 1998. He has produced many movies in Kannada of which ''Kadina Benki'' won Best Director national award and ''U ...
, with N.B. Jayaprakash, Shankar Bhatt, Bank Janardhan, Goturi, Mimicri Dayanand, Baby Rashmi, Megha and others in support roles. The film also stars Kashinath and introduced
Kumar Govind Kumar Govind is an Indian actor and director in the Kannada film industry, known for starring in hit films like '' Shhh!,'' his debut as Hero and '' Anuraga Sangama'' with Ramesh Aravind and Sudha Rani. Career Kumar Govind made his acting d ...
as mainstream hero. It has a cameo 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 subs ...
as a wannabe actor in police costume. This film went on to be a major commercial success. It created a new trend of thriller movies in
Kannada cinema Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar ...
. It was also the debut movie of
Sadhu Kokila Sahaya Sheelan Shadrach, (born 24 March 1966) known by his Stage name Sadhu Kokila, is an Indian comedian, musician, actor, film director, producer, occasional screenwriter and lyricist who works in Kannada cinema. He began his career as a com ...
as an actor and music director.


Plot

A young boy comes out of his house at midnight to relieve himself, where he hears some leaves rustling in the distance, and looks up to see what it is. His face suddenly bears an expression of horror, and he screams at the top of his lungs. A few days later, a shooting crew led by veteran Kannada director Kashinath and producer are on their way to start filming their newly approved film. For shooting, they have selected ''Onti Mane Estate'' (Lone House Estate), a lonely estate feared in the vicinity. As they try to find their way, they encounter a series of mishaps, which irritates Kashinath. They arrive at the estate, where they meet the estate owner Nagraj Rao. Nagraj Rao's daughter Bharathi keeps playing hilarious pranks on Kashinath and the film's protagonist Kumar. Kumar is instantly attracted to Bharathi due to her outgoing and charming personality and falls in love with her. As the shooting progresses, strange events start taking place, where the demon ghost's costume starts smoking in the middle of the night and Kumar witnesses a hooded figure leaving Nagraj Rao's house. When he tries to follow the figure, Rao's brother-in-law stops him and warns him not to roam around the estate at night. A few hours later, a demonic figure (wearing the film's ghost costume) nabs him from behind and carrys him to the top of estate hill which is a dilapidated house. Frightened by his disappearance, Nagaraj Rao's wife lodges a complaint, where SI Kalappa and his perennially drowsy constable take charge of the investigation. A few days later, it is revealed that Nagaraj's wife was the hooded figure and her brother was looking out for her as she had an affair with a local
sanyasi ''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' ashramas'', the first three being '' brahmacharya'' (celibate student), '' grihastha'' (householder) and '' vanaprasth ...
Dayananda Swamiji. The same night, as she goes out to meet her lover, she is trailed by the demon. The sanyasi and Nagraj Rao's wife make love. As the sanyasi steps out to fetch water, the demon knocks him out and kidnaps Nagaraj Rao's wife, where he whisks her to the same dilapidated house. On seeing his family members disappearing one by one, Nagaraj Rao is distraught. Surprisingly, his son Krishna and Bharati least bothered with all these. Later, a top cop accuses Kashinath to be responsible for all murders. It is later revealed that he was just an aspiring actor trying to impress Kashinath with his acting skills. Meanwhile, the
police superintendent Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territori ...
takes SI Kalappa to task and issues orders to intensify investigations. Tragedy strikes the film crew, when the
assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...
is found brutally murdered and the demon's play intensifies with many supernatural occurrences, making the people believe that a ghost is indeed haunted the estate. As Kumar and Kashinath try to demystify the deaths, they find holes and trenches dug in sporadic parts of the estate, leaving them confounded. As the days pass, tragedy strikes Nagaraj Rao's family again when Krishna is brutally murdered. Kashinath finds a vital artifact, a golden token of
Lord Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...
, which he believes holds to solve this murder mystery. However, Kashinath is thrown into a tizzy when he sees the same artifact with Kumar, and the specter of doubt soon looms large on Kumar's involvement with the murders. One night, Kumar escorts Bharathi into the forest in the middle of the night and abandons her. Just as he leaves, the demon attacks her. Hearing her cries for help, Kumar jumps in and fights the demon. After a grueling fight, the demon escapes upon seeing Kashinath and his crew. Soon, Kashinath ask about the copy of the artifact. Kumar tells him that it was handed to him by Bharathi, who had in turn, received it from her father. Kashinath realizes that Nagaraj Rao is the one behind all this, and they rush to his house, only to find him hanging from the ceiling with a suicide note. The family's maid reveals that Nagaraj Rao's greedy wife and his brother-in-law manipulated him to murder his friend Ramappa to steal a pot filled with golden artifacts, which they discovered, but they could not find the treasure. After hearing the story, Kumar and Kashinath decides to find out. Kumar sees a burnt man holding a corpse and the doctor from the neighboring estate reprimanding him by showing him fire. Kumar interferes and grabs the doctor hostage under a knife, who then reveals that the burnt man is the son of Ramappa, who survived the fire but he suffered
psychological trauma Psychological trauma (also known as mental trauma, psychiatric trauma, emotional damage, or psychotrauma) is an emotional response caused by severe distressing events, such as Major trauma, bodily injury, Sexual assault, sexual violence, or ot ...
because of the injuries. The doctor tried his best to help him, but he would just dig up female corpses, thinking that it was his long-lost wife. The doctor tells Kumar that Ramappa had another son seeking revenge and is a member of the film crew. As Kumar asks him who the person was, he is knocked out by the demon. Producer keeps on digging the ground suspiciously as though searching funds, misleads audience as he is the main suspect reason for murders happened. Now that the vengeful goal of eliminating Mr. Rao's family is complete, the demon and his brother commit suicide by drinking cyanide in front of the doctor. Kumar wakes up and reaches the burnt-down house to find them dead. The doctor reveals that the demon is the production manager Srikanta, who had earlier faked his death and his brother, who was an accomplice in his crimes of brutally murdering Rao's family. Kashinath, Bharati, and others rush to see it and Bharthi is relieved. But to everyone's surprise, Srikantha tries to strangle Bharthi. Before he can do anything serious, the Superintendent kills him. The film ends with Kashinath wishing Kumar and Bharthi a happy and peaceful married life as they leave the estate after wrapping their shooting.


Cast


Production

Upendra and his friends started working on a story during college holidays called ''Nigooda Neralugalu'' which eventually took different forms and finally took the shape of this movie story.


Soundtrack

* "Avanalli Ivalilli" - L. N. Shastry,
Chandrika Gururaj Chandrika Gururaj (born 4 October 1959), is an Indian playback singer, known for her works in Kannada. Apart from film songs, she has also recorded numerous devotional, bhaavageethe and folk songs. For her song "O Priyatama" in the movie ''Urv ...
* "Dava Dava Nadukava" -
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), commonly known as SPB or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is widely regarde ...
,
Manjula Gururaj Manjula Gururaj () is an Indian female playback singer and a voice-over artist who has primarily worked in Kannada cinema and also runs a music school. Career Playback singer She entered the Kannada film industry as a playback singer in Novem ...
The audio has two more songs which were not found in the movie. * " One Day Sunday Ninna Kandenu" -
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), commonly known as SPB or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is widely regarde ...
,
Manjula Gururaj Manjula Gururaj () is an Indian female playback singer and a voice-over artist who has primarily worked in Kannada cinema and also runs a music school. Career Playback singer She entered the Kannada film industry as a playback singer in Novem ...
* " Ee Bhayadalleno Thrill Ide" - L. N. Shastry,
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 subs ...
, Shivaji Rao


Release


Critical reception

The film was summarily praised by critics and fans. Upendra as a director was hailed for his ability to maintain the suspense element of the movie till the end. It also became a benchmark movie for
Sadhu Kokila Sahaya Sheelan Shadrach, (born 24 March 1966) known by his Stage name Sadhu Kokila, is an Indian comedian, musician, actor, film director, producer, occasional screenwriter and lyricist who works in Kannada cinema. He began his career as a com ...
who is now a very well acclaimed and respected musician and actor.


Box office

This film went on to be a major commercial success. It created a new trend of suspense thriller movies in
Kannada cinema Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar ...
. It established
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 subs ...
as a well-known director. It completed 100 days in 26 centres. The film was later dubbed in Telugu.


Awards

Karnataka State Film Awards Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They are given annually by the Government ...
1993-94 * Third Best Film * Best Editor - R. Janardhan


References


External links

* {{Upendra Films set in Bengaluru 1990s Kannada-language films 1990s Indian films 1990s horror thriller films 1993 films 1993 horror films Films directed by Upendra Indian horror thriller films Films scored by Sadhu Kokila