Manjunatha Film
Brandy Nauman
Sri Manjunatha is a 2001 Indian Kannada-language hagiographical film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao.[1] The film stars Chiranjeevi, Arjun Sarja, Ambareesh, Meena, Soundarya and Sumalatha. The film is based on the life of the Shiva devotee, Bhakta Manjunatha of the Kotilingeshwara Temple. The film was partially reshot in Telugu under the same title with Chiranjeevi's scenes reshot and Brahmanandam and Tanikella Bharani replacing Dwarakish and Mimicry Dayanand, respectively whilst all other scenes were dubbed from the Kannada original.
The film was released on 22 June 2001 worldwide. Upon release, the film received positive reviews and became a super-hit at the box office. The film was screened in the International Film Festival of India.
Manjunatha is an aspect of Shiva. Manju means 'snow' and Natha means 'lord.' Since Lord Shiva resides on Mount Kailash, and hence the ruler of the Himalaya Mountains, as he is the lord of that loka (dimension), he is called Manjunatha.Manjunatha is one of the most common names in Karnataka state for males and Manjula for females. Both are commonly called by the nickname name "Manju." This is mostly because of the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swami Temple located in Dharmasthala, Karnataka.
Manjunatha is an atheist, but a good person helping others in need and fighting evil and so even though Manjunatha hates his namesake Lord Siva, the latter loves his would be devotee. Being an atheist, Manjunatha always scolds Lord Shiva which is watched by his vehicle Nandi and his attendant Bhrungi. Manjunatha meets Katyayini a to-become devadasi (Servant of the Lord) and marries her. Soon they beget a son, Siddhartha ("Siddhu"), who like his mother is a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva.
After marriage Manjunatha realizes the existence of Lord Shiva and slowly transforms himself into a great devotee of Lord Shiva and with his devotion, lights the lamps of the Manjunatha Temple in Dharmasthala without using a matchstick and wins the hearts of everybody including the local King, Ambikeswara Maharaju who invites him to his court where he felicitates Manjunatha much to Manjunatha's dislike where the king realises that Manjunatha is going to die.
In the meantime Manjunatha starts a Koti Lingam Puja with over 1,000 lingams worshipped and both Manjunatha and the king singing the Lingashtakam and performing the puja. Manjunatha is also troubled by his enemies and is aided by Lord Shiva who comes in various disguises to save his devotee and help him and his wife attain salvation.
A critic from Chitraloka wrote that "In the annals of Kannada film history this film is undoubtedly a masterpiece".[5] A critic from Online Bangalore wrote that "This film is undoubtedly a masterpiece. It has a wonderful star cast, director, music, singers, [and] cinematography".[6]
Regarding the partially reshot Telugu version, Jeevi of Idlebrain.com wrote that "He takes us through a journey till the heart-touching climax by making the best use of the histrionics of Chiranjeevi, Arjun and other actors".[7] A critic from Full Hyderabad wrote that "'Sri Manjunatha' is an example of doing justice to a particular genre with complete honesty. It will reap the dividends due to this trait".[8]
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Manjunath Pendakur specializes in the political economy of communications and has conducted research in North America, India and Africa. He is particularly interested in film, television and global communications policy issues, and is currently working on a book dealing with globalization and rural culture in India. He has numerous publications in leading journals and anthologies, and his books include Canadian Dreams and American Control: The Political Economy of the Canadian Film Industry (1990); Indian Popular Cinema: Industry, Ideology and Consciousness (2003).
Guru Prasad hits bull's eye once again with a perfect film in Eddelu Manjunatha. It is an apt film for actor Jaggesh, now in his 25th year in the Kannada film industry.
Jaggesh is certainly the most talented actor in the Kannada film industry today. But unfortunately, he is bogged down by his own style, mannerism and dialogue delivery. Guru has successfully kept Jaggesh away from his mannerisms and irritating facial expressions. Here we see Jaggesh at his best living the role of a lazy, good-for-nothing husband, who wastes his time doing nothing. His portrayal is so real that you may feel you know people like him in real life.
What is so special about the film is that Jaggesh utters his dialogues with a straight face but they make the audience roar in laughter. Guru Prasad's dialogues are so natural and funny that you sympathise with Manjunatha's wife even while you laugh listening to his dialogues.
True, Guru has a fixation for double entendre. Take for example, the dialogue between Jaggesh and Tabala Naani, a blind person in the film. Jaggesh asks Naani how it has been possible for him to eat so perfectly despite his failed eyesight. Pat comes the reply: 'I have a friend who is also blind. But he has two children.'
It is better for Guru to come out of the this and write some powerful dialogues which can have good impact. Whatever it is, the audience seems to love what he has written. The minor irritants include the sequences where the grandmother feeds her grandchild brandy and the way the father and son address each other.
The story revolves around Manjunatha, a drunkard and a lazy brat. He does not move from his cot but talks nonstop. Despite his wife trying her best to reform him, Manjunatha does not change and continues with his wayward habits. He is always in the company of his worthless friends. Finally, Manjunatha realises that life is much more than all that, and decides to reform.
Jaggesh's brilliant performance apart, the film also showcases Yagna Shetty as a talented actress.
Music director V Manohar returns to acting in a special role. Tabala Naani, who had a wonderful role in Guru's first film Mata, proves that he is a very good actor whose talent is still untapped. The songs written by Guru himself are apt and meaningful.
Go and enjoy the laugh riot.
Rediff Rating:
Manjunath - Idiot Tha Saala, a biopic on the IIM (Lucknow) graduate Manjunath Shanmugham who was brutally murdered in 2005 for standing up for what he believed was right, was released on Friday (May 9) across 150 to 200 screens in 18 to 20 cities and towns. It is being supported by student communities like those from the IITs and IIMs, besides corporate India.
A low-budget film, Manjunath was made on less than Rs 5 crore excluding the marketing budget, and has been co-produced by National Film Development Corporation and director Sandeep A. Varma's advertising agency ICOMO (Integrated Communications and Media Operations). It is presented by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures.
The list of corporate houses supporting the movie, whose protagonist was killed for standing up to the oil mafia in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, include the Jagran Group, the Tata Group, Arvind Brands (Arrow shirts), Yatra.com, ICICI Lombard, Landmark and Westside (Trent), ING Vysya Bank and Infosys.
There will be a special screening fully sponsored by the IIM alumni association in Singapore on May 10 followed by a talk by director Varma. There are more such requests from other alumni who are overseas and are interested in watching this movie.
Viacom 18 Motion Pictures has chosen to adopt a minimalistic but high-impact strategy to connect with a specific target audience, the youth.
The M in the movie's title is in the devnagri script with a hope to make it a symbol of Manjunath's sacrifice and a symbol for change. It has also launched a public platform on an exclusive microsite www.whoismanjunath.com. This platform is targeted to garner support for other whistle-blowers and encourage the youth to "Speak-up" and stand for what is right.
Director Varma spent four years researching the subject by talking to Manjunath's family, friends, professors at IIM, Lucknow, petroleum dealers and his colleagues at Indian Oil Corporation where he had joined as a marketing manager (grade A officer).
He had no money when he started the movie. Many producers had rejected his script. Then, NFDC's script committee accepted the script and co-produced the movie with director Varma's agency, ICOMO that makes feature films, ad films and corporate films. Varma had initially 60 days to arrange the rest of the money which he got extended to 90 days as he was unable to put the money together.
But Varma does not want to brand it as crowdfunding, a trend that is picking up in India where filmmakers are able to fund their script-rich movies by donations through social media, majorly. He says strangers, who even have donated as little as Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000, wanted such a movie to be made, and they expressed no sign of getting their returns on investment.
NFDC has always supported films that tell compelling stories and Manjunath is one such story, says Vikramjit Roy, General Manager, Executive Producer and Head of Marketing at NFDC. "The film deals with real issues that impact the society and lends a voice to an unsung hero who rose in extraordinary circumstances. We hope that the film will resonate with the youth who are conscientious and do not hesitate to stand up for what is right. At NFDC, we are continuously seeking to create an environment conducive to the making of cinema that reflects diverse realities of contemporary India," says Roy.