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Bandhana
Poster
Directed by	Rajendra Singh Babu
Screenplay by	H. V. Subba Rao Rajendra Singh Babu
Based on	Bandhana by Usha Navarathnaram
Produced by	Rajendra Singh Babu
Starring	Vishnuvardhan Suhasini Jai Jagadeesh
Cinematography	D. V. Rajaram
Edited by	V. P. Krishna
Music by	M. Ranga Rao
Production company	Rohini Pictures
Release date	24 August 1984 (1984-08-24)
Running time	153 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada

Bandhana (transl. Romantic Bond) is a 1984 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu from a screenplay by H. V. Subba Rao and Rajendra Singh Babu, based on a novel of the same name by Usha Navaratnanram. The film revolves around the relationship between a surgeon, Harish and his student Nandini. The film stars Vishuvardhan as Dr. Harish and Suhasini as his protégé Nandini, along with Jai Jagadish, Roopadevi and G. K. Govinda Rao in supporting roles.

At the 32nd National Film Awards, the film was awarded the Best Feature Film in Kannada. The film also won two awards at the 1984 Karnataka State Film Awards: Best Actor for Vishnuvardhan and Best Music Director for M. Ranga Rao. In addition to this, the film also won two Filmfare Awards South: Best Actor for Vishnuvardhan and Best Actress for Suhasini. The film was a critical and commercial success and is often regarded as a classic in Kannada cinema. The film was remade in Tamil in 1985 as Prema Paasam. It was dubbed in Telugu as Dr. Nandini. It was also dubbed in Malayalam.

Plot

Harish is a doctor who falls in love with his student, Nandini, but is too shy to express his feelings for her. When he finally musters the courage to tell her that he loves her, she tells him that she holds him in high esteem as her teacher and is unable to reciprocate his romantic feelings.

Nandini marries an engineer, Balu, who is incidentally Harish's friend from his school days. Soon marital problems crop up between Nandini and Balu because of her dedication to her career as a doctor. Harish withdraws into a shell and develops a heart enlargement condition, drawing Nandini closer to him. This further frustrates Balu and he accuses Nandini of having an affair with Harish. Harish tries to convince Balu that his relationship with Nandini is pure but Balu mistreats him.

When a pregnant Nandini discovers that Balu has assaulted their house help, she decides to leave him. Harish delivers Nandini's child and dies from his advanced heart condition. Nandini divorces her husband and moves on with her new-born child.

Cast

• Vishnuvardhan as Doctor Harish
• Suhasini as Doctor Nandini
• Jai Jagadish as Balu
• Roopadevi
• G. K. Govinda Rao as Chief Doctor
• Kanchana as Harish's mother
• Shivaram as Ward boy
• Mysore Lokesh as Shuklachari's assistant
• Musuri Krishnamurthy as Shuklachari: the village pandit

Production

Development

Usha Navratnaram's novel was a literary romance that dealt with the inner feelings of the lead characters. When the director of the film came across the novel he saw great potential in the story and wanted to make it into a film.

Casting

Popular pair Anant Nag and Lakshmi were initially considered for the lead roles. Rajendra Singh Babu decided to cast Vishnuvardhan in the Devdas-like role which had never been done in Kannada films before. At first the film industry was skeptical that Vishnuvardhan who was known for action roles was cast for a love story like Bandhana. The director's faith and the way Vishnuvardhan carried the role of Dr. Harish transformed his image and established him as a superstar. Babu also considered Aarathi for the heroine's role but her date diary was full. When he happened to meet Suhasini with whom his sister was costarring in a movie he immediately decided she would be Dr. Nandini. The negative role portrayed by Jai Jagadish was first offered to veteran actor Ambareesh, who refused the role.

Filming

The film was shot in several scenic locales such as Lakya Dam, Hanumanagundi Falls, Lalitha Mahal Palace, Krishnarjuna Sagar Dam, Harangi Dam and the Grand Ashok Hotel in Bangalore. Babu also included a Holi song - another first for a Kannada movie and a grand piano song in the movie.

Soundtrack

M. Ranga Rao composed the soundtrack, and the lyrics were written by R. N. Jayagopal. The album consists of four soundtracks. The track of Banna Nanna Olavina Banna was based on the tune of the track Per Qualche Dollaro In Più - Spanish Intro Opening Theme from the 1965 English-language film For a Few Dollars More. The songs of the film were chartbusters.

Release and reception

The film was certified with a U certificate on 26 July 1984 without any cuts and was released in theatres on 24 August the same year.

Critical response

The film garnered widespread critical acclaim. The film was praised for its story, script, direction and soundtrack. The soundtrack of the film is considered one of the greatest in the Kannada film industry. The performance of the lead cast was also appreciated. A film critic from Screen writes: "Babu with his strong command of film-making techniques, effectively adapted the novel into a screenplay rich in visuals and external drama that are required for the medium of cinema. He also showed a penchant for filming on a grander scale like the Hindi movies of the time - be it the Holi song or the prominent presence of the grand piano in the wedding song." Vishnuvardhan's portrayal of Dr. Harish is considered one the best performances of his career. The National Film Archive of India writes in a tweet: "Recognized as among the path-breaking performances of Vishnuvardhan, he mesmerized the audiences with his portrayal of a sacrificial lover."

Box office

The movie ran for 100 days in 18 theatres and 25 weeks in many first class theatres. The film had a 30 weeks run in two theatres (a record at the time) and completed 469 days of run in one theatre, making the film the second longest running Kannada film in theatres at that time. Bandhana went on to become the highest-grossing film of year and was declared an industry hit.

Remake

The film was remade in Tamil as Premapasam. The Tamil version released in 1985 and had Sivakumar and Revathi in lead roles. The film was directed by K. Vijayan and had musical score by Gangai Amaran.

Awards

National Film Awards

• National Film award for Best Feature Film in Kannada - Rajendra Singh Babu (Rohini Pictures)

Karnataka State Film Awards

• Best Actor - Vishnuvardhan
• Best Music Director - M. Ranga Rao

Filmfare Awards South

• Special Award For Excellent Performance - Vishnuvardhan
• Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Suhasini Maniratnam

Legacy

In Bandhana, Vishnuvardhan played the role of a shy doctor who fails to express his love to a girl and ends up as a tragic hero by developing a fatal heart condition. The role of Dr. Harish brought him critical appreciation. The success of Bandhana was a turning point in Vishnu's career. He began acting in family-oriented movies like Krishna Nee Begane Baro, Karunamayi, Sowbhagya Lakshmi, Suprabhatha and carved another niche among family audience. The film also made Dr. Vishnuvardhan - Suhasini duo a much celebrated pair onscreen. Following the immense success of Bandhana they acted together in several films like Suprabhatha, Muthina Haara and Himapaata. The song Noorondu Nenapu from this film is now considered an evergreen song and later inspired the title of a 2017 film.

References

1. ^ "Bandhana Movie: Showtimes, Review, Trailer, Posters, News & Videos | eTimes". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
2. @NFAIOfficial (5 November 2019). "#Adaptation A poster for National Award winning #Kannada film #Bandhana (1984), starring #Vishnuvardhan and…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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5. "Politics likely to 'caste' a role in film body polls". The Hindu. 29 September 2012. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
6. "DR.NANDINI (Bandhana) songs || MAATA IDI VANNELA PATA || SPB P.Susheela RAJASRI". YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. ^ "Rajendra Singh Babu: I gave Kannada many firsts". Deccan Herald. 17 August 2021. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
9. "10 Interesting Facts about Vishnuvardhan – DADA of Kannada Cinema". 18 September 2018. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
10. "Bandana Movie Shooting Locations | Filmapia – reel sites . real sights". www.filmapia.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
11. "For a few Dollars more Spanish Intro Opening Theme". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
12. "Dr Nandini Jukebox | Dr. Nandini Telugu Movie Songs | S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P.Susheela | MRT Music". YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
13. "A beautiful frame from National Award-winning #Kannada film #Bandhana (1984), featuring #FaceOfTheWeek #Vishnuvardhan and #Suhasini". Twitter. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
14. "HIT Percentage / HIT Quotient of Actors". Shivu aDDa Forum - Kannada Movie Discussion. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
15. "Prema Paasam (1985)". Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019 – via www.tamilmdb.com.
16. "The Winner: 50th Manikchand Filmfare Awards 2002 - Filmfare - Indiatimes". filmfaremagazine.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
17. Desai, Dhwani. "Recreating the Bandhana magic". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.

External links

• Bandhana at IMDb

• 1984 films
• 1980s Kannada-language films
• Films scored by M. Ranga Rao
• Films based on Indian novels
• Kannada films remade in other languages
• Kannada literature
• Best Kannada Feature Film National Film Award winners
• Films directed by Rajendra Singh Babu