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Raktha Kanneeru
DVD cover
Directed by	Sadhu Kokila
Screenplay by	Upendra
Story by	Tiruvarur K. Thangaraj
Produced by	Munirathna
Starring	Upendra Ramya Krishna Abhirami
Cinematography	Krishna Kumar
Edited by	Lakshmana Reddy
Music by	Sadhu Kokila
Release date	18 September 2003 (2003-09-18)
Running time	149 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada

Raktha Kanneeru (transl. Tears of Blood) is a 2003 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Sadhu Kokila, starring Upendra and Ramya Krishna. The film was produced by Munirathna and was later dubbed in Telugu. The screenplay and dialogues of the film were written by Upendra and the music was composed by Sadhu Kokila.

Though a remake of the 1954 Tamil film Ratha Kanneer, the director claimed that his film was based on a Kannada play which was later adapted in Tamil as a play and then subsequently into the 1954 film. However, the claim was found to be false since it was noticed that the play Kaalachakra penned by T. N. Balakrishna was actually based on the Tamil play Ratha Kaneeer - making it the oldest version of all. Upon release, the film was successful at the box office and was the highest grosser of the year. It was followed by a spiritual sequel titled Katari Veera Surasundarangi released in 2012.

Plot

Mohan is a rich guy who returns from abroad after completing his studies, but he is very arrogant towards people who are below his financial status and even towards his own mother. He gets attracted to a local prostitute Kantha and even submits all his riches and property to her. On his mother's insistence he marries a girl, Chandra, who is his cousin and a traditional village girl. On his first night Mohan gets to find out she is not of his culture and leaves for Kantha. Gradually he loses all of his wealth and is left only with his house. Mohan gets addicted to alcohol and Kantha so much that he doesn't even attend his mother's funeral and perform her last rites which are carried out by his friend Balu.

Balu advises Mohan many times to mend his ways but Mohan turns down all his advice. Gradually, Mohan is affected by leprosy, and with no money left for his treatment, Kantha throws him out of her house. Due to a heavy storm, Mohan loses one of his legs and eyesight and eventually has to make do by begging, and one day he reaches out to his wife Chandra who now works in a house as a maid. Neither recognise each other as Mohan has a deformed appearance and cannot see her. But she feeds him daily out of humanity.

Searching for Mohan, his friend Balu comes to Chandra, and during their conversation, the trio recognise each other. Mohan asks Chandra and Balu to marry each other so that Chandra doesn't need to lead a pitiful life. He also asks Balu to establish his statues in the city in the deformed form so that persons like him can take his life as an example and mend their ways to lead a happy life. After so many years, Balu and Chandra are shown at Mohan's statue, crying in his memory.

Cast

• Upendra as Mohan
• Ramya Krishna as Kantha
• Abhirami as Chandra
• Kumar Bangarappa as Balu
• Jyothilakshmi as Kantha's mother
• Doddanna
• Arif Ali
• Bank Janardhan as Police inspector
• Sadhu Kokila as Kantha's uncle
• J. V. Somayajulu as Chandras father
• Kota Srinivasa Rao
• Sudhakar
• Honnavalli Krishna
• Kallu Chidambaram as beggar

Production

The film was originally set to be directed by Shivamani, but he was replaced by Sadhu Kokila, making his directorial debut.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Sadhu Kokila. The audio had another song Ee deshadalli ( with the tune of the Hindi song Kaliyon Ka Chaman) was not featured in the film.

Reception

Raktha Kanneeru's BKT (Bangalore-Kolar-Tumkur) distribution rights were sold at a record price of ₹1.6 crore. The film went on to break many opening box office records upon release. From Bangalore alone, the film collected a share of more than ₹1 crore in its first week. Indiainfo wrote "Overall a good film that rests completely on Upendra's shoulders". Reviewing the Telugu-dubbed version, The Hindu wrote, "Upendra's performance is very good, he lives the role. Unfortunately, the dubbing voice and the accent used for him sound artificial". Jeevi of Idlebrain wrote, "This film is a typical Upendra film. His histrionics and the dialogues written to him are the plus points".

Legacy

The film's song "Baa Baaro Rasika" inspired a 2004 film of same name.

Future

The film was followed by a semi sequel titled Katari Veera Surasundarangi released in 2012. A 3D romantic fantasy film, it was partly a sequel to Raktha Kanneeru. It was also the first full-length 3D film in Kannada cinema. Upendra reprises his role of the highly educated rich-man turned beggar Mohan now in hell, where he meets his look alike gangster son (Upendra again) who is killed in a gang war. The film tells the story of how Mohan's son falls in love with Indra's daughter Indraja (Ramya) in Indraloka (heaven) and how he faces the challenges of Brahma, Yama and other Devatas of Indraloka to marry Indraja. The film was hugely successful although not as much as its predecessor.

References

1. "50-year-old inspiration for Upendra film". The Times of India. 19 September 2002. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
2. Srinivasa, Srikanth (1 October 2014). "'A remake is a remake even if the producer spends crores'". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
3. "ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗ ಕಂಡ ಅಪರೂಪದ ನಟ ಬಾಲಣ್ಣನ ಸಿನಿಮಾಯಾನ | TN Balakrishna Ep 05". 18 December 2023 – via YouTube.
4. "Happy Birthday Upendra Rao: Super to Raktha Kanneeru, 5 Best Works of the Star". News18. 18 September 2020.
5. "Raktha Kanneeru - film with proven story". Viggy. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
6. "Grurukiran is no long with Rakta Kanneeru". Viggy. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
7. "Kannada2 : Message: Re: [Kannada] Fw: UPPI STRIKES IN RAKTHA KANNEERU". Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013. Yahoo! Groups. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
8. "Indiainfo: Kannada: RAKTHA KANNEERU - Review". India Info. Archived from the original on 2 October 2003. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
9. Srihari, Gudipoodi (2 March 2004). "Social statement". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 May 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
10. Jeevi (27 February 2004). "Movie review – Rakta Kanneeru". Idlebrain.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
11. "New film launched". Sify. 11 March 2004. Archived from the original on 22 September 2004. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
12. "Katari Veera Sura Sundarangi Movie Review". IndiaGlitz. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
13. "Top 10 Highest Grossers of Sandalwood 2012". Bangalore Mirror. 28 December 2012. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.

External links

• Raktha Kanneeru at IMDb

• 2003 films
• 2000s Kannada-language films
• 2003 directorial debut films
• Films directed by Sadhu Kokila
• Films set in Bengaluru
• Indian films based on plays