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Bedara Kannappa
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Wikipedia article
'Bedara Kannappa' is a 1954 Indian Kannada-language Hindu mythological film directed by H. L. N. Simha and written by G. V. Iyer. The film stars Rajkumar playing the title character along with Pandari Bai, Kushala Kumari, G. V. Iyer, Sandhya and Narasimharaju in other prominent roles. The film is an adaptation of a stage play by the Gubbi Veeranna Nataka Company, which was based on the folk tale of the hunter Kannappa who proves his extreme devotion to the Hindu God Shiva by gouging out both his eyes.
'Bedara Kannappa' started as a play produced by the Gubbi Veeranna Nataka Company before it became a Kannada film. The film rights of the play were later bought by A. V. Meiyappan of AVM Productions. The film's songs were composed by R. Sudarsanam, with lyrics written by S. Nanjappa. The cinematography of the film was handled by S. Maruthi Rao. In 1953, Singanalluru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj, a dramatist with Gubbi Veeranna Nataka Company was spotted by director H. L. N. Simha, who was on the lookout for well-built, pleasant-faced man for the starring role in film. Simha eventually signed Muthuraj for the film and named him Rajkumar. Filming began in mid-1953 and took over two months to complete. This was the debut movie of both Rajkumar and Narasimharaju.
'Bedara Kannappa' was released on 7 May 1954 to low expectations due to the film's unknown cast. However, defying predictions the film was a commercial success with a theatrical run of over 100 days. Following the film's success in Karnataka, it was dubbed into Tamil and released as 'Vedan Kannappa.' Later, the film was remade in Telugu as 'Kalahasti Mahatyam' also starring Rajkumar in his only non-Kannada film appearance. The film was also remade in Hindi in 1955 by the same director-producer duo as 'Shiv Bhakta.'Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/VU_kSMfF8u4 Ghostarchive] and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20190804004820/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU_kSMfF8u4 Wayback Machine]: It was again remade in Telugu in 1976 as 'Bhakta Kannappa'.
Cast
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was composed by R. Sudharsanam. The song 'Shivappa Kayo Tande' (literally 'Shiva, protect me oh father') is very popular and is sung even today in orchestras.
Kannada tracklist
Lyrics were by S. Nanjappa. Playback singers are C. S. Jayaraman, T. A. Mothi, M. L. Vasanthakumari, T. S. Bagavathi & P. Susheela.Tamil tracklist
Playback singers are T. M. Soundararajan, T. A. Mothi, Thiruchi Loganathan, M. L. Vasanthakumari, T. S. Bagavathi, Radha Jayalakshmi & P. Susheela.Awards
*National Film Awards
**2nd National Film Awards (1954) - Certificate of Merit for the Best Feature Film in Kannada
Legacy
The film is often regarded by critics as a landmark film in Kannada film history and also one of the greatest Kannada films ever made. The film also became the first Kannada film to gain national recognition as it became the first film to win the Certificate of Merit for the Best Feature Film in Kannada. The success of the film was reported to have spurred the pace of production of Kannada language films significantly. 'Bedara Kannappa' acquired cult status in Kannada cinema and became a trendsetter for dialogues and acting for later Kannada films.
References
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