Bedara Kannappa

Bedara Kannappa is a 1954 Indian Kannada-language film directed by H. L. N. Simha and written by G. V. Iyer. It stars Rajkumar and Pandari Bai in lead roles. Bedara Kannappa started as a play produced by the Gubbi Veeranna Nataka Company before it became a Kannada film.[1] The release was a historic moment for the Kannada cinema industry causing its production of films to increase over the next ten years. The film was a launch pad to Rajkumar's career. It marked the debut of Narasimharaju, who went on to be named among Kannada cinema's finest actors, alongside Rajkumar. The success of this movie was reported to have spurred the pace of production of Kannada movies significantly.[2]

Bedara Kannappa
Poster
Directed by	H. L. N. Simha
Produced by	A. V. Meiyappan C. R. Basavaraju Gubbi Veeranna
Written by	G. V. Iyer
Starring	Rajkumar Pandari Bai Raja Sulochana Narasimha Raju
Music by	R. Sudarsanam
Cinematography	S. Maruthi Rao
Edited by	K. Shankar
Production company	AVM Productions The Karnataka Films Ltd.
Distributed by	AVM Productions The Karnataka Films Ltd.
Release date	7 May 1954
Running time	165 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada

The movie is based on the folktale of the hunter Kannappa who proves his extreme devotion to Shiva by gouging out both his eyes.[3] It ran in theaters for one hundred days and was remade in Telugu as Kalahasti Mahatyam also starring Rajkumar being his only non-Kannada film. The Telugu movie was also a hit.[4] It was the first Kannada film to win a national award.[5] The song Shivappa Kayo Tande (literally Shiva, protect me oh father) is very popular and is sung even today in orchestras.

It was dubbed into Tamil as Vedan Kannappa (Tamil: வேடன் கண்ணப்பா) and released in 1955. The movie was remade in Hindi in 1955 by the same director- producer duo as Shiv Bhakta.[6] It was also remade in Telugu in 1976 as Bhakta Kannappa.[7]