H2O (2002 film)
H2O is a 2002 Indian Kannada-language film directed by debutants N. Lokanath and Rajaram. The film was dubbed in Tamil as H2O Kaveri and was produced by Dhanraj under Dhanraj Films. The film's script was written by Upendra who stars in the lead role with Prabhu Deva, Priyanka Trivedi along with Babu Mohan, Sadhu Kokila and Bank Janardhan portraying supporting roles.
H2O | |
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Film VCD cover | |
Directed by | N. Lokanath Rajaram |
Produced by | P. Dhanraj |
Written by | Upendra |
Starring | Upendra Prabhudeva Priyanka Upendra |
Music by | Sadhu Kokila |
Cinematography | H. C. Venugopal |
Edited by | T. Shashikumar |
Production company | Dhanaraj Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 134 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Kannada |
Budget | ₹70 million[1] |
The film's plot revolves around the fight between two villages, as the Kaveri water issue became controversial upon its release and did well at box office. The film's cinematography and editing were handled by H. C. Venugopal and T. Shashikumar respectively. The film was dubbed in Telugu under the same name and it was dubbed into Hindi as Dil Ki Dhadkan. The core concept of metaphorical reference to dispute between two states was used in the 2016 Marathi movie Marathi Tigers.
Cast
- Upendra as Udayashankar
- Prabhudeva as Vairamuthu
- Priyanka Upendra
- Babu Mohan
- Sadhu Kokila
- Bank Janardhan
- Ravindranath
- Shankar Bhat
- Pushpa Swamy
- Mandapanda Aiyappa as King, heroine's father in past life
Production
The film's script was initially written in 1998 for Dr. Rajkumar and Rajinikanth, who both refused to do the film due to the sensitive nature of the film.[2]
Soundtrack
Sadhu Kokila composed the music for the film. The lyrics were written by Upendra. The soundtrack album was released on 27 May 2001 at Kanteerava Studios, Bangalore.[3]
# | Title | Singers | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Hoove Hoove" | Kavita Krishnamurthy | 5:50 |
2 | "Bida Beda Bida Beda" | Hariharan, Upendra | 5:06 |
3 | "Kandavideko Mamsavideko" | Shankar Mahadevan | 5:53 |
4 | "I Wanna See My Darling" | Rajesh Krishnan, Pratima Rao | 5:22 |
5 | "OK OK OK" | Gurukiran | 5:49 |
6 | "Dil Ilde Love" | Upendra | 5:43 |
Reception
H2O was Upendra's return to the big screen after a hiatus of 2 years. Upon its audio release, a record number of audio cassettes and CDs were sold. The film created a new record and went on to do a business of more than ₹1 crore through audio sales. Soundtrack numbers like "I Wanna See My Darling", "Hoove Hoove", "Naa Ninna Bidalare", "Bida Byada", and "Dil Ilde" went on to top the charts.[4]
Themes
H2o is a triangular love story between a Kannadiga and a Tamilian vying for the love of a girl called Kaveri, it is actually a metaphorical reference for the river Cauvery dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Upendra noted that he compared the issue to Siamese twins "tried to communicate that harmonious living is the only suitable solution to the Cauvery dispute, rather than fighting over it."[2]
Release
Controversy
The film became controversial due to its content as the activists from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu demanded the film to be banned. Upendra was forced to compromise by dubbing Tamil dialogues in the film into Kannada and vice versa, to appease linguistics sentiments on both sides. Scenes containing flags of political parties were deleted, before its re-release.[2]
Critical reception
The film received highly positive reviews upon release. Critics applauded the way Upendra had managed to narrate a sensitive matter like the Kaveri River water dispute in a commercial way.[5]
Box-office performance
H2O completed 50 days of run in 28 theatres across Karnataka and also went on to complete 75 days of run in Bangalore, despite controversies and release in excessive number of theatres playing spoilsport. H2O was a 'Semi Hit' at the box office.[6][7] Although a commercial success,[8][7] it turned out to be the least running film of Upendra till then in terms of long run by completing only 75 days of run. This was very less compared to his previous films like A (1998), Upendra (1999), Preethse (2000), all of which had completed more than 175 days of run. Unlike other Upendra films of that time, H2O could not get a long run at the box office mainly due to negative controversies and temporary ban on the film.
However, irrespective of its under-performance, the distributors and exhibitors made huge business from H2O.[9] Even though the distributors of H2O earned huge profits and the film's collections were on par with other hit films of that time,[10][11] it was termed as a flop by the media because of the film not reaching expectations. Producer Dhanraj went on a strike against Upendra demanding free call-sheet from him, stating that he had suffered huge losses from the movie.[12]
However, H2O continues to remain in the 'Hit' status among some section of the media and box office analysts.[10] Rajaram, one of the directors of the film, mentioned in an interview that "H2O had a successful run at the box office, although the product couldn't reach the mass properly baked, for so many other reasons".[6] In an interview with TV9 in 2011, Upendra denied that H2O was a failure. According to Upendra, the film got extra ordinary openings and collections at the box office, but could not get a long run beyond 75 days due to excessive release, mass distribution and controversies playing spoilsport. Upendra explained that a major chunk of H2O's profits went to the distributors and exhibitors instead of the producer due to mass distribution and flawed marketing by the producer.[13]
The core-concept of the movie was re-used in the controversial 2016 Marathi movie Marathi Tigers - which incidentally was a triangular lovestory between a Marathi and a Kannadiga vying for the love of a girl called Seema (which literally means border)- thereby metaphorically referring the border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka.[14]
References
- Riti, M. D. (4 January 2001). "Prabhu Deva in a unique tap dance!". Rediff. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- Khajane, Muralidhara (3 October 2012). "Tale of love and water". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 January 2020 – via www.thehindu.com.
- "H2O audio release". Screen. Archived from the original on 11 July 2001. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- "Witty words for Upendra-Prabhudeva starrer". The Music Magazine. ourkarnataka.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- "H2O". sify movies. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- "H2O Director Rajaram Interview".
- "P Vasu Interview".
- Lakshminarayana, Shruti Indira (7 July 2011). "Two Kannada films will fight it out this weekend". Rediff. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- "Behind the curtains". The Hindu. 2 September 2004. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- "H2O – Kannada film discussion".
- "Title unknown". dhoperchop.com. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- "H2O travails continue for Dhanraj". The Hindu. 28 May 2002. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- "Upendra explains that H2O was a decent hit". YouTube. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- "Marathi Tigers Movie Review Zee Talkies latest Movie Reviews online at ZeeTalkies.com". www.zeetalkies.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.