Kurukshetra (2019 film)
Kurukshetra is an Indian Kannada-language epic historical war film, written by J. K. Bharavi and directed by Naganna. The story is based on the epic poem Gadhayuddha by Ranna,[2][3][4] which itself is based on the Indian epic Mahabharata.[5][6] The story is centred on Duryodhana, the Kaurava king.[7] The film was produced by Munirathna.[8]
Kurukshetra | |
---|---|
Directed by | Naganna |
Produced by | Munirathna |
Written by | J. K. Bharavi |
Story by | Munirathna |
Starring | Darshan Meghana Raj V. Ravichandran Arjun Sarja Ambareesh Sonu Sood Nikhil Kumar |
Music by | V. Harikrishna |
Cinematography | Jayanan Vincent |
Edited by | Jo Ni Harsha |
Production company | KCN Movies Vrushabhadri Productions Rockline Productions |
Distributed by | Rockline
Entertainment (Kannada) Geetha Arts (Telugu) V. Creations(Tamil) Global United Media(Malayalam) Dharma Productions(Hindi) |
Release date |
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Running time | 185 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Kannada |
Box office | ₹90 crore[1] |
The film features an ensemble cast including Darshan, Ambareesh (his final role), V. Ravichandran, P. Ravishankar, Arjun Sarja, Meghana Raj, Sneha, Sonu Sood, Danish Akhtar Saifi, Nikhil Kumar Haripriya and Shashikumar, portraying characters from Mahabharata.[9] The score and soundtrack for the film is composed by V. Harikrishna whilst it has cinematography by Jayanan Vincent.[10]
The film was released on 9 August 2019 across more than 1000 screens, making it the widest release for any Kannada film alongside the dubbed Telugu version. On 15 August, the Tamil version was released. The Malayalam-language version was released on 18 October in Kerala.[11]
Synopsis
After losing to the Kauravas in a gamble, the Pandavas go into exile and endure hardship for a number of years. Upon their return, conflict arises over the dynastic succession leading to a war.
Plot
The story is a reinterpretation of the war described in the Mahabharata Sanskrit epic, from Duryodhana's viewpoint.[12]
Cast
- Darshan as Duryodhana
- Meghana Raj as Bhanumati
- V Ravichandran as Krishna
- Ambareesh as Bheeshma
- Arjun Sarja as Karna
- Srinath as Dhritarashtra
- Srinivasa Murthy as Dronacharya
- Shashikumar as Dharmaraya
- Danish Akhtar Saifi as Bhima
- Sonu Sood as Arjuna
- Yashas Surya as Nakula
- Chandan Kumar as Sahadeva
- Sneha as Draupadi
- Rockline Venkatesh as Shalya
- Bharathi Vishnuvardhan as Kunti
- Nikhil Kumar as Abhimanyu
- P. Ravishankar as Shakuni
- Aditi Arya as Uttara
- Pavitra Lokesh as Subhadra
- Haripriya as Maaye
- Ravi Chethan as Dushasana
- Ramesh Bhat as Vidura
- Avinash as Gandhara Raja Subala
- Ashrita Vemuganti as Sri Krishna's wife
- Anupama Chopra as Gandhari
- Bharat Gowda as Ashwatthama
- Amit Tiwari as a Kaurava army warrior
Production
The official launch of the film was held on 6 August 2017 with filming beginning on the same day.[13] A major portion of the film was shot at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad.[14] The film was shot twice, first in 2D and then in 3D formats, with the shooting completing after more than 230 days.[15] A few scenes and dialogues were reported to have been inspired by the 1977 Telugu movie Daana Veera Soora Karna.[16][17]
Soundtrack
Kurukshetra | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 2019 | |||
Genre | Soundtrack | |||
Language | Kannada | |||
Label | Lahari Music | |||
V. Harikrishna chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Kurukshetra | ||||
|
External audio | |
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Audio Jukebox Malayalam on YouTube | |
Audio Jukebox Kannada on YouTube | |
Audio Jukebox Tamil on YouTube | |
Audio Jukebox Telugu on YouTube |
Music director V. Harikrishna was commissioned to compose the film's score. Lahari Music, which bagged the film's audio rights for ₹1.5 crore, launched the soundtrack on 7 July 2019.[18] The first song "Saahore Saaho" was released on 5 July 2019.
- Kannada Tracklist
All lyrics are written by V. Nagendra Prasad.
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Saahore Saaho" | Vijay Prakash | 4:07 |
2. | "Chaaruthanthi[19][20]" | Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam | 3:23 |
3. | "Yelliruve Hariye" | Anuradha Bhat | 3:01 |
4. | "Jhumma Jhumma" | Anuradha Bhat, Shweta Mohan | 3:55 |
5. | "Uthare Uthare" | Santhosh Venky, Shreya Ghoshal | |
6. | "Aava Yochaneyu" | Hemanth Kumar |
- Hindi Tracklist
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Saahore Saaho" | |
4. | "Jumma Jumma" |
- Telugu Tracklist
All lyrics are written by Vennelakanti.
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Saahore Saaho" | M. M. Keeravani | 4:18 |
2. | "Raaga Thanthi" | Sai Charan, Harini | 3:23 |
3. | "Hey Bharatha Vamshaja" | Mano | 3:01 |
4. | "Jhumma Jhumma" | Chinmayi, Mano | 3:55 |
5. | "Uthtara Uththara" | Sarath Santosh, Neha Venugopal | 4:18 |
6. | "Kurukula Thilakalu" | Sri Vardhini | 4:18 |
- Tamil Tracklist
All lyrics are written by D. Sai Mohan Kumar.
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Veerathi Veera" | Mukesh | |
2. | "Kaadhal Kiliye" | Sathyaprakash, Neha Venugopal | |
3. | "Jumma Jumma" | Chinmayi, Mano | |
4. | "Guru Kulathai" | Surmukhi | |
5. | "Uyire Uyire" | Sarath Santhosh, Neha Venugopal | |
6. | "Hey Bharatha" | Mano |
- Malayalam Tracklist
All lyrics are written by Mangop Gopalakrishnan.
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Aajanu Bahu" | P. Unnikrishnan | 4:07 |
2. | "Charugandhi" | Sajin, Preetha | 3:27 |
3. | "Engunee Hariye" | Preetha | 3:57 |
4. | "Jumma Jumma" | Renjini Jose | 4:46 |
5. | "Uthare Uthare" | Sajin, Kavitha | 3:04 |
6. | "Hey Bharatha Vamshaja" | Sajin | 2:13 |
Total length: | 21:34 |
Release
Home media
The satellite rights for the Kannada and Hindi versions of the film were bought by two different companies for ₹9 crore and ₹9.5 crore respectively.[18]
Release date allocation
A news report in late-2018 speculated that the film would be released in February 2019.[21] But a delay caused the release date to be pushed to 5 April, targeting a Ugadi release.[22] After actor Nikhil Kumar announced his participation in the 2019 Indian general elections, the release date was further postponed as promotion of a candidate is prohibited during the elections. Producer Munirathna remarked, "The film is made in both 2D and 3D and it has got delayed due to the extensive graphics. Now, we are ready with the product and as planned, I am very keen to release this in April first week. But since Nikhil is part of our film, if I want to go ahead with the planned release date, I will have to lose out the entire Mysuru region."[23] The film was later slated to be released on 9 August but pulled forward by a week in order to avoid clash in screen allotment with another multi-language release Saaho.[24] Later it was rescheduled to 9 August to coincide with the festival of Varamahalakshmi Vrata.
The film was planned to be simultaneously released in four languages, apart from Kannada. The film was released on 9 August 2019 in both 2D and 3D formats in two languages – Kannada and Telugu. On 15 August 2019, the Tamil version was released. Due to floods in Kerala, the Malayalam version was released in the 18 October 2019. The Hindi version hit the theatres on 20 December 2019.
On 5 September 2019, the film was released in the Middle East countries of United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.[25]
References
- "'K.G.F.: Chapter 1' to 'Avane Srinamnarayana': Top 5 highest-grossing films in the history Sandalwood", Times of India, 21 July 2020
- "Kurukshetra movie review: This Darshan film is a throwback to old-school mythological dramas". 9 August 2019.
- "Kurukshetra Movie Review: Darshan shines in this seamless retelling of Mahabharata". The New Indian Express.
- "Kurukshetra movie review: The Mahabharta is told more with more focus on flesh, than the spirit- Entertainment News, Firstpost". Firstpost. 10 August 2019.
- "Kurukshetra High Budget Movie in the Making". DesiMartini.com. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- "Director Naganna Kurukshetra, start with a song". Indiaglitz.com. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- "Darshan set to star as Duryodhana in 50th film". Bangalore Mirror. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- "Budget without limits for Kurukshetra". The New Indian Express. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- "Kurukshetra could be Kannada cinema biggest multi-starrer". The Financial Express. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- "Harikrishna readying music for Kurukshetra". The New Indian Express. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- SM, Shashiprasad (26 July 2019). "Kurukshetra to hit 3,000 screens in 3D". Deccan Chronicle.
- "Historical drama Kurukshetra will be a festival: Naganna". The New Indian Express.
- "Kurukshetra News: Movie To Launch Today; CM Siddaramaiah To Clap Start The Movie!". Filmibeat.com. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- "An epic realised on screen". The Hindu. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- Bharadwaj, K. v Aditya (3 August 2019). "Mythological drama Kurukshetra to hit screens in five languages on Aug. 9". Thehindu.com.
- Bharadwaj, K. v Aditya (9 August 2019). "'Kurukshetra' review: Rare mythological 3D treat, but lacks originality" – via www.thehindu.com.
- "Muniratna Kurukshetra movie review: This film won't disappoint". Bangalore Mirror.
- "Kurukshetra to hit screens on August 9". Thehindu.com. 18 May 2019.
- "Chaaruthanti: Second single from Darshan-starrer Kurukshetra to be out on Saturday". The New Indian Express.
- "Kurukshetra: ಲೋಕಾರ್ಪಣೆಗೊಳ್ಳಲಿದೆ ಕುರುಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ ಸಿನಿಮಾದ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಹಾಡು." Kannada.news18.com. 11 July 2019.
- "Darshan's Muniratna Kurukshetra to see a February release?". The New Indian Express.
- "Muniratna Kurukshetra set for Ugadi release". Bangalore Mirror.
- "Nikhil Gowda's 'Kurukshetra' is ready, but needs Election Commission clearance". The News Minute. 14 March 2019.
- "Muniratna Kurukshetra hits the screen early". Bangalore Mirror.
- "Kurukshetra: ಸಾಗರದಾಚೆಗೂ ಸುಯೋಧನನ ಯಾತ್ರೆ: ಅರಬ್ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡದ 'ಕುರುಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ'". kannada.news18.com. 7 September 2019.