Popcorn Monkey Tiger
Popcorn Monkey Tiger is a 2020 Indian Kannada-language crime film directed by Duniya Soori[2] and produced by K.M. Sudhir.[3] It features Dhananjay in the lead role, along with Nivedhitha.[4] The soundtrack and score are composed by Charan Raj, cinematography is by Shekhar S and the art department was handled by Malla.[5] The script was written by Amritha K Bhargav and Duniya Soori, screenplay was written by Amritha K Bhargav.[5] The film serves sequel to the Kendasampige (2016) and to Kaage Bangara (2020).
| Popcorn Monkey Tiger | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Duniya Soori |
| Produced by | Sudhir K. M |
| Written by | Duniya Soori Amritha K Bhargav[1] |
| Story by | Duniya Soori Surendranath |
| Starring | Dhananjay Nivedhitha |
| Music by | Charan Raj |
| Cinematography | Shekar S |
| Edited by | Deepu S. Kumar |
Production company | Studio 18 |
| Distributed by | Pushkar Films Mohan Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 133 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
Plot
The plot unfolds in a Reverse chronological fashion. The plot's focus is the life of protagonist Seena and the evolution of his character due to external forces that sway him in several directions. Women/lovers involved in Seena's life contribute to these forces that trigger the Metamorphosis of his character. He goes from being a garage mechanic to being a prominent leader in the underworld mafia.
"Popcorn" Devi, one of the lovers, has a profound impact on Seena's life. The back story on how "Popcorn" Devi got involved with the underworld unfolds parallelly alongside Seena's story.
Cast
- Dhananjay as Tiger Seena aka "Monkey" Seena
- Nivedhitha as Devika aka "Popcorn" Devi
- Sparsha Rekha as Padma
- Amrutha Iyengar as Sumithra[6]
- Sapthami Gowda as Girija[7][6]
- Monish Nadgir as Sujaata
- Poornachandra Mysore as Bablu
- Prashanth Siddi as Havrani
- Goutam as Rakesh aka "Mooga"
- Nanda Kishore as Khalai
- Sudhi as Kothmeri
- Niranjan as Bhadravathi Kushka
- Nikhil as Michel
Soundtrack
| Popcorn Monkey Tiger | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |||||
| Released | 2020 | ||||
| Recorded | 2019 | ||||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | ||||
| Label | PRK Audio | ||||
| Charan Raj chronology | |||||
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Charan Raj scored the background music and soundtrack for the film. The soundtrack album comprises two tracks, the lyrics for which were written by Rithwik Kaikini and HanuManKind. The audio rights were bought by PRK Audio in December 2019.[8]
Kaikini wrote the track "Maadeva"[9] which featured lyrics in English. The song was initially titled "Wah Wah Wah" and was later changed to "Maadeva" by Raj by saying "The decision of using English vocals on this number was rather organic. For Maadeva, we worked according to the visuals, and when Suri reviewed, he said this met his expectations."[10] Director Suri said, "So far, I would have helped create over 50 songs for the movies. At one stage, the interest wore off and I did not want any songs for this film. I needed a mood for a particular scene and asked composer Charan Raj. He and lyricists Ritwik Kaikini and HanuManKind came up with this. Once I delegate, I hand it over completely. I don't get much English, and my associate Amritha Bhargav explained the lyrics to me. The song made a lot of sense, and I went ahead with it."[11]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Maadeva" | Rithwik Kaikini, HanuManKind | Sanjith Hegde, HanuManKind | 3:37 |
| 2. | "Psychedelic Maaye" | Nagarjuna Sharma (Rap: Rahul Dit-O) | Sanjith Hegde, Rahul Dit-o | 3:07 |
| Total length: | 6.14 | |||
Reception
The film opened with positive reviews from critics. Sunayna Suresh of Times of India gave 3.5 stars on 5 and said that "A Film for lovers of gore and the underworld".[12] Aravind Shwetha of The News Minute gave it 3 stars on 5 and praised the reverse chronological screenplay of the film.[13]
References
- "Behind the scenes of Suri's Popcorn Monkey Tiger", New Indian Express, 13 February 2020
- "Director Suri: I didn't learn filmmaking by watching movies on mobiles", Cinema Express, 18 February 2020
- "Top Five Reasons Why You Must Watch 'Popcorn Monkey Tiger'", Times Of India, 18 February 2020
- "Actor Dhananjay is 'inked in red' in 'Popcorn Monkey Tiger'", New Indian Express, 20 February 2020
- "Behind the scenes of Suri's Popcorn Monkey Tiger". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- "Presenting, the ladies of Popcorn Monkey Tiger", The Times of India, 18 February 2020
- "Sapthami Gowda". IMDb. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- "Puneeth Rajkumar's PRK bags audio rights of Suri Popcorn Monkey Tiger". The New Indian Express. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- "Maadeva Lyrics - Popcorn Monkey Tiger". Latest Kannada Lyrics. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- Fernandes, Sandra Marina (15 February 2020). "How a Kannada song for Popcorn Monkey Tiger ended up with English lyrics". The Times of India. The Times of India. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- Rao, Subha J. (23 February 2020). "Popcorn Monkey Tiger director Suri on what inspires him to make 'edgy' films: 'I make films for regular people'- Entertainment News, Firstpost". Firstpost. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- "Popcorn Monkey Tiger Movie Review: A film for lovers of gore and the underworld", Times of India, 21 February 2020
- "'Popcorn Monkey Tiger' review: Soori film is a roller-coaster ride of love, lust and gore", The News Minute, 21 February 2020