Aa Dinagalu

Sridhar narrates the preview as story of Kotwal Ramachandra in Bangalore Underworld in 1975, which is coincidentally with declaration of emergency by Indira Gandhi and led to grooming of M. P. Jayaraj as the uncrowned king in Bangalore. Mostly involving for terrorising people, Jayaraj seems to have got imprisoned for contempt of court for 10 years. After the death of Indira Gandhi, Jayaraj is released from prison and finds Kotwal Ramachandra to have taken his spot. Chetan is a business magnate, a Konkani Brahmin with a vast empire of his father who falls in love with Mallika, a dance teacher hailing from Vokkaliga community.

The couple's relationship is not accepted by Chetan's father Girish Nayak, who hires Kotwal Ramachandra to handle the case. Chetan learns about this and is perturbed mentally. For coming as a hardship, Chetan seeks vengeance on Kotwal and seeks Jayaraj to help him in his mission, but just before this, an incident takes place at Kanishka Hotel brings bad reputation for Chetan, who is suspected by the police. After his release, Chetan further strengthen his plan with Sridhar and Bachchan and they befriend Kotwal's friend Siraj. Believing that Kotwal will be safe, Siraj sends this trio to Tumkur. However, Kotwal is killed when his right hand Shetty ditches him. After this, Girish realizes his mistake and unites Chetan and Mallika, who get married and lead a peaceful life.

Ilayaraja composed the film's background score and music for its soundtrack. The album consists of three tracks.[1] Lyrics for them were penned by K. Kalyan and D. Sumana Kittur.

Lido Theatre, Mysore on the day of release

Upon theatrical release, Aa Dinagalu received generally positive reviews from critics. R. G. Vijayasarathy of Rediff reviewed the film rating it 3.5/5 and wrote, "Chaitanya has used a straightforward, simple narration resulting in a profound impact. The background score by Ilayaraja is one of the best heard in the recent times in Kannada films. Cameraman H. C. Venugopal has done a terrific job behind the camera. Sharath Lohithashwa is wonderful as Kothwal Ramachandra, while Atul Kulkarni, Ashish Vidyarthi, Girish Karnad, and the new face Chethan have all given wonderful performances in their respective roles" and concluded writing "Commendable direction, excellent star cast, high class technical crew and a fantastic script..."[2] The Times of India in its review rated the film 3/5 and called the film a "brilliant portrayal of underworld don Kotwal Ramachandra." The reviewer concluded writing, "Sharath Lohithshwa, Ashish Vidyarthi and Atul Kulkarni are brilliant. While Girish Karnad gives a consummate performance, Archana shines and Dharma excels. H C Venu's camerawork is excellent. Ilayaraja's music is pleasing."[3] The reviewer for Deccan Herald felt the film was "a damp squib". He felt, "the subject [was dealt] in a straight, staccato fashion that renders Aa Dinagalu more like docu-feature than a film that sparkles with auteur’s classic feel of the medium."[4]

The DVD of the movie has been released on Anand Audio. This is the first time a Kannada movie with 5.1 surround sound is releasing on a DVD.[8]

The film has been completed 100-days in Bangalore region.[9]

• List of crime films
• India Mafia

• Aa Dinagalu at IMDb