Samayada Gombe
Samayada Gombe (transl. Puppet of the times) is a 1984 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed and co-produced by Dorai–Bhagavan. The film stars Dr. Rajkumar, Srinath, Roopa Devi and Menaka.[1] It is based on the novel of same name written by Chitralekha.[2] This is the first Kannada film of Malayalam cinema actress Menaka, who played the role of Rajkumar's sister and Srinath's wife in the film.
| Samayada Gombe | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Dorai–Bhagavan |
| Written by | Chi. Udaya Shankar (dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | Dorai–Bhagavan |
| Story by | Chitralekha |
| Produced by | Dorai–Bhagavan Rathi Radhakrishna |
| Starring | Dr. Rajkumar Roopa Devi Kanchana Srinath |
| Cinematography | B. C. Gowrishankar |
| Edited by | P. Bhaktavatsalam |
| Music by | M. Ranga Rao Chi. Udaya Shankar (lyrics) |
Production company | Sri Thripura Sundari Combines |
Release date |
|
Running time | 150 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
The film met with positive response upon release from critics and was declared a blockbuster at the box office, seeing a theatrical run of at least 26 weeks.[3] Bhagawan had revealed that Dr. Rajkumar's remuneration for the film was ₹6 lakh.[4]
Plot
Truck driver Guru rescues a kidnapped boy and arranges to return him to his family. In a flashback sequence, it is shown that Guru is himself a runaway. Anil, as Guru was called, as a child, is born into a wealthy family in New Delhi, headed by a disciplinarian father. Young Anil accidentally injures his sister and fearing his father's punishment, runs away from his home, and ends up at a quarry operated by child trafficker, Dharmadasa, who names him Guru. Guru escapes from the quarry and finds himself at the residence of truck driver Rangappa, his wife Kamakshi and their daughter Mangala. The family adopts and bring him up as their son.
Guru (also going by Gurumurthy) is now a grown-up man and has taken to his father's profession. He sells off his truck in order to complete dowry obligations to marry off his foster sister, and is then hired to work as a car driver to Squadron leader Vinod Kumar and his family, consisting of wife Lakshmi and daughter Deepa. At a homage ceremony to Lakshmi's father, Guru finds out that Lakshmi is his biological sister, and that their father had died grieving his disappearance years ago. However, he does not reveal his real identity of Anil, as he feels he was unable to fulfill the duties that he ought to have completed to his family.
As days pass, Guru earns the trust of Kumar's family and remains close to them. He learns that his biological mother is on her deathbed in New Delhi and unbeknown to Lakshmi, travels there to see her, only to witness her take her last breath. A few days later, Kumar's family decides to return to their native place, and Guru rushes to the airport to see them off. He bids them a tearful goodbye, without once again revealing his identity to his sister, before falling into the arms of his lover, Gauri.
Cast
- Dr. Rajkumar as Anil / Gurumurthy
- Srinath as Sqn Ldr Vinod Kumar
- Roopa Devi as Gauri
- Menaka as Lakshmi
- R. N. Sudarshan as Dharmadasa
- Thoogudeepa Srinivas as Puttappa, a moneylender
- Musuri Krishnamurthy as Gauri's father
- Shakti Prasad as Rangappa
- Shivaram as sub-inspector
- Mysore Lokesh as Naga, a thief
- Shivaprakash
- Sadashiva Brahmavar as Bhat, hotel owner
- Chandru
- Kunigal Ramanath
- Negro Johnny as Puttappa's henchman
- Kanchana as Kamakshi
- Sadhana as Mangala
- Shashikala
- Uma Shivakumar
- Papamma as Subbamma, maid at Kumar's
- Swapna
- Master Sanjay
- Baby Sushma
- Baby Sangeetha
- Master Arjun
- Master Ravi
- Lohithaswa as Gurumurthy's father (uncredited)
- K. V. Manjayya (uncredited)
- Shani Mahadevappa as Kalappa (uncredited)
Soundtrack
The music of the film was composed by M. Ranga Rao with lyrics penned by Chi. Udaya Shankar.[5]
| Samayada Gombe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Language | Kannada | |||
| M. Ranga Rao chronology | ||||
| ||||
Reception
The movie upon release won critical acclaim for the story and performances of the lead actors. The movie completed 50 days in all 20 first release centres. The movie ran for 175 days in Bengaluru and Mysuru and 100 days in several theatres in Uttara Karnataka. [6]
References
- Cast & crew
- Team Udayavani (24 April 2019). "Raj Festival". udayavani.com.
- "Raja of Chalanachitra". chitratara.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2007.
- "Bhagavan's 50th film carries friend Dorairaj". bangaloremirror.in. 3 January 2019.
- Songs
- Sandalwoodking (11 June 2015). "Haalu Jenu A Look Back". Retrieved 27 May 2019.