Three Kannada films to release on Valentine's Eve

Yet again, three Kannada films are releasing this week. The producers and directors of the films had held back the releases to let the big films hit the screens first, and then hoped to release their films in a less competitive environment.

The Kannada film industry seems to be threatened by this 'problem of plenty'. Here's a look at this week's releases.

 Attahasa

Cast: Kishore, Arjun Sarja, Suresh Oberoi, Bhavana Rao, Vijayalakshmi, AMR Ramesh, Lakshmi Rai

Director: AMR Ramesh

Director AMR Ramesh of Cyanide fame sprang a surprise by releasing his film immediately after clearing all the legal hurdles.

The film is a biopic on forest brigand Veerappan who was killed in a police operation in 2004. The film is a trilingual and is titled Vana Yuddham in Tamil and Veerappan in Telugu.

Says director Ramesh, "This film will also unveil previously unknown facts about Veerappan and will reveal the facts about how he was killed. Besides, the episode relating to legendary Kannada actor Rajkumar's abduction will be close to reality."

Ramesh said the film has tried to be true to the actual circumstances of the kidnap episode by tapping the people with whom Veerappan was associated.

Interestingly, Nagappa, who escaped from Veerappan's clutches, has also featured in the film. Mugilan, one of the kidnappers, Shivakumar who belongs to the secessionist group Tamil National Retrieval Troops, Nagappa Maradagi and T P Perumal, who were key figures in the kidnapping episode, are also seen in the film.

Suresh Oberoi plays the role of actor Rajkumar. Kishore plays Veerappan and Vijayalakshmi plays Muthulakshmi, Veerapan's wife. Arjun Sarja is a policeman and director Ramesh has himself plays the role of Gurunathan, Veerappan's trusted lieutenant. 

The film is shot in the locations where Veerappan operated. The film releases on Thursday, February 14, across South India.

Cast: Ravishankar Gowda, Neettoo, Sadhu Kokila, Bullet Prakash, Tabala Nani, Bank Janardhan

Director: Lucky Shankar

Devarane (meaning Swearing by the name of God) is an entertainer. The song from the film, My Name Is Chitte Swamy, has become very popular.

Says the director, Shankar, "The film has a universal message although the basic aim is to entertain audiences. Man cannot become God but he tries to cheat people in the name of God. The film talks about how innocent people fall prey to such machinations."

Ravishankar Gowda describes his role in the film: "I have tried to imitate a swami without any relation whatsoever to any real life character. My character accidentally becomes a swami who also falls in love with a woman. The story is about whether he transforms into a real individual or not."    

Director Shankar says the film has comedy, emotion, and it sometimes turns serious as well.

Layendra has scored the music. M R Seenu is the cinematographer. R T Ravi is the editor.

The film has been shot in Bangalore and in its surroundings. K Shivanna and Lucky Shankar are the producers.

Devarane releases on Friday, February 15, across Karnataka.

Cast: Tarun Chandra, Mridula Sathe, Akhila Kishore, Veena Sunder, Vijayakashi

Director: Nagaraj Peenya

Pade Pade (Again and Again) depicts a love triangle. One of the songs, Manassagide ... has gone viral on the net with more than 12 lakh hits on YouTube.

Director Nagaraj Peenya makes his debut after having worked with Sharan for a few years.

"Pade Pade is a musical love story with the hero Tarun getting to play different shades in the movie. He is a music composer and a lover boy. We have tried to show how the two girls are the two sides of a coin," says Nagaraj.

Mridula Sathe, a Mumbai import, plays one of the female leads while Akhila Kishore, a girl from Bangalore plays the other.

The film has been shot in Bangalore, Mysore, Sakleshpura, Madikeri and in earthquake-hit Bhuj (Gujarat).

Satish Aryan has scored the music. S Ramesh is the cinematographer.

Pade Pade releases on Friday, February 15 as a Valentine's Day special.