Bhajarangi

Bhajarangi
Theatrical Poster
Directed by	A. Harsha
Screenplay by	Nanda Kishore Shakthi A. Harsha
Story by	A. Harsha
Produced by	R. Nataraj Gowda M. Manjunath Gowda
Starring	Shiva Rajkumar Aindrita Ray Madhu Guruswamy
Cinematography	Swamy J. Gowda
Edited by	Deepu S. Kumar
Music by	Arjun Janya
Production company	Film Entertainers Path
Release date	12 December 2013 (2013-12-12)[1]
Running time	172 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada
Budget	₹10 crore[2]
Box office	₹12.5 crore[3]

Bhajarangi is a 2013 Indian Kannada-language fantasy action film directed by A. Harsha, who co-wrote the script with Nanda Kishore and Shakthi. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Aindrita Ray, Madhu Guruswamy, Rukmini Vijayakumar and Saurav Lokesh. The music was composed by Arjun Janya, while Swamy. J. Gowda and Deepu. S. Kumar handled the cinematography and editing of the film.

Bhajarangi was released on 12 December 2013 to positive reviews from critics and became a box office success. A sequel titled Bhajarangi 2 was released on 29 October 2021.

Plot

Jeeva, a youngster going though a constant phase of bad luck, meets a priest, who tells him to arrive at a village Ramadurga to know about his "Janma Rahasya" (transl. Birth Secret). Jeeva initially does not care about the priest's advice, but learns from his grandfather that his father was an orphan. Jeeva travels to Ramadurga to meet the priest and is accompanied by his uncle and Geetha. Jeeva arrives at the village and gets involved in a fight with goons working for Tantrik, who terrorizes the villagers due to some purpose.

Jeeva saves the villagers by defeating Tantrik's goons, where he meets the priest and learns that his biological grandfather is Bhajarangi, a messaiah who works to save the people from any trouble. Bhajarangi had battled the Tantrik and saved the villages from his harassment, but the Tantrik finished Bhajarangi by creating a demon Raktaksha in the form of a baby and made Bhajarangi believe that he is his son Raana. The real Raana was actually saved and given a villager (Jeeva's adopted grandfather) who adopts Raana as his own son.

Raktaksha started terrorizing the village and meets Krishne, a dancer and devotee of Lord Krishna. Raktaksha lusted after Krishne and wanted to sleep with her, but Krishne killed herself by setting herself on fire and cursed Raktaksha. Raktaksha died due to Krishne's curse. The Tantrik arrived to meet Raktaksha and asks for a dagger, but Raktaksha told the Tantrik to bring Krishne. After learning this, Jeeva initially decides to leave, but is encouraged by Geetha to fight the Tantrik.

While performing a pooja, the priest gets shocked about Geetha's horoscope and tells Jeeva that Geetha's horoscope matches with Krishne, indicating that Geetha is in danger. The Tantrik's goons kidnap Geetha and take her to the Tantrik. The Tantrik confronts Raktaksha's spirit and finds the dagger, but the Tantrik finishes Raktaksha's spirit. Jeeva arrives at the Tantrik's hideout and their fight leads them to the village. A tough battle ensues, where Jeeva defeats and kills the Tantrik, thus saving the village and avenging Bhajarangi's death.

Cast

• Shiva Rajkumar as (dual role)
  • Bhajarangi; Jeeva's Grandfather Ranaa's foster father
  • Jeeva; Bhajarangi's Grandson; Geetha's husband
• Aindrita Ray as Geetha; Jeeva's wife
• Rukmini Vijayakumar as Krishne (voice-over by Harini Shrikanth)
• Madhu Guruswamy as Tantrik /Mantravadhi
• Saurav Lokesh as Raana/Raktaksha; Bhajarangi's foster son
• Bullet Prakash as James Bond
• Tabla Nani as Jeeva's uncle
• Girija Lokesh as Jeeva's mother
• K. S. Sridhar as the priest
• Sadhu Kokila
• Rani Damukumar
• Jyothi Murur
• Harini Shrikanth
• Venkatesh Prasad
• Mahesh
• Shivaram
• Michael Madhu
• Chethan
• Vidya Rao
• Vijayanand
• Bhajarangi Mohan
• Vaijanath Biradar
• Shruthi R
• Honnavalli Krishna
• Tumkur Mohan
• Laya Kokila
• Kaddipudi Chandru

Cameo appearances

The film's introduction song "Bossu Nam Bossu" features special appearances.^[4]

• Vijay Raghavendra
• Sriimurali
• Aditya
• Srinagar Kitty
• Yogesh
• Sathish Ninasam
• Arjun Janya
• R. Nataraaj Gowda

Production

Shiva Rajkumar had to lose weight for the film and prepared for a six-pack abs at the age of 51.^[5] Most of the film was shot near Hesarghatta, which is northwest of Bangalore.^[6]

The official trailer was launched in Triveni theatre at Bangalore in September 2013, which was attended by Yash.^[7] The introduction song, featuring six leading actors of Kannada cinema, was shot at Minerva Mills in Bangalore.

Release

Nataraj Gowda and Manjunath Gowda, who are the producers of the film, joined hands with PVR Cinemas for the film's domestic release. The film was released simultaneously on 12 December 2013 in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in multiple theaters. The producers have reportedly booked more than 221 cinema halls across Karnataka.^[8]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Arjun Janya.

Bhajarangi
Soundtrack album by Arjun Janya
Released	2013
Recorded	2013
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	21:11
Language	Kannada
Official audio
Bhajarangi - Full Album on YouTube

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Bossu Nam Bossu"	Chethan, Chandan, Mohan	Arjun Janya	3:49
2.	"Jai Bhajarangi"	V. Nagendra Prasad	Shankar Mahadevan	4:30
3.	"Jiya Teri Jiya Meri"	Jayanth Kaikini	Karthik	3:59
4.	"Re Re Bhajarangi"	K. Kalyan	Kailash Kher	5:39
5.	"Sri Krishna"	V. Nagendra Prasad	Anuradha Bhat	4:34
Total length:				21:11

Reception

Critical response

The Times of India gave 4/5 stars and wrote "Full marks to director A Harsha for handling a strong story that focuses on a clash between good and evil. Though the movie is a bit lengthy, the sequences that follow one after the other keep you on the edge of your seat."^[9] Sify termed the film as a "must watch" and wrote "Harsha has definitely made his mark as a director and he is here to stay for a very long time".^[10] Deccan Chronicle wrote "A must-watch for Shivarajkumar fans and all those who love to escape reality, at least for few hours."^[11] Shyam Prasad. S from Bangalore Mirror wrote "Bhajarangi is one of Shiva Rajkumar's best films in recent times".^[12]

Sequel

Main article: Bhajarangi 2

A sequel titled Bhajarangi 2 was released on 29 October 2021. Shiva Rajkumar and Bhavana play the lead roles, with A. Harsha directing the film.^[13]

References

1. "Why Shivarajkumar insisted on releasing Bhajarangi on December 12". The Times of India. 12 December 2013.
2. Kamaladinni, Vijayalaxmi (17 December 2013). "Shivarajkumar's 'Bhajarangi' Takes Box Office by Storm". International Business Times. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
3. "From 'Bajarangi' to 'Kavacha': Here are the top five movies of Shivarajkumar in the last one decade". The Times of India. 17 February 2020.
4. Six heroes to make guest appearances in Bhajarangee Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Chakpak.com (12 November 2013). Retrieved on 12 July 2014.
5. "Shivarajkumar gets six-pack abs at 51!". The Times of India. 2 August 2013.
6. "Bajarangi gets a Rs 50 lakh set". The Times of India. 8 April 2013.
7. "Bhajarangi trailer to be launched on September 26". The Times of India. 18 September 2013.
8. "Shivarajkumar's 'Bhajarangi' Gears up for Massive Release in Tie-up with PVR Cinemas". International Business Times. 10 December 2013.
9. "BHAJARANGI MOVIE REVIEW". The Times of India. 14 May 2016.
10. "Bhajarangi". Sify.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
11. "'Bhajarangi' Movie Review: Black magic whoa man!". Deccan Chronicle. 18 December 2013.
12. "Movie review: Bhajarangi". Bangalore Mirror. 12 December 2013.
13. "Bhajarangi 2: Shivarajkumar looks majestic in the first look poster". indian express. 15 January 2020.

External links

• Bhajarangi at IMDb