Bandhana (transl.Romantic Bond) is a 1984 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu from a screenplay by H. V. Subba Rao and Rajendra Singh Babu, based on a novel of the same name by Usha Navaratnanram.[3] The film revolves around the relationship between a surgeon, Harish and his student Nandini. The film stars Vishuvardhan as Dr. Harish and Suhasini as his protégé Nandini, along with Jai Jagadish, Roopadevi and G. K. Govinda Rao in supporting roles.[4]
Harish is a doctor who falls in love with his student, Nandini, but is too shy to express his feelings for her. When he finally musters the courage to tell her that he loves her, she tells him that she holds him in high esteem as her teacher and is unable to reciprocate his romantic feelings.
Nandini marries an engineer, Balu, who is incidentally Harish's friend from his school days. Soon marital problems crop up between Nandini and Balu because of her dedication to her career as a doctor. Harish withdraws into a shell and develops a heart enlargement condition, drawing Nandini closer to him. This further frustrates Balu and he accuses Nandini of having an affair with Harish. Harish tries to convince Balu that his relationship with Nandini is pure but Balu mistreats him.
When a pregnant Nandini discovers that Balu has assaulted their house help, she decides to leave him. Harish delivers Nandini's child and dies from his advanced heart condition. Nandini divorces her husband and moves on with her new-born child.
Usha Navratnaram's novel was a literary romance that dealt with the inner feelings of the lead characters. When the director of the film came across the novel he saw great potential in the story and wanted to make it into a film.
Casting
Popular pair Anant Nag and Lakshmi were initially considered for the lead roles. Rajendra Singh Babu decided to cast Vishnuvardhan in the Devdas-like role which had never been done in Kannada films before.[8] At first the film industry was skeptical that Vishnuvardhan who was known for action roles was cast for a love story like Bandhana. The director's faith and the way Vishnuvardhan carried the role of Dr. Harish transformed his image and established him as a superstar.[9]Babu also considered Aarathi for the heroine's role but her date diary was full. When he happened to meet Suhasini with whom his sister was costarring in a movie he immediately decided she would be Dr. Nandini.[8] The negative role portrayed by Jai Jagadish was first offered to veteran actor Ambareesh, who refused the role.
Filming
The film was shot in several scenic locales such as Lakya Dam, Hanumanagundi Falls, Lalitha Mahal Palace, Krishnarjuna Sagar Dam, Harangi Dam and the Grand Ashok Hotel in Bangalore.[10] Babu also included a Holi song - another first for a Kannada movie and a grand piano song in the movie.
M. Ranga Rao composed the soundtrack, and the lyrics were written by R. N. Jayagopal. The album consists of four soundtracks. The track of Banna Nanna Olavina Banna was based on the tune of the track Per Qualche Dollaro In Più - Spanish Intro Opening Theme from the 1965 English-language film For a Few Dollars More.[11] The songs of the film were chartbusters.[12]
The film was certified with a U certificate on 26 July 1984 without any cuts and was released in theatres on 24 August the same year.
Critical response
The film garnered widespread critical acclaim. The film was praised for its story, script, direction and soundtrack. The soundtrack of the film is considered one of the greatest in the Kannada film industry. The performance of the lead cast was also appreciated. A film critic from Screen writes: "Babu with his strong command of film-making techniques, effectively adapted the novel into a screenplay rich in visuals and external drama that are required for the medium of cinema. He also showed a penchant for filming on a grander scale like the Hindi movies of the time - be it the Holi song or the prominent presence of the grand piano in the wedding song." Vishnuvardhan's portrayal of Dr. Harish is considered one the best performances of his career. The National Film Archive of India writes in a tweet: "Recognized as among the path-breaking performances of Vishnuvardhan, he mesmerized the audiences with his portrayal of a sacrificial lover."[13]
Box office
The movie ran for 100 days in 18 theatres and 25 weeks in many first class theatres. The film had a 30 weeks run in two theatres (a record at the time) and completed 469 days of run in one theatre, making the film the second longest running Kannada film in theatres at that time. Bandhana went on to become the highest grossing film of year and was declared an industry hit.[14]
Remake
The film was remade in Tamil as Premapasam. The Tamil version released in 1985 and had Sivakumar and Revathi in lead roles. The film was directed by K. Vijayan and had musical score by Gangai Amaran.[15]
In Bandhana, Vishnuvardhan played the role of a shy doctor who fails to express his love to a girl and ends up as a tragic hero by developing a fatal heart condition. The role of Dr. Harish brought him critical appreciation. The success of Bandhana was a turning point in Vishnu's career. He began acting in family-oriented movies like Krishna Nee Begane Baro, Karunamayi, Sowbhagya Lakshmi, Suprabhatha and carved another niche among family audience. The film also made Dr. Vishnuvardhan - Suhasini duo a much celebrated pair onscreen. Following the immense success of Bandhana they acted together in several films like Suprabhatha, Muthina Haara and Himapaata. The song Noorondu Nenapu from this film is now considered an evergreen song and later inspired the title of a 2017 film.[17]
