Doctor Harish falls in love with his protege Nandini but is too shy to express his feelings for her. When he finally musters the courage to tell her that he loves her, he finds out that she holds him in high esteem more as a Guru. She tells him she is unable to reciprocate his romantic love. Nandini marries an engineer Balu, who is incidentally Harish's friend. Harish starts withdrawing into a shell. Marital problems crop between Nandini and Balu because of her dedication to her career as a doctor. Harish develops a heart enlargement condition which draws Nandini closer to him in the hospital. This frustrates Balu who accuses her of having an affair with Harish. When Nandini discovers that Balu has assaulted their house maid she decides to leave him. Harish tries to convince Balu that his relationship with Nandini is pure but Balu misbehaves with him. Harish saves Nandini's baby but dies because of his advanced heart condition. Nandini divorces her husband and moves on with her new born child.
When director Rajendra Singh Babu cast Vishnu for a love story like Bandhana, the industry had been skeptical, for Vishnu was known more for his action roles. But the director's faith in the actor and the way Vishnu managed the role of Dr. Harish built up reputation in the industry. Originally Kalpana held the rights to the script and happened to give it to Babu on request, just before she passed away. In 1983 when Babu set about to make the movie, his first choice for the heroine's role was Aarati. But her date diary was full and the search for the heroine started. He happened to meet Suhasini who was acting with his sister, and immediately knew she was going to be Dr. Nandini. 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. Usha Navratnaram's novel was a literary romance that dealt with the inner feelings of the lead players. 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.
Release
The movie was certified on 26 July 1984 and was released on 24 August the same year. The songs of the movie were chart busters.
Reception
The movie garnered immensely positive reviews from both critics and viewers alike. The performance of Vishnuvardhan and Suhasini received high praise while the story and direction received equally high acclaim. The movie ran for 100 days in 18 theatres and 25 weeks in many first class theatres. The movie had a 30 weeks run in two theatres and completed 580 days of run in one movie hall. Bandhana was the highest grossing movie of the year and one of the highest grossing Kannada films of the 1980s.
Legacy
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 more family-oriented movies like Krishna Nee Begane Baro, Karunamayi, Suprabhata and carved another niche among family audience. The movie also made Dr. Vishnuvardhan - Suhasini duo a much celebrated pair onscreen. Following the immense success of Bandhana they acted together in several movies like Suprabhata, Mutthina Haara and Himapaata. The song Noorondu Nenapu from this movie was a chart buster and later inspired a 2017 movie with the song's title.
Home Media
The video rights of the movie is shared by Sri Ganesh Video and Moser Baer. The movie was released in both DVD and VCD format.
Awards
1985 Special Filmfare Award for best actor - Vishnuvardhan
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 soundtrack Per Qualche Dollaro In Più - Spanish Intro Opening Theme from the 1965 movie For a Few Dollars More.
Remake
Bandhana was remade in Tamil as Premapasam. The tamil version released in 1985 had Sivakumar and Revathy in the lead roles. The movie was directed by K.Vijayan and had musical score by Gangai Amaran.
