Pancharangi


Pancharangi is a 2010 Indian Kannada language romantic comedy film with philosophical overtones directed and produced by Yogaraj Bhat starring Diganth and Nidhi Subbaiah in the lead roles. The music has been composed by Mano Murthy, story and screenplay is written by Pawan Kumar. The film was predominantly shot in the coastal locales of Karnataka state.
It is a story that unfolds in a span of two days and tackles issues like education, love, profession, marriage, family, life and relationships in a "fun and non-preachy way." As a film with minimal budget under Bhat's maiden home production, it fared well at the box-office. The popular song Lifeu Ishtene was a runaway success and it was used as the title of Pawan Kumar's debut film.

Plot

A family goes to a village near Mangalore to finalize a bride for the elder son, Lucky. Lucky is a US-based software professional, and is a teetotaler, always abiding by the pressure and demands of his parents, so much to the fact that he does not have the courage to speak out that he already has a girlfriend. Bharath Kumar, the youngest son, is a carefree individual with weird ideas on life. Bharath meets a tomboyish girl, Ambika, who is the house-owner's niece, and they begin to mingle well due to the nature of their personalities.
However, following a few unusual twists and turns, the alliance is called off and the groom's family members walk out due to embarrassment. Ambika, who has now developed a strong feeling of love towards Bharath, goes ahead and confronts him. And finally, Bharath too says yes.

Cast

The film was shot mostly in the coastal areas of Karnataka, especially in the villages Ucchila, Kaapu in the Udupi district. St Mary's Island near Malpe was used for song picturisation, with some additional scenes in Bangalore.
This was the fourth time Diganth has been cast as the main protagonist of the movie in a Yogaraj Bhat film. In addition to Diganth and Nidhi, the rest of the cast is the standard ensemble of Anant Nag, Padmaja Rao, Sudha Belavadi and Raju Talikote, accompanied by senior artists such as Nagendra Shah. Pawan Kumar, who has worked with Bhat on the story and screenplay of the movie, plays a supporting role himself.

Cinematography

The Pancharangi movie was shot with excellent photography by V. Thiyagarajan with creative ideas.

Soundtrack

The music for the film and soundtracks were scored by Mano Murthy, who has scored for many of the earlier films of Yogaraj Bhat. Lyrics for the soundtracks were penned by Jayant Kaikini and Yogaraj Bhat. The soundtrack album consists of twelve soundtracks.
The audio of the film was released on 14 August 2010 by Sonu Nigam, Puneeth Rajkumar in the presence of cast and crew of the film.

Critical reception

Although the film was mentioned in the circles as a typical Yogaraj Bhat film, it went on to become a box-office success garnering significant returns in its first week itself. The "Lifeuu Ishtene" song from the film describing the stark realities of middle-class urban life was the highlight of the movie, and has already spawned several mock versions in Kannada. The success of the movie has bolstered the career opportunities of Diganth and Nidhi and it completed 50 days. Rediff review summed it up calling it a good family entertainer.
Financial losses for the film have been attributed to high quality bootlegged DVDs with English subtitles available within 50 days of the film's release.