''Auto Shankar'' is a 2005 Indian

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

-language

Masala film Masala films of Indian cinema are those that blend multiple genres into one work. Masala films emerged in the 1970s and are still being created as of the 2020s. Typically these films freely blend action, comedy, romance, and drama, or melod ...

starring

Upendra Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born subs ...

Shilpa Shetty Shilpa Shetty Kundra (born Ashwini Shetty, 8 June 1975) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi, Kannada and Telugu films. She made her screen debut in the thriller '' Baazigar'' (1993) which gained her first nomination for the Film ...

, and

Radhika Radhika may refer to: * Radha, a Hindu goddess and eternal consort of Krishna * Radhika (given name), an Indian given name * Radhika (Malayalam actress) * Radhika (choreographer), in South Indian films * Kalamandalam Radhika, Indian dancer and ...

. The film was directed by

D. Rajendra Babu D. Rajendra Babu (30 March 1951 – 3 November 2013) was an Indian filmmaker and screenplay writer in Kannada cinema. He has directed over 50 films in various genres, most of them being sentimental films. He wrote and directed numerous blockbus ...

and produced by

Ramu The Ramu River is a major river in northern Papua New Guinea. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range from where it then travels about northwest to the Bismarck Sea. Along the Ramu's course, it receives numerous tributaries ...

, of Ramu Enterprises.The film was dubbed in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

as ''Aanavakari'', in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

as ''Shilpa - The Big Don'' in 2007 and in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

as ''Sarappa Sundari''. The film was remade in Bangladesh in 2017 as ''

Ohongkar ''Ohongkar'' () () is a 2017 Bangladeshi Drama films, drama film directed by Shahadat Hossain Liton. It was produced by Tushar Kothachitro. The film stars Shakib Khan and Shabnom Bubly in the lead roles. The supporting roles are played by Toma M ...

''. The films tells about Shankar an autorickshaw driver belonging to a middle-class family who gets into a conflict with Maya, a money-lender. However, tables turn when she loses her property and they fall in love.

Synopsis

Shankar is a middle class autorickshaw driver. He is friendly and jovial. Maya, a money-lender, is brought up in a rich family and is portrayed as a boorish character. She is unscrupulous in recovering loans given to the poor and has designed crude methods to recover the money. She is also the daughter of a lady don. Shankar defends the poor and fights the moneylenders. Several interesting battles follow, after which the Maya loses all her property and prestige. It is also revealed that she is not really the daughter of the lady don. She then learns a lesson that reforms her attitude. She makes amends and Shankar embraces her as the two fall in love. The rest forms the plot of the story.

Cast

as Auto Shankar *

as Maya, an arrogant money lender *

as Gowri *

Sudharani Jayashree, known by her screen name Sudha Rani, is an Indian actress, voice artist and former model. She has primarily worked in Kannada films in addition to some Tamil, Telugu, Tulu and Malayalam films. As on Feb 2024, she has acted in about 1 ...

as Geeta, Shankar's sister *

Bhavya Bhavya is an Indian actress who predominately works in Kannada films apart from a few Tamil and Telugu films. She was a top heroine of Kannada cinema during 1985–1992. She switched over to key supporting roles post 2000. She is settled in Mu ...

as an Auto driver's wife *

Srinivasa Murthy Jadalathimmanahalli Krishnappa Srinivasa Murthy (born 15 May 1949), known popularly as Srinivasa Murthy, is an Indian actor and television director. He is mostly known for his work as a director having made many television series in Kannada, b ...

as Shankar's father * Sumithra as Girija, Shankar's mother *

Gurukiran Gurukiran Shetty, known mononymously as Gurukiran, is an Indian music director of the Kannada film industry in India. He started his career as a music director of the Kannada movie '' A'', directed and acted by Upendra. His music for his next m ...

as Akash, Geeta's husband *

Avinash Avinash may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Avinash'' (film), a 1986 Indian Hindi-language film * Tiger (YRF Spy Universe) (Avinash Singh Rathore), fictional agent in the ''Tiger'' franchise of the YRF Spy Universe People * Avinash Sachde ...

as Ramayya, Maya's biological father * Tara as Maya's biological mother *

Srinivas Prabhu Srinivasa Prabhu is an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry and a theatre artist in Karnataka, India. Some of the notable films of Srinivasa Prabhu as an actor include ''Bimba - Those 90 Minutes'' (2018), '' Kanooru Heggadithi'' (1999), Hudug ...

Ramesh Bhat Ramesh Bhat is a multiple-award–winning Indian actor. He has worked predominantly in Kannada films and television serials. Early life Ramesh Bhat was born in Kundapur, Karnataka. He completed his primary education at Manki and portrayed nat ...

as a victim whose daughter committed suicide due to Maya * Ashok Rao as DGP of Police * Lakshman Rao as Corrupt Police Inspector *

Doddanna Doddanna is an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry who has acted in about 800 films. He started his career as a theatre actor. During this time, he entered the Kannada film industry as a character actor. Early life The youngest son in t ...

as Kalamma's husband *

Rangayana Raghu Koththuru Chikkarangappa Raghunath (born 17 April 1965), known by his screen name Rangayana Raghu, is an Indian film and stage actor, known for his work in Kannada cinema. He is a recipient of multiple Filmfare Awards South, SIIMA Awards, an ...

as Maava, Kalamma's accountant *

Telangana Shakuntala Telangana Shakuntala (27 March 1951 – 14 June 2014) was an Indian actress who worked in the Telugu cinema. She was known chiefly for playing comedy and villainous characters in Tollywood. Her performances in movies like '' Osey Ramulamma'', ...

as Kalamma, a lady don and Maya's adopted mother * Ashalatha *

Mohan Raj Mohanarajan (13 November 1955 – 3 October 2024), professionally credited as Mohan Raj, also known as Keerikkadan Jose, was an Indian actor and assistant enforcement officer. He primarily worked in Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil languages, an ...

as Peddodu, Kalamma's brother * Rajashekhar Kotian as Chinnodu, Kalamma's brother * Mohan Juneja as a man who came to see Geeta for marriage proposal * Maarimutthu Sarojamma * Shanthamma * H. M. T. Nandha *

Padma Vasanthi Padma Vasanthi is an Indian actress in the Kannada film industry. Some of the films of Padma Vasanthi as an actress include '' Maanasa Sarovara'' (1982) '' Bettada Hoovu'' (1985), '' Mussanje Mathu'' (2008). Awards Career Padma Vasanthi has be ...

Sadhu Kokila Sahaya Sheelan Shadrach, (born 24 March 1966) known by his Stage name Sadhu Kokila, is an Indian comedian, musician, actor, film director, producer, occasional screenwriter and lyricist who works in Kannada cinema. He began his career as a com ...

as Anandha, Gowri's maternal uncle * B. Jayamma * Bangalore Nagesh as Kalamma's husband's accountant * Dileep * M. N. Suresh * Pailwaan Venu

Production

As the director was ill during the majority of the shoot,

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film N ...

's renowned associate director Shiva Ramakrishna, an associate of

Puri Jagannadh Petla "Puri" Jagannadh (born 28 September 1966) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer, who works primarily in the Telugu film Industry. He made his directorial debut in 2000 with the Telugu film '' Badri'' starring Pawan Kaly ...

, directed the songs, fight sequences and a major portion of Shilpa Shetty's scenes. The movie was filmed in different locations including

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, the

Bangalore Palace Bengaluru Palace is a 19th-century royal palace located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, built in an area that was owned by the Rev. John Garrett, the first principal of the Central High School in Bangalore. The palace was commissioned for the ...

, and the Mysore Lamps Factory,

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

Controversy

The film sparked off a controversy with regard to a

movie poster A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. The ...

depicted a glamour still of Shilpa Shetty from the film. A

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

based lawyer filed an

obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin , , "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Generally, the term can be used to indicate strong moral ...

case against Shetty. Shetty however, protested by saying that "It (the photo) is not vulgar. I am an actor and an entertainer and I won't endorse

vulgarity Vulgarity is the quality of being common, coarse, or unrefined. This judgement may refer to language, visual art, social class, or social climbers. John Bayley claims the term can never be self-referential, because to be aware of vulgarity is to d ...

Soundtrack

The music is composed by

. The music of the song "Ready Ready" was used in the

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

film '' Nagavalli'' and the music was given by Guru Kiran.

Reception

Film critic R. G. Vijayasarathy of ''

IANS Indo-Asian News Service or IANS is a private Indian news agency. It was founded in 1986 by Indian American publisher Gopal Raju as the "India Abroad News Service" and later renamed. In December 2023, Adani Group, Adani group, known for its clos ...

'' wrote that "''Auto Shankar'' is one of those typical mass (or it masala) films which are made in style but lack substance". B. S. Srivani of ''

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by businessman K. N. Guruswamy and launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printers Mysore, a privately hel ...

'' wrote "Ajaykumar has written an 'original' screenplay which is heavily influenced by Telugu movies -even the scenes reek of Telugu overtones. It is sad to see a director of Rajndra Babu's calibre picturising 'reality' in such a crude manner".

Box office

''Auto Shankar'' successfully ran for 100 days. The film was released at the same time as the

Puneeth Rajkumar Dr. Puneeth Rajkumar (17 March 1975 – 29 October 2021), affectionately known as Appu (by his fans, after his first lead role in the movie Appu (2002 film), ''Appu''), was an Indian actor, playback singer, film producer, television presenter a ...

starrer ''

Namma Basava ''Namma Basava'' is a 2005 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Veera Shankar Bairisetty. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Gowri Munjal (in her debut) in the lead roles. Avinash Yelandur, Avinash, Sudha Rani, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Riyaz Khan and ...

'' and there was a fierce competition between the two films. Both the films were successful at the box office, but ''Auto Shankar'' turned out to be more successful than ''Namma Basava''.

References

External links

*
Preview of the film
{{D. Rajendra Babu 2000s Kannada-language films 2005 action films 2005 films Films set in Bengaluru Films scored by Gurukiran Films shot in Finland Films shot in Austria Kannada films remade in other languages Films directed by D. Rajendra Babu Indian romantic action films Films about interclass romance Indian gangster films Films about suicide Fictional portrayals of the Karnataka Police Films shot in Bengaluru Films shot in Mysore Obscenity controversies in film 2005 controversies Indian action comedy-drama films Indian romantic comedy-drama films