''Birugaali'' () is a

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Indian

Kannada language Kannada () is a Dravidian languages, 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, an ...

action film written and directed by

Harsha Harshavardhana (Sanskrit: हर्षवर्धन; 4 June 590 – 647) was an emperor of Kannauj from April 606 until his death in 647. He was the king of Thanesar who had defeated the Alchon Huns, and the younger brother of Rajyava ...

making his second directorial after ''Geleya''. The film stars

Chetan Kumar Chetan Kumar (born 24 February 1983), also known as Chetan Ahimsa, is an American Kannada-language film actor. He made his on-screen debut in the 2007 film ''Aa Dinagalu'', which earned him the Udaya Film Award for Best Debut Actor Male. His ...

of ''

Aa Dinagalu ''Aa Dinagalu'' () is a 2007 Indian Kannada-language crime drama film based on the non-fiction novel ''Daadaagiriya Dinagalu'' by Agni Shridhar, and directed by K. M. Chaitanya. It stars Chethan Kumar in the lead role. The supporting cast featur ...

'' fame along with Sithara Vaidya, Charisma Bharadwaj and Tara in main roles. The film featured the musical score by

Arjun Janya Arjun Janya (born Lokesh Kumar) is an Indian film score soundtrack composer, singer and director. Arjun made his film debut in the 2006 Kannada film ''Autograph Please''. Arjun Janya won Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director for ...

which was received positively among the critics and masses. The film was released on 6 February 2009 across

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

with a U/A certification for its excessive violence content. Upon release, the film generally met average reviews from the critics for its conventional script and audience.

Cast

as Hacchi * Sitara Vaidya as Anju * Charisma Bharadwaj * Tara *

Kishore Kishore () may refer to: * Kishore (name), an Indian given name and surname * '' Captain Kishore'', a 1940 Bollywood film * '' K for Kishore'', a 2007–2008 Indian television singing contest * '' Kishore Bangla'', Bengali-language juvenile week ...

* Mico Nagaraj *

Sadashiva Brahmavar Sadashiva Brahmavar (1928–2018), known as Brahmavar, was an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada films. He is best known for his supporting roles in such movies including Guri (1986), Samyuktha (1988) and Sri Manjunatha (2001). Personal life ...

Kuri Prathap Prathap (also known as ''Kuri'' Prathap) is an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry. He made his debut in the movie '' Sixer'' (2007), and went on to cast in many commercial films. Some films Prathap worked as an actor include '' Mylari'' ...

* Rajendra Karanth as Anna Sait * K. D. Venkatesh

Production

The lead actor

underwent a rigorous body building regime developing a six-pack abs for his role. Director Harsha lauded his training skills at the audio launch and also told that the film would showcase his dancing skills which was not exhibited in his last film ''

''. The film was shot in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

locales for two songs and also included an under-water action scene.

Soundtrack

The audio comprises a total of 7 original songs with 2 repeated tracks and one instrumental theme all composed by

. The audio launch took place at a Bangalore hotel in January 2009. Noted music director

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 ...

released the audio in the presence of entire film team The audio was received very positively and the songs "Madhura Pisumaatige" and "Hoovina Baanadante", both written by

Jayanth Kaikini Jayant Kaikini (born 24 January 1955) is a poet, short story writer, playwright, columnist in Kannada and a lyricist and script writer in Kannada cinema. He has published seven short story collections, six poetry collections, four essay colle ...

, earned maximum positive reviews and were on the top of the charts for many weeks. The songs were also nominated at various award functions of the year 2009.

Reception

Critical response

R G Vijayasarathy of ''

Rediff.com Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...

'' scored the film at 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "H C Venu's cinematography and Arjun's music are well done. Two chart buster songs Madhura Pisumaahige and Helbid Helbid written by Jayanth Kaikini and Kaviraj are very catchy. But all this doesn't take away the fact that Harsha's Birugaali is just old wine in an old bottle!"

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

scored the film at 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "It is a treat to watch Chethan excelling in romantic, action and sentimental sequences. Sitara is impressive. Tara is excellent. H C Venu walks away with honours for his brilliant camerawork. Music by Arjun is okay". A critic from

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...

wrote "As the story develops, Hachu antagonises an underworld don. A police officer (played by Kishore), kills Anju but repents later for his action. Finally, Hachu decides to lead a lonely life. Despite all its shortcomings, Birugaali touches an emotional chord". Deccan Herald review
/ref>

Awards

Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Kannada The Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback – Kannada is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Kannada films. The first Kannada award was given in 2007. Before that, since 1997 till 2005, a common aw ...

Shamitha Malnad Shamitha Malnad is a voice artist and playback singer. She is known for her works in the Kannada film industry, as well as her works from Sugama Sangeetha and Devotional albums. Career Shamitha Malnad was first introduced to the film music by m ...

* Suvarna Film Award for Best Female Singer -

* South Scope Film Award for Best Music Director -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birugaali 2009 films 2000s Kannada-language films 2000s Indian films Indian action films Films shot in Greece 2009 action films Films scored by Arjun Janya Films directed by Harsha