''Deveeri'' is a 1999

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 film based on the novel ''Akka'' by noted Kannada writer

P. Lankesh Palya Lankesh (8 March 1935 – 25 January 2000) was an Indian poet, fiction writer, playwright, translator, screenplay writer and journalist who wrote in Kannada. He was also an award-winning film director. Early life and career Lankesh wa ...

. The novel was adapted for the film by his daughter

Kavitha Lankesh Kavitha Lankesh is an Indian film director, screenwriter and a lyricist known for her work in Kannada cinema industry. She began as a documentary film-maker before directing her first feature film, '' Deveeri'' (1999), which went on to win int ...

. The film won the 1999–2000 Karnataka State Award for best film.

Plot

The central storyline revolves around a young girl, Deveeri, who has lost her parents and struggles to care for her younger brother. She becomes prey to exploitation by others.

Cast

Nandita Das Nandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth'' (1998), '' Bawandar'' (2000), '' Kannathil Muthamittal' ...

as Deveeri * Manjunath as Krishna "Kyaatha" *

Bhavana ''Bhāvanā'' (Pali;Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), p. 503, entry for "Bhāvanā," retrieved 9 December 2008 from "U. Chicago" a Sanskrit: भावना, also ''bhāvanā''Monier-Williams (1899), p. 755, see "Bhāvana" and "Bhāvanā", retri ...

as Paddi *

Sanketh Kashi Kashi (1954 – 2016) known by his professional name Sanketh Kashi, was an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry. Some of the notable films of Kashi as an actor include '' Ulta Palta'' (1997), ''Nammoora Mandara Hoove'' (1996), ''Beladingala ...

as Rangappa * B. Jayashree as Rangappa's wife * Deesh Mariwala as Nagara

Production

Manjunath is from the

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

BOSCO.

Reception

S. Viswanath 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 ...

'' felt that the film lacked a "taut script" and added, "Besides this, there are tacky numbers, with scenes that rarely justify a genre film." He further wrote, "Popular elements have been accommodated into the scheme of things to pander suit to the puerile tastes of to rake in the moolah, with the result the film is stretched a wee long, while, a more aesthetic screenplay would have taken the film to newer realms of novella vogue cinema." However, he commended the film's background score and wrote, "Music director V Manohar lends ample support to Kavitha with excellent, ear-catching background score, enhancing the melancholic mood to the touching tale." While he praised Manjunath's performance in the film in that he had the "maturity of seasoned player, amply justifying Kavitha's faith in the promising lad's abilities", the performance of Nandita Das seemed "unconvincing" to him. He felt that she failed to "add lustre to the film, and her effort comes as a damp-squib." Also writing for ''Deccan Herald'', Aravind Gowda called the film "an exceptionally well-made movie". He felt, "The screenplay, the characters and the story-line, all go well together into making Deveeri a good film to watch." He concluded writing praises of all leading performances in the film.

References

External links

* * * 1990s Kannada-language films 1990s Indian films Kannada literature Films directed by Kavitha Lankesh {{1990s-Kannada-film-stub