Dweepa
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''Dweepa'' () is a 2002 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 film by
Girish Kasaravalli Girish Kasaravalli (born 3 December 1950) is an Indian film director, in the Kannada cinema, and one of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema. Known internationally for his works, Kasaravalli has garnered fourteen National Film Awards, including f ...
, based on the novel of the same name by Na D'Souza. It stars
Soundarya Sowmya Sathyanarayana (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress known for her works primarily in Telugu cinema. She was regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Telugu ...
,
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 ...
and M. V. Vasudeva Rao in the lead roles. The film deals with the raging issue of building dams and the displacement of natives. It won two
National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...
, four
Karnataka State Film Awards Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They are given annually by the Government ...
and three
Filmfare Awards South The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...
.


Plot

Located in the backwaters of a dam, Sita Parvata is a low-lying island slowly submerging due to the incessant rains. The government succeeds in evacuating the residents by giving them compensation for the properties they own. The temple priest Duggajja, his son Ganapa, and daughter-in-law Nagi find it impossible to leave their homeland and make a living with the meagre compensation. They have but a small hut, which earns them a compensation of 25,000. In Ganapa's own words, the compensation can give them food and shelter, but cannot compensate for the love and respect of their people. On the island, they are respected people, but outside, they would be one among hundreds of families struggling to make a living. Centered on this complex theme, the film narrates the struggles of the family and how ultimately in the end they manage to continue life on the island.


Cast

*
Soundarya Sowmya Sathyanarayana (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress known for her works primarily in Telugu cinema. She was regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Telugu ...
as Nagi *
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 Ganapa * M. V. Vasudeva Rao as Duggajja *
Harish Raj Harish Raj is an Indian actor and director based in Kannada cinema. He made his acting debut in the television serial ''Hosa Chiguru Hale Beru'' in 1996 and his debut in feature films was with ''Doni Saagali'' in 1998. After featuring in a stri ...
as Krishna * Purushottama Talavata * Siddaraj Kalyankar * Malati * Vijayasarathy * Radha Ramachandra * Sringeri Ramanna * Sawant


Production


Development and filming

Upon being impressed by Na D'Souza novel ''Dweepa'',
Girish Kasaravalli Girish Kasaravalli (born 3 December 1950) is an Indian film director, in the Kannada cinema, and one of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema. Known internationally for his works, Kasaravalli has garnered fourteen National Film Awards, including f ...
narrated the story to
Soundarya Sowmya Sathyanarayana (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress known for her works primarily in Telugu cinema. She was regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Telugu ...
who decided to adapt it into a film and that she would produce it. Filming began in August 2000 but was temporarily stalled due to events surrounding the abduction of Rajkumar. As heavy rains were intrinsic to the plot of the film, shooting had to be further postponed to the following
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
s due to inadequate rainfall that year in
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 ...
. Kasaravalli shuttled up and down to
Linganamakki Dam The Linganamakki Dam was constructed by the Karnataka State Government in 1964. Located in the Linganamakki village of Sagara taluk, the dam has a length of stretching across the Sharavathi river. It is located about 9 km from Jog Fall ...
area, and the surrounding villages Bellenne and Taleguppa with his crew, trying to get the rainy days on film. Filming completed and was ready for release in December 2001. With author D'Souza's consent, changes in the plot were made in the adaptation. The human dimension of the interaction between characters were put to the forefront of the story, with the social concern around the plot being made secondary. The film was first screened at the
International Film Festival of Kerala The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy ...
in April 2002. Kasaravalli also showed it to the film appreciation course students of the
Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...
,
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
, and received good responses from them.


Theme and inspiration

Kasaravalli said he "read the book and liked the theme very much." He added, "It is all about how people's lives change completely when the land around them gets submerged. It is not just about physical change and survival, but about changes in culture, value systems and even basic self-confidence, caused by circumstances beyond a person's control." Thematically, the film was observed by critics as similar to his previous films, that of "human relationships and struggles". Alienation is another theme in the film that Kasaravalli depicted, like in his previous works, ''
Ghatashraddha ''Ghatashraaddha'' ( ) is a 1977 Indian Kannada language film directed by Girish Kasaravalli starring Meena Kuttappa, Narayana Bhat and Ajith Kumar in lead roles. It is based on a novella by eminent Kannada writer U. R. Ananthamurthy. The film w ...
'' (1977) and '' Mane'' (1990). The female protagonist in ''Dweepa'' had an optimistic outlook on life as opposed to her husband's abject resignation to his fate. Critic Srikanth 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, "As always, ''Dweepa'' has a woman protagonist who represents strength, optimism and pragmatism signifying the growth of the today's 'new age woman'. The film celebrates Nagi's inner strength, which is also the beauty of human nature. Through Nagi's characterisation, director Kasaravalli hopes to prove that women are capable of unselfish love and facing life courageously." Barring the main characters, he identifies an outsider and the water as two other characters on the film; represents the world on the other side of the river as opposed to the central character's dwelling, and the latter lending a metaphoric voice to ''Dweepa''." He added, "Rarely have the rains been brought to the foreground as a character. But here, it represents some kind of a hope as well as fear as is visible."


Reception

Srikanth of ''Deccan Herald'' felt the film was "quite engaging and briskly paced." He added that the cinematographer H. M. Ramachandra "certainly deserves a lot of credit for capturing the picturesque locales of
Malnad Malnad (or Malenadu) is a region in the state of Karnataka, India. Malenadu covers the western and eastern slopes of the Western Ghats mountain range and is roughly 100 kilometers in width. It includes the districts of Uttara Kannada, Shivam ...
in its splendour." He commended the acting performances and wrote, "Soundarya ... has certainly come of age. She has bloomed into a fine actress and a natural performer besides producing the film herself. Kasaravalli has drawn a superb performance from Avinash, who has portrayed his character with panache. The late Vasudeva Rao has put up a spirited performance. Harish Raju comes as a whiff of fresh air in the film. It is an out and out Kasaravalli film with a lot of surprises!"


Awards and screenings

;
49th National Film Awards The 49th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 2001. Awards were announced by t ...
*
National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...
Soundarya Sowmya Sathyanarayana (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress known for her works primarily in Telugu cinema. She was regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Telugu ...
(film producer) *
National Film Award for Best Cinematography The National Film Award for Best Cinematography is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (S ...
– H. M. Ramachandra Halkere ; 2001–02 Karnataka State Film Awards * Best Film – Soundarya * Best Direction
Girish Kasaravalli Girish Kasaravalli (born 3 December 1950) is an Indian film director, in the Kannada cinema, and one of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema. Known internationally for his works, Kasaravalli has garnered fourteen National Film Awards, including f ...
* Best Actress in a lead role – Soundarya * Best Cinematography – H. M. Ramachandra Halkere ; 50th Filmfare Awards South * Best Film – Soundarya * Best Direction – Girish Kasaravalli * Best Actress in a Lead Role – Soundarya ;Screenings * Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, New York *
33rd International Film Festival of India The 33rd International Film Festival of India was held from 1–10 October 2002 in New Delhi. The competitive edition was restricted to "Asian Directors". Deepak Sandhu served as the director for the festival. The Devdas retrospective received sp ...
* Fukuoka Film Festival, Japan * Durban International Film Festival * International Film Festival of Rotterdam * Cinema Vintage Programme, IsolaCinema, KinoOtok *
Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (, Transliteration, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is a film festival first held in Moscow in 1935 and became regular since 1959. From its inception to ...


Soundtrack

Unlike earlier Kasaravalli films, ''Dweepa'' had music by Thomas Isaac Kottukapally used throughout.


References


External links

* {{Filmfare Award for Best Film – Kannada 2000s Kannada-language films 2000s Indian films 2002 films Best Feature Film National Film Award winners Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography National Film Award Kannada literature Films directed by Girish Kasaravalli Films based on Indian novels Films set on islands Films shot in Karnataka Films set in Karnataka Films about poverty in India Rain in culture