''Geetha'' is a 1981 Indian

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

-language

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by and starring

Shankar Nag Shankar Nagarakatte (9 November 1954 – 30 September 1990) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as ...

in lead, alongside

Akshatha Rao Akshatha Rao (born 22 December 1983) is an American cricketer. In August 2019, she was named in United States' squad for the 2019 ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in Scotland. She made her Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) de ...

in title role. The supporting cast features

K. S. Ashwath Karaganahalli Subbaraya Ashwathanarayana (25 March 1925 – 18 January 2010) was an Indian veteran actor who appeared in Kannada films He appeared in over 370 films during his five-decade-long career. His only memorial in the whole of Karnat ...

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. He completed his primary education at Manki and portrayed national leader ...

and Gayathri. Ilayaraaja composed the soundtrack and the background score for the film that and was declared a blockbuster musical hit. He went on to re-use four songs from the movie in five different films later. The track "Santhoshakke" from the film became widely popular in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

and is still performed for in concerts and other events. The characterization of the lead actress from

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...

's 1989 Telugu movie '' Geethanjali'' was reported to have been partially borrowed from this movie - the chirpy attitude with which the eponymous lead speaks and behaves - and also bore a great resemblance in terms of closure of the movie - where she breathes her last due to cancer in the climax.

Plot

Geetha (

) is a college-going student, who has co-organised a

charity concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate h ...

in her college. Sanjay (

), a singer, performs at the show singing the track "Santhoshakke". Floored by his performance and good looks, she pursues him. A university champion in

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

, she invites him to her club to play, with an intention to get closer to him and succeeds. However, Geetha suffers from an illness, the symptoms of which is seen in her holding her neck tight and screaming. Her father Srinivas (

) suffers from a heart ailment. Following another of Sanjay's concert, she confesses her love to him. He, however fails to remember her every time, and eventually, falls in love with her. Upon diagnosis, it is revealed to Geetha's mother, Dr. Mukta (

Sowcar Janaki Sankaramanchi Janaki (born T. Janaki; 12 December 1931), popularly known as Sowcar Janaki (Tamil) or Shavukaru Janaki (Telugu) or Sahukar Janaki (Kannada), is an Indian actress who has appeared in over 300, films, predominantly in Tamil, Telu ...

) that she suffers from

blood cancer Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are al ...

, which is not revealed to her father and her. Eager to learn to drive a car, Geetha pesters Sanjay. Sanjay flusters every time she asks him, and finally reveals to her about his ex-girlfriend Sunanda, who succumbed as a brake-failed vehicle she was driving exploded. Deciding to get married, Sanjay speaks to Geetha's mother, when she reveals to him of the latter's illness. The illness takes a toll on Geetha's eyes and loses her eyesight among other visible bodily wounds. Sanjay, with the help of Dr. Rudrappa (Lohithashwa) gets an

Interferon Interferons (IFNs, ) are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses. In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing nearby cells to heighten t ...

drug, an alleged cure of cancer, imported from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. He collects it from the airport and Geetha breathes her last by the time he arrives at her house with the drug.

Cast

as Sanjay *

as Geetha *

as Srinivas *

as Mukta *

as Satish *

Gayatri Gayatri (Sanskrit: गायत्री, IAST:Gāyatrī) is the personified form of the Gayatri Mantra, a popular hymn from Vedic texts. She is also known as Savitri, and bears the epithet of ''Vedamata'' (mother of the Vedas). Gayatri is of ...

as Sunanda * Shyamala *

Shivaram S. Shivaram (28 January 1938 – 4 December 2021), popularly known simply as Shivaram or Shivaramanna, was an Indian actor, producer and director whose Kannada cinema career has spanned six decades. He has played roles including lead hero p ...

as Linganna * Mandeep Roy as Hanumantha *

Tiger Prabhakar Tiger Prabhakar (30 March 1948 – 25 March 2001), also known as Kannada Prabhakar, was an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Kannada and Telugu cinema, with a few Malayalam, Tamil and Bollywood films. Career Prabhakar started h ...

as an astrologer *

Lohithaswa Lohithaswa T. S. (5 August 1942 – 8 November 2022) was an Indian Kannada film actor and playwright and an English professor. He acted in more than five hundred Kannada movies, stage plays, and television serials. He was popularly known for h ...

as Doctor Rudrappa * Hanumanthachar * Kunigal Ramanath * Sunali (credited as Baby Sunali)

Soundtrack

Ilayaraaja composed the background score for the film and the soundtracks, and lyrics were written by Chi. Udaya Shankar. The album consists of six soundtracks. Ilayaraja later adapted the track "Jotheyali" as "Vizhiyile Mani" for ''

Nooravathu Naal ''Nooravathu Naal'' () is a 1984 Indian Tamil-language mystery thriller film written and directed by Manivannan. The film stars Vijayakanth, Mohan and Nalini, with Thengai Srinivasan, Janagaraj and Sathyaraj in supporting roles. It is an ...

'' and also as "Jaane Do Na" for the 2007

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

film '' Cheeni Kum''. "Nanna Jeeva" was adapted as "Devan Thandha Veenai" for '' Unnai Naan Santhithen''. "Kelade" was adapted as "Devathai Ilam Devi" for '' Aayiram Nilave Vaa''. The song "Santhoshakke" was adapted as "Adichikko Site Adichikko thamal Oru Nalum for the film '' Kairasikkaran''.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 2355603 1981 films 1980s Kannada-language films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja 1981 romantic drama films Indian romantic drama films Films directed by Shankar Nag