''Poorvapara'' () is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by Kudavalli Chandrashekhar in his directorial debut. The film stars
Geetha,
Naveen Mayur and
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is an Indian actress from Karnataka and a classical dancer, qualified in Bharatanatyam. She has mainly acted in Malayalam films, while also appearing in few Kannada and Tamil films.
She won the Karnataka State Film Award f ...
with
Srinath and himself in supporting roles.
The film is based on
M. K. Indira
Mandagadde Krishnarao Indira (5 January 1917 – 15 March 1994) was a well-known Indian novelist in the Kannada language. Her works include ''Phaniyamma'', which won various awards. She began writing novels at the age of forty-five.Susie J. ...
's novel of the same name and is about the conflict that
NRIs face about the separation from their loved ones.
The film follows a sixty-year old mother from
Sringeri
Sringeri (IAST: Śṛṅgerī; ) also called Shringeri is a hill town and Taluk headquarters located in Chikkamagaluru district in the Indian state of Karnataka.
Sringeri is the site of Sri Sharadamba temple, a part of the Sringeri Sharada Pe ...
who goes to the United States with the intention of bringing her son and daughter-in-law back to India.
The film was the first Kannada film to be screened at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
.
Cast
Production
The film began production in late 2001 and marks
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
-based actor and telefilm director Kudavalli Chandrashekhar's foray into feature films.
New Jersey–based actress
Geetha plays a mother in the film while
Naveen Mayur,
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is an Indian actress from Karnataka and a classical dancer, qualified in Bharatanatyam. She has mainly acted in Malayalam films, while also appearing in few Kannada and Tamil films.
She won the Karnataka State Film Award f ...
and
Srinath play her son, daughter-in-law and husband, respectively.
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy debuted in Kannada cinema with this film. According to her, she plays "a girl who is traditionally brought up, finds her identity, re-discovers herself and tests new waters". The shooting for the film began in the second week of February 2002 after the cast and crew got
visas
Visa most commonly refers to:
* Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country
* Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Vi ...
.
The film was shot for about fifteen days in
Sringeri
Sringeri (IAST: Śṛṅgerī; ) also called Shringeri is a hill town and Taluk headquarters located in Chikkamagaluru district in the Indian state of Karnataka.
Sringeri is the site of Sri Sharadamba temple, a part of the Sringeri Sharada Pe ...
,
Malenadu
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,Shivamog ...
during
Navaratri
Navaratri () is an annual Hindu festival observed in honor of the goddess Durga, an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine nights, first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and aga ...
and for about fifteen to twenty days in Canada (where Kudavalli Chandrashekhar used to live) and the United States.
Visuals of the snowfall in Denver were included in the film.
Soundtrack
The music is composed by
Vijaya Bhaskar
Vijaya Bhaskar (; 1924 – 3 March 2002) was an Indian music director and composer who composed music for several mainstream and experimental feature films in the Kannada film industry. Scoring music for over 720 films, Bhaskar worked in Tamil ...
. The lyrics are 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 ...
, Sandhya Ravindranath and
Vijaya Narasimha
Vijaya Naarasimha (16 January 1927 – 31 October 2001) was an Indian lyricist who worked in Kannada cinema.
Career
Naarasimha's first Kannada film song was "Yee Dehadinda Dooranaade" (Oh soul, why did you depart this body) for the 1956 film ...
. The songs were sung by
Rajesh Krishnan
Rajesh Krishnan is an Indian playback singer and actor. Although he is known for his works in Kannada films, he has sung in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard l ...
, Archana Udupa, Pallavi, Badriprasad and Sri Lakshmi.
Three songs were shot in the United States.
Reception
A critic from ''
Chitraloka.com'' wrote that "Kudhavalli Chandrasekhar deserves full compliments for the adaptation of the novel on the screen. He has put in a great effort and this film is worth watching. There are no shortfalls. While ''
America America'' film gives a travelogue feeling ''Poorvapara'' gives an account of America’s social life". A critic from ''Viggy'' wrote that "Poorvapara is a must see film for
A.B.C.D.s and people who have Dollar dreams!" A critic from ''indiainfo.com'' wrote that "''PURVAPARA'' speaks a lot through silence. Lot of things is untold in this film. This is not an anti-American film. American culture has not come in between the mother son relation, it is the son's expectations that comes in-between" and concluded that "Overall a good film".
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 ...
'' wrote "Poorvaparva, a sure award-winner, draws excellent performances by the lead players. Here then is a film that is a must-see for the family. Kudos to Chandrashekar for a brave and brilliant effort".
References
External links
* {{IMDb title
2004 films
2000s Kannada-language films
Films shot in Karnataka
Films shot in Ontario
Films shot in Denver
Indian drama films
2004 directorial debut films
2004 drama films