''Prithvi'' is a 2010

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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

action thriller film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by Jacob Varghese and produced by N.S. Rajkumar and Soorappa Babu. The film stars

Puneeth Rajkumar Dr. Puneeth Rajkumar (17 March 1975 – 29 October 2021), affectionately known as Appu (by his fans, after his first lead role in the movie Appu (2002 film), ''Appu''), was an Indian actor, playback singer, film producer, television presenter a ...

and

Parvathy Thiruvothu Parvathy Thiruvothu Kottuvatta (born 7 April 1988), known mononymously as Parvathy, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films. She is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, two Kerala S ...

in lead roles.

Manikanth Kadri Manikanth Kadri is an Indian film score, soundtrack composer and singer. He has predominantly scored music for Kannada and Tulu as well as several Telugu, Malayalam, and Tamil films. He is the son of legendary saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath. Car ...

composed the music of the film. The movie was dubbed in Malayalam and Telugu with the same title.

Plot

Prithvi Kumar is an aspiring IAS trainee, who passes his CSE examination and receives posting as DC in

Bellary district Ballari, formerly Bellary (pronounced ), is a major district in Karnataka. It is located at north-eastern part of Karnataka. This district belongs to Kalyana-Karnataka. This district was one of the biggest districts in Karnataka until the Vi ...

. He is married to his love interest Priya and leaves for

Bellary Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India. Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of South Ind ...

and they receive a warm welcome there. Prithvi joins the office and learns about the illegal mining and water pollution arising in the district. At the office, Prithvi is visited by an old man named Shankarappa from Sandur-Taluk, who reveals that his son Kantharaju is missing for many days, Prithvi promises to look into the matter. Meanwhile, Prithvi looks into the ''Eshwari mines'' files and is visited by ''Mining Federation'', who bribe him with an expensive watch in the form of a felicitation, Prithvi denies the offer. Later, Prithvi learns from Sandur-Taluk

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

Suryaprakash that Kantharaju is actually a government surveyor and goes to the Sandur-Taluk hospital, only to find that the patients have diseases caused by the illegal mining. Naagendra Nayak, who is the main owner of the ''Eshwari Mines'' tells Prithvi to blindly sign the file with the support of his minister brother Narasimha Nayak and the Home Minister. Prithvi refuses and rejects the file and sends it to

Central Government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...

, which provokes Naagendra, who destroys Prithvi's bike with a bomb, When Prithvi and Priya were at an

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 ...

school function. Prithvi seizes the illegal mines owned by Naagendra, due to which Naagendra forms a strike with the help of people and a riot ensues where the media projects Prithvi as a leader. Narasimha forces the

Home Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

to order Prithvi to reopen the factory, but to no avail. With the help of a reporter Basavaraj, He finds about the border dispute between

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 ...

and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

and the survey file is with Kantharaju. One night, Prithvi receives a call from Basavaraj, who reveals that he found Kantharaju in Ananth Nagar,

and is ready to meet him. Prithvi, along with Surya Prakash and Basavaraj meets Kantharaju, who gives the border-survey file to Prithvi and leaves. Naagendra's henchman finds out and informs it to Naagendra, who kidnaps Kantharaju. Basavaraj leaves for Bangalore, but gets kidnapped by Naagendra, who kills him and throws his severed head at Prithvi's house. Naagendra provokes Prithvi and they engage in

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of ranged weapons.Hunsicker, A., ''Advanced Skills in ...

at the office where the

grants a leave to Prithvi, based on trauma. Priya, who is horrified by the events ask Prithvi that they leave the district, but Prithvi objects and tells Priya that she can leave. A dejected Priya leaves to her parents' house. Prithvi confronts Naagendra's henchman, and a battle ensues where Prithvi is knocked in the process but survives. Prithvi calls Surya Prakash and formulates a plan to destroy Naagendra. Under Prithvi's orders, Surya Prakash tells Naagendra to arrive with Kantharaju alone and will hand over the survey file. Naagendra arrives with Kantharaju and meets Prithvi where they engage in close-combat. Prithvi defeats Naagendra where he frees Kantharaju and buries Naagendra, along with his car in his own mining. Kantharaju, along with his wife and children reunite with Shankarappa. Priya reunites with Prithvi. Narasimha gets arrested due to the illegal mining and the mines are seized by the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

and Naagendra's name is added in the Bellary

missing person A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as Life, alive or Death, dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accide ...

case. The film ends with Prithvi continuing his duties as the DC in Bellary.

Cast

as Prithvi Kumar *

as Priya *

Srinivasa Murthy Jadalathimmanahalli Krishnappa Srinivasa Murthy (born 15 May 1949), known popularly as Srinivasa Murthy, is an Indian actor and television director. He is mostly known for his work as a director having made many television series in Kannada, b ...

as Prithvi's father *

Sathyapriya Sathyapriya (born Sathyavathi; 4 March 1953) is an Indian actress who predominately works in Tamil and Kannada films along with few Telugu and Malayalam films. Career Some of her films are ''Pudhea Paadhai'' (1989), ''Chinna Gounder'' (1992), ...

as Gowri, Prithvi's mother *

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, Karnataka. He completed his primary education at Manki and portrayed nat ...

as Priya's father *

Padmaja Rao Padmaja Rao is an Indian actress, television soap director and producer in Karnataka, India. She is a versatile actor known for playing a wide variety of character roles in various film genres. Some of the notable films of Padmaja Rao as an a ...

as Priya's mother *

C. R. Simha Channapatna Ramaswami Simha (16 June 1942 – 28 February 2014), better known as C. R. Simha, was an Indian actor, director, dramatist and playwright. He was best known for his work in Kannada films and for his work in stage shows. Starting hi ...

as Home Minister of

Avinash Yelandur Yelandur Narayan Ravindra (born 22 December 1959), known mononymously by his stage name Avinash, is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Kannada and Tamil films. He has been working in films for more than three decades. Known for his ...

as Narasimha Nayak *

John Kokken Anish John Kokken is an Indian actor and former model who has worked in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam films, playing predominantly negative roles. He earned recognition for his role as Vembuli in the 2021 Tamil film '' Sarpatta Parambar ...

as Nagendra Nayak *

Sadhu Kokila Sahaya Sheelan Shadrach, (born 24 March 1966) known by his Stage name Sadhu Kokila, is an Indian comedian, musician, actor, film director, producer, occasional screenwriter and lyricist who works in Kannada cinema. He began his career as a com ...

as Tirupathi *

John Vijay John Vijay (born 20 November 1976) is an Indian actor who works in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films. He is well known for his performances in '' Oram Po'' (2007), '' Thillalangadi'' (2010), '' Mouna Guru'' (2011), '' Kalakalappu ...

Suryaprakash *

Achyuth Kumar Achyuth Kumar is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada cinema, alongside a few Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. He is known for his performances in the ''KGF'', '' Kantara'', '' Sidlingu'', and '' Lucia''. He is the recipient ...

as Sharanappa * Shivaji Jadhav as Narayanappa *

Padma Vasanthi Padma Vasanthi is an Indian actress in the Kannada film industry. Some of the films of Padma Vasanthi as an actress include '' Maanasa Sarovara'' (1982) '' Bettada Hoovu'' (1985), '' Mussanje Mathu'' (2008). Awards Career Padma Vasanthi has be ...

as Basavaraj's wife * Spoorthi as Aarti, Prithvi's sister * Mico Shivu * Prakash Urs * Anil

Soundtrack

scored the film's background music and composed its soundtrack, lyrics for which was penned by

Jayant 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 ...

K. Kalyan K Kalyan (born 1 January 1975) is an Indian songwriter and music composer known for his works in Kannada film industry. He is also called as "Premakavi. Career K.Kalyan entered the film industry at the age of 17 as a Music director cum lyri ...

and

Kaviraj Kaviraj (or Rajkavi, Kaviraja) is a title of honor, which was given to poets and litterateurs attached to royal courts in medieval India. Eminent Charans who were inducted into the royal courts due to their literary merit as royal poets and his ...

. The soundtrack album consists of six tracks. Actress and singer

Shruti Haasan Shruti Haasan (born 28 January 1986) is an Indian actress and singer who predominantly works in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. One of the highest paid actresses in South Indian cinema, Haasan is the recipient of various accolades, including t ...

made her debut as a playback singer for a Kannada track with "Nenapidu Nenapidu". Saxophonist

Kadri Gopalnath Kadri Gopalnath (6 December 1949 – 11 October 2019) was an Indian alto saxophonist and one of the pioneers of Carnatic music for that instrument. Early life Born in a Tulu speaking Jogi community of Sajeepa Mooda village in Bantwal taluk ...

, also the father of the composer Manikanth Kadri, lent bits to the track "Kukkoo Kogileyinda". The album was released in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

on 11 April 2010. Anand Audio distributed the album into the market.

Release

''Prithvi'' ran for 70 days in the Sagar and Menaka. The film became a commercial success in the A centers and multiplexes, but it flopped in B and C Centres. However, the film received

cult status A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, book ...

. The movie did a pre-release business of ₹8 crores. The film was also dubbed in Malayalam and Telugu as ''Prithvi IAS''.

Reception

Critical response

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 ...

'' gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "A good show by director Jacob Varghese, who has chosen the intriguing Bellary politics with `gani-dhanis' (mining lords) in focus". Shruti Indira Lakshminarayana of ''

Rediff 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 ...

'' gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Jacob Verghese adds commercial touch to this serious subject by including some heavy duty action sequences. Prithvi is definitely a treat for Puneet fans". B S Srivani 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 ...

'' praised the script, cast performances, action scenes and technical aspects. ''

Bangalore Mirror ''Bangalore Mirror'' is an English-language daily published by The Times Group in Bangalore, India, as a compact newspaper. It is a deputed newspaper and is the second-largest circulating English daily in the city. In 2020, as part of its COVID ...

'' wrote "Prithvi is still worth a watch. Fans can look forward to multiple viewing". Renu Joseph of ''

News18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, ( d/b/a Network18 Group) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief ...

'' termed the film as "A fast-paced action thriller" despite its predictability.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prithvi 2010 films Films set in Karnataka Films shot in Karnataka 2010 action drama films 2010 action thriller films Indian action drama films Indian action thriller films Films shot in Jordan Films about mining 2010s Kannada-language films 2010s Indian films