''Rajani Kantha'' is a 2013 Indian romantic drama film in the

Kannada language Kannada () is a Dravidian languages, 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, an ...

directed by Pradeep Raj and produced by K. Manju. The film stars

Duniya Vijay } B. R. Vijay Kumar, professionally known as Duniya Vijay and Duniya Viji, is an Indian actor and film director known for his work in Kannada films. As an actor, he began his career playing small roles until he got his big break in '' Duniya'' ...

, playing dual roles along with

Aindrita Ray Aindrita Ray (born 19 April) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Cinema of Karnataka, Kannada also appeared in Bengali language, Bengali and Bollywood, Hindi films. Ray is a recipient of two South Indian International Movie Awards, alon ...

in the lead roles.It is remake of Korean film My Brother (2004) The film's music is composed by

Arjun Janya Arjun Janya (born Lokesh Kumar) is an Indian film score soundtrack composer, singer and director. Arjun made his film debut in the 2006 Kannada film ''Autograph Please''. Arjun Janya won Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director for ...

and the cinematography is by Giri.

Plot

Actor Duniya Vijay plays a double role Rajani and Kantha with one of the characters is born with a cleft palate. The film's plot lies in how people with the condition deal with the jibes that come their way and emerge stronger.

Cast

as Rajani and Kantha *

as Priya *

Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (; born 10 October 1954), better known by her mononymous stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in mo ...

Bullet Prakash Bullet Prakash (2 April 1976 – 6 April 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Kannada cinema. Known for portraying comic roles, Prakash appeared in over 325 films. He earned the nickname "Bullet" because he used to ride the motorbike, Roy ...

* Jasper *

Chikkanna Chikkanna (born 22 June 1984), is an Indian Comedy actor who works in Kannada cinema and appears primarily in comic roles. He made his debut in films with '' Kirataka'' (2011), following which he was recognized for his performances in '' Raja ...

Production

Launch

The film production went on floors from October 2011 at the Kanteerava Studios in Bangalore. Celebrated Tamil actor

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, ...

's close aid Rao Bahaddur formally launched the film's proceedings on behalf of the star.

Soundtrack

Reception

Critical response

Srikanth Srinivasa 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 the film a rating of two and a half out of five stars and wrote "Rajni Kantha is for Duniya Vijay's fans" praising Vijay's performance as Rajni in the film. A critic from

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 ...

scored the film at 3 out of 5 stars and says "Vijay for his excellent performance in a double role, particularly Rajani with speech defect. Aindrita Ray has given life to her role with a splendid performance. Music by Arjun Janya has some catchy tunes. Camera by R Giri is eye catching". A Shardhha of

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...

wrote "key. On the whole, the ingredients never catch fire in the lifeless script. Arjun Janya's music is good but is lost in the story and there is nothing to rave about Giri's cinematography. The Verdict: It is hard to swallow particularly in an era of diminishing expectations". A critic from

News18 India News18 India is an Indian Hindi-language television channel owned by the Network18 Group. It was launched in 2005 as Channel 7 by Jagran Prakashan and acquired in 2006 by Network18 Group and rebranded IBN7. In 2016 it took its current name. ...

wrote "The music of the film by Arjun Janya is melodious, and cinematography by R Giri is also average. All in all the film lacks a good narrative and is a waste of effort". B S Srivani from

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 "Arjun Janya who whips up frothy tunes and dream concoctions for the mass and class alike. A little more homework would do wonders for the director and his hero, it must be said. However, Rajini Kantha also sends out a message: Any kind of publicity cannot always be ‘good’ publicity".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajani Kantha 2013 films 2010s Kannada-language films 2010s Indian films Indian action films Films set in Bengaluru Films scored by Arjun Janya 2013 action films Films directed by Pradeep Raj Rajinikanth