The film was a remake of actor Lokesh's Kannada film Prasangada Gendethimma.
Director L V Prasad who had starred in Alam Ara, India's first talkie, was also part of the cast.Ĭurrent superstar Suriya's father and actor Sivakumar's 100th film Rosappu Ravikkaikari was also a success. Tamil actor Kamal Haasan's Rajaparvai was a hit. It's not like 100 has proved unlucky for all stars. But it was only after it ran for 25 weeks that he announced that he had struck a century," says Anandan. Nenjathaiallitha was Karthik's 100th film. Many actors like Sujatha and Sripriya refused to celebrate the milestone. "At one point artistes stopped announcing their hundredth film as they felt it was a jinx. His Kannada film Kokila ran to packed houses even in Chennai but his 100th Tamil film fizzled out in two days. Kokila' Mohan, who is a known name among Kannada and Tamil audience also didn't receive a favourable response to his 100th film. MGR's Olivillaku Gemini Ganeshan's Seetha Prabhu's Rajakumaran Tamil Nadu chief minister and former actress Jayalalitha's Thirumangalyam and Roja's Pottuamman were also unimpressive. Then again it was not just Rajnikanth whose 100th outing was uneventful. A host of talented actors including Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan were cast in the film." All the same time it had fabulous music by Ilayaraja. The film didn't do well and theatre owners suffered further as government had made the film tax free. But Balachander was not comfortable with the genre and chose to produce it under his banner and had S T Muthuraman direct it. Throwing light on the project, senior film journalist of Film News, Anandan, says, "Rajnikanth's first film was with Balachander and thus he was keen that he direct his 100th film as well. It may be recalled that Tamil superstar Rajnikanth's 100th venture Sri Raghavendra was also a failure at the BO. These days the stress is more on the publicity rather than the story," says film analyst Srikantgundappa. Also, earlier, if it was an actor's hundredth film, efforts would be made to make the film's music, story, dialogues and screenplay different. But then again when it came to his films and the films of other good actors, people thronged theatres, be it the 50th, 60th or the 100th. As far as I remember Rajkumar's Devata Manushya and Shabdavedi had created a lot of interest. "What you have to remember is that media exposure was not all that much those days. The 100th films of actors Rajkumar (Bhagyada Bagilu), Vishnuvardhan (Satya Jyothi), Ambareesh (Honkongnalli Agent Amar), Uday Kumar (Sedige Sedu) and Aarti (Agnata Vasa) were also not crowd pullers. It's not the first time that the 100th film of a popular actor has not met people's expectations. This being Shivanna's100th film only added to the disappointment. But it failed to add up to anything substantial. From the heroine's selection, film launch, getups to the 3D song, Prem left no stone unturned to keep the film in the news. Whatever the case, it is the hype that has led to the failed expectations.
With exhibitors having paid huge amounts as non-refundable advance, the film is sure to be in theatres for some time to come, but how many people will go back pleased with the story remains to be seen. This being a mid-week release and the salaried class being more likely to watching the film during month end, it is too early to predict the future of the film," notes senior film journalist Subramanya. "With festival holidays round the corner, hope still floats for Jogayya. But the team says that it is because the film was released in over 200 theatres, over 50 in Bangalore alone, that the crowd has been spread out and thus the empty halls.Īnd as for the content, they say that it is not possible to please everyone.
JOGAYYA KANNADA FULL
Three days after the film's release, theatres are not running to full houses. Forget tier two cities, barring a few multiplexes, theatres in Bangalore itself have failed to provide viewers with this facility.
The bigger disappointment was the inability of audiences to experience a 3D song that Prem had been advertising as the highlight of the film. Of all the things promised, only Shivarajkumar's performance and lavishly shot songs have delivered. However, it is not lost on the film industry and audiences that the story has failed to come up to expected standards. So, has the hype around actor Shivarajkumar's 100th film helped it sail through the first week? Hardcore Shivarajkumar fans and, of course, the director-producer couple Prem-Rakshita have maintained that collections have been ringing at the box office and that distributors and exhibitors have nothing to complain about.