Ekangi is a 2002 Indian Kannada-language film written, directed by and starring Ravichandran. He also wrote film's screenplay and composed the music. The film stars Ramya Krishna and Prakash Raj, with Vanitha Vasu, K. S. Sridhar, Ramesh Bhat and Sadhu Kokila in supporting roles. With the film, Ravichandran's reputation as an experimenter grew, having erected a house of ₹ 80 lakh exclusively for the film and spending heavily in filming song sequences, an unusual trend in Kannada cinema during the time.[1] It was also the first in Kannada and second Indian film to employ SFX sound system.
| Ekangi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ravichandran |
| Written by | Ravichandran |
| Produced by | Ravichandran |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | G. S. V. Seetharam |
| Edited by | Shyam Yadav |
| Music by | Ravichandran |
Production company | Eshwari Enterprises |
Release date |
|
Running time | 150 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
The film received warm reviews from film critics and won five awards at the 2001–02 Karnataka State Film Awards including the award for Second Best Film and Best Actor (Ravichandran). It was an ambitious project, but failed to succeed at the box-office, even though following the audience's hostile response after its theatrical release, almost 20 scenes were re-shot and re-edited before re-releasing it with censor acceptance. Ravichandran was said to have suffered a loss of ₹ 2 crore owing to the film's commercial failure.[2]
Plot
editRaja(V Ravichandran) leaves happy life with his father's principles. Once he visit bar and meets Shilpa (Ramya Krishna) and falls love with her. His life gets trouble when he invite her to his house.
Cast
edit- Ravichandran as Ravi / Raja
- Ramya Krishna as Shilpa
- Prakash Rai as Prakash Roy
- Vanitha Vasu as Raja's mother
- Sridhar
- Soori
- Master Vinay
- M. N. Suresh
- Prakash
- Ramesh Bhat as traffic inspector
- Sadhu Kokila as thief
- Bullet Prakash as thief
- Mandya Ramesh
- Master Santhosh
Production
editFor the film, a multi-storeyed glass house was built just for the film at a cost of ₹ 80 lakh by art director Ashok,[3] it was an unusual experiment by the director and producer Ravichandran at the time, considering that a similar house was erected even for Ravichandran's previous film O Nanna Nalle. The set which consists of "huge hall, a bar, a table tennis room, two bedrooms and others" was built at Kanteerava Studios by 100 workers within 40 days.[4] Close to 80% of the film's scenes were filmed in the house.[5][6] EFX sound system was employed in the film for the first time in Kannada cinema and second overall.
Soundtrack
edit| Ekangi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 2001 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 48:21 | |||
| Label | Jhankar Music | |||
| Ravichandran chronology | ||||
| ||||
Ravichandran composed the film's background score, soundtracks and also wrote the lyrics for the tracks. The album consists of nine soundtracks.[7] The album was released in 28 October 2001, at Jilla playground in Davangere, at an event. The event was also shown live in Udaya TV.[8][9]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Banna Bannada Loka" | Ravichandran | Shankar Mahadevan | 5:08 |
| 2. | "Ee Chitte Thara Banna" | Ravichandran | L. N. Shastry | 5:54 |
| 3. | "Hudugi Superamma" | Ravichandran | Suresh Peters, Anupama, Rajesh Krishnan | 4:54 |
| 4. | "Nannane Kele Nanna Pranave" | Ravichandran | Hariharan | 5:50 |
| 5. | "Nee Madid Thappa" | Ravichandran | Rajesh Krishnan | 11:18 |
| 6. | "Nee Yekangiyagamma" | Ravichandran | Madhu Balakrishnan | 4:40 |
| 7. | "Once Upon a Time" | Ravichandran | Sonu Nigam | 4:15 |
| 8. | "Ondu Nimisha" | Ravichandran | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Anuradha Sriram | 4:47 |
| 9. | "Ekangi Theme" | Ravichandran | Instrumental | 1:35 |
| Total length: | 48:21 | |||
Critical reception
editThe album was received well by critics upon release. But, for the lyrics, the album received appreciation. Amritamati S. of The Music Magazine reviewed the album and called it, "Symphonic grandeur on dumb lyrics". She added writing credits to the solo violin, guitar bits and the piano play among other highlights of the album. She concluded writing, "The quality of recording is excellent. Full marks to the string ensemble, and to the other instrumentalists. But you will be disappointed if you look for poetry, or even the street-smart variety of verse that Hamsalekha specialises in."[8]
Awards
editKarnataka State Film Awards 2001-02[10]
- Best Film - V. Ravichandran
- Best Actor – V. Ravichandran
- Best Music Director – V. Ravichandran
- Best Sound Recording – L. Sathish
- Karnataka State Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer – Rajesh Krishnan for "Nee Madid Thappa"
Release
editFollowing the film's first theatrical release and a hostile response from the audience, close to 20 scenes of the film were re-shot and re-edit before giving it a re-release, a first of its kind in Kannada cinema.[11] Sify wrote "The problem with Yekangi is its wafer thin storyline and the film turns out to be dragging".[12]
Impact
editHaving suffered from huge losses after the film failed commercially, Ravichandran took the blame for the film's failure. In an interview with Deccan Herald in December 2004, speaking of the film's failure, he said "it shattered him mentally and physically."[13] The failure of the film influenced him hugely and his style of filmmaking.[14]
References
edit- ^ "Veterans still hold the key". The New Indian Express. 14 March 2010. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "2002 Year Round Up". chitraloka.com. 30 December 2002. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Ravichandran: Big dreamer who sometimes lost his way". 28 May 2021. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
- ^ "Marvellous Set". Chitraloka. 26 September 2001. Archived from the original on 20 April 2002. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ "Ravichandran's new home". The Times of India. 26 September 2001. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Waiting with hope". The Hindu. 2 June 2011. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Ekangi (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. 16 April 2004. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Symphonic grandeur on dumb lyrics". themusicmagazine.com. 26 November 2001. Archived from the original on 17 December 2001. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "SPLENDID RAVI SPLENDID". Chitraloka. Archived from the original on 2 November 2001. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ "Dweepa, Ekaangi, Neela bag best Kannada film awards". The Times of India. 3 October 2002. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ ""Yekangi" gets a facelift!". The Hindu. 18 April 2002. Archived from the original on 11 June 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Yekangi". Sify. Archived from the original on 18 January 2005. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ "A true 'kanasugara'". Deccan Herald. 5 December 2004. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Scaling new heights". Deccan Herald. 31 May 2010. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.