Natasaarvabhowma (transl. Emperor of Actors) is a 2019 Indian Kannada-language horror action film directed by Pavan Wadeyar and produced by Rockline Venkatesh.[2] The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar, Anupama Parameswaran (in her Kannada debut) and Rachita Ram, alongside P. Ravi Shankar, Prabhakar, Prakash Belawadi, Chikkanna, Sadhu Kokila, Achyuth Kumar and Avinash, with B. Saroja Devi in a guest appearance.[3] The music was composed by D. Imman, while cinematography and editing were handled by Vaidy S and Mahesh S. Reddy.
| Natasaarvabhowma | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Pavan Wadeyar |
| Produced by | Rockline Venkatesh |
| Starring | Puneeth Rajkumar Anupama Parameswaran Rachita Ram Chikkanna P. Ravi Shankar |
| Cinematography | Vaidy S |
| Edited by | Mahesh S. Reddy |
| Music by | D. Imman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Rockline Entertainments Pvt Ltd |
Release date |
|
Running time | 157 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
| Box office | ₹28 crore[1] |
Natasaarvabhowma was released on 7 February 2019 to mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success at the box office.
Plot
editIn Bangalore, Central Minister Ghanshyam Yadav is intercepted by some goons but is rescued by Gagan Dixit, a news reporter returning from Kolkata. Gagan investigates the attack and realizes that the fight was a staged act by Yadav to gain sympathy votes in the elections. Gagan reports to Avinash, the newspaper editor, and publishes this story anonymously, leaving Yadav infuriated.
Gagan meets up with his best friend Keshava and decides to rent a haunted house owned by Namadev, despite Keshav's objections. Gagan convinces Keshav that since he has a sacred thread on his right wrist, they will be fine. Gagan unsuccessfully tries to call the phone number of someone, and they leave for the mobile network's office to obtain the location of the number. They meet with Sakshi, the manager, who refuses to give it. After the story about the fake fight is published, the newspaper loses many ads and Avinash sends Gagan to do a special write-up on Yadav by interviewing him in his private jet. After a fairly tense interview, the jet lands in Bellary and Yadav is ambushed. Gagan initially believes it to be another fake fight for sympathy votes, but realizes that Yadav is bleeding unlike in the last fight.
Gagan saves Yadav, putting himself in Yadav's good graces. Gagan had previously rescued Sakshi from goons in her office and she had agreed to share the location. When Gagan visits her, she refuses again as Namadev has told her that it was a setup by Gagan and Keshava to get the location of the number. Gagan goes to Sakshi's office again but learns that her father suffered from a stroke, causing Sakshi to faint. Gagan and Yadav manage to rescue Sakshi and her father just in time. Due to this, Sakshi falls in love with Gagan and agrees to give details about the phone number. After various paranormal activities in the house, Keshav quarrels with Namadev.
Gagan tries to break up the fight and consequently loses his sacred thread. Gagan starts experiencing supernatural activities in the house, where he finds some spectacles in a drawer and wears them and his behaviour changes. Gagan goes to interview the famous veteran actress B. Saroja Devi at a country club, where he notices his vision blurring and wears the spectacles to regain focus. Gagan shifts his focus to Prabhakar Reddy, a lawyer, in the pool and relentlessly thrashes Prabhakar, occasionally asking him "Why did you kill me?". Prabhakar escapes and Gagan loses consciousness.
Gagan and Keshav attend Yadav's birthday bash, where they get drunk. Yadav embraces him and Gagan wears the spectacles to regain focus. Gagan proceeds to thrash Yadav mercilessly. Yadav survives and Gagan wakes up in prison, with no idea about the happenings. Gagan gets bail on the case of mental illness and the media quickly picks up Gagan's story, focusing that he lives in a supposedly haunted house. An observer explains the suicide of his niece Shruthi, which occurred in that house. Sakshi reveals to Gagan that the location of the number is the same house. Gagan is shocked and reveals the person to be his girlfriend Shruthi.
Past: Shruthi, who works under Prabhakar as a junior lawyer, arrives in Kolkata and befriends Gagan after reading the article, he wrote on disabled persons. They both prepared articles to file a case against Yadav, who was supplying duplicate products to disabled persons. Gagan proposes to Shruthi and asks her to call him after she reaches Bangalore for her answer, but he does not receive a call from Shruthi and Gagan arrives in Bangalore to find Shruti.
Present: Gagan is taken to the ashram of Yadav's mentor Guruji instead of a mental hospital, where a ritual is being performed to get rid of the spirit that has invaded Gagan. Gagan wears the spectacles again, which are revealed to be Shruti's spectacles, revealing that Shruti is the spirit. Gagan violently kills Reddy, before moving to Yadav. Yadav holds Shruthi's uncle as a hostage before someone delivers a final blow. In the court, Guruji reveals that he has seen the violent nature of the spirit, while the doctors divulge that Gagan is suffering from MPD. The court orders Gagan to be sent to a mental asylum.
Flashback: In the ashram, Gagan kills Shruthi's uncle before violently killing Yadav. Gagan reveals to Guruji that he was never possessed by anyone and reveals that he planned to avenge Shruti's death. Gagan reveals that he had a video chat with Shruthi and had witnessed Yadav, Reddy and her uncle killing Shruti and making it look like a suicide. Gagan explains that he would be proven spiritually and scientifically innocent and forces Guruji to lie in front of the media.
Present: Gagan is in a mental asylum van and sees Guruji in a car. Guruji looks at him without blinking his eyes. When Guruji leaves, Gagan smiles.
Cast
edit- Puneeth Rajkumar as Gagan Dixit
- Anupama Parameswaran as Shruti, a junior lawyer
- Rachita Ram as Sakshi
- P. Ravi Shankar as Central Minister Ghanashyam Yadhav
- Chikkanna as Keshava, Gagan's friend
- Sadhu Kokila as Namadev, Gagan and Keshava's house owner
- Prakash Belawadi as Shruthi's uncle
- Achyuth Kumar as Yadhav's Guruji
- Srinivasa Murthy as Dixit, Gagan's father
- Avinash as Avinash, Gagan's boss
- Prabhakar as Prabhakar, a lawyer
- Pradeep Doddaiah as a news anchor
Cameo appearance
edit- B. Saroja Devi
- Jani Master in the song "Open the Bottle"
- Rockline Venkatesh in the song "Natasaarvabhouma"
- Bhushan in the song "Natasaarvabhouma"
- Avika Gor in the song "Taaja Samachara"
Production
editFilming
editThe main scenes between Puneeth Rajkumar and Anupama Parameshwaran were shot in Kolkata, along with a romantic song "Tajaa Samachara".[4] The shooting schedule in Kolkata was wrapped up in September 2018.[5]
Music
editThe soundtrack was composed by D. Imman and the audio launch was held on 12 January 2019 in Hubli.[6][7] Following Puneeth Rajkumar's death in 2021, a tribute track penned by Pawan Wadeyar, which was the original concept for the introduction song for Natasaarvabhowma, was added to the soundtrack on 17 March 2022.[8]
| Natasaarvabhowma | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |||||
| Released | 9 January 2019 | ||||
| Genre | Soundtrack | ||||
| Length | 27:35 | ||||
| Language | Kannada | ||||
| Label | Lahari Music | ||||
| Producer | D. Imman | ||||
| D. Imman chronology | |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Open The Bottle" | Yograj Bhat | Vijay Prakash | 05:15 |
| 2. | "Nata Sarvabhouma Title Song / Dance With Appu" | Pawan Wadeyar | Sanjith Hegde, Anthony Daasan, Jithin Raj | 04:45 |
| 3. | "Yaaro Naanu" | Kaviraj | Shreya Ghoshal Sonu Nigam | 04:25 |
| 4. | "Tajaa Samachara – Male Medley" | Jayanth Kaykini | Jithin Raj | 04:50 |
| 5. | "Tajaa Samachara – Female Medley" | Jayanth Kaykini | Vandana Srinivasan | 04:50 |
| 6. | "Panoramal Action – Theme Music" | Instrumental | 02:35 | |
| 7. | "Power Play – Theme Music" | Instrumental | 00:55 | |
| 8. | "Open the Bottle - Karoake" | Instrumental | 05:15 | |
| 9. | "Natasaarvabhowma Title Track - Karoake" | Instrumental | 04:45 | |
| 10. | "Yaaro Naanu - Karaoke" | Instrumental | 04:25 | |
| 11. | "Taaja Samachara - Karaoke" | Instrumental | 04:50 | |
| 12. | "Dance With Appu - A Tribute to Puneeth Rajkumar" | Pawan Wadeyar | Jithin Raj, Shree Harsha | 05:05 |
Release
editThe film was released on 7 February 2019.[9]
Home media
editThe digital streaming rights was sold to ZEE5.
Reception
editNatasaarvabhowma received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics.[10]
Critical response
editAravind Shwetha of The News Minute gave 4/5 stars and wrote "A movie tailor-made for Puneeth’s fans and is paisa-vasool throughout!."[11] A. Sharaadha of Cinema Express gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Natasaarvabhowma is Puneeth's show out-and-out. He not only gets out of his regular formulaic characters with this film, but also makes sure he provides all the entertainment his die-hard fans usually look forward to from him."[12] Sunayana Suresh of The Times of India gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Watch this film if you want a film that has the commercial elements in place, but also has a little twist. Whether the twist is edgy and risque enough, that is another debate."[13] Manoj Kumar R of The New Indian Express gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Pawan Wadeyar has mashed the themes of horror-comedy, revenge and a few dance numbers to serve a masala film that offers nothing new."[14]
Box office
editNatasaarvabhowma had a record 1,394 shows on the first day in Karnataka.[15]
Accolades
edit| Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Film | Rockline Productions | Nominated | [16] [17] |
| Best Director | Pavan Wadeyar | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Puneeth Rajkumar | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress | Anupama Parameswaran | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor in Negative Role | P. Ravi Shankar | Nominated | ||
| Best Comedian | Chikkanna | Nominated | ||
| Best Music Director | D. Imman | Nominated | ||
| Best Lyrics | Pavan Wadeyar "Natasaarvabhowma Title Song" | Won | ||
| Best Male Playback Singer | Pending |
References
edit- ^ "Anupama Parameswaran's Kannada debut 'Natasaarvabhowma' a hit". The News Minute. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "Puneeth Rajkumar's next film to be directed by Pawan Wadeyar". The News Minute. 16 January 2018.
- ^ "First look of Puneeth Rajkumar's Natasaarvabhowma unveiled". The Indian Express. 17 March 2018. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
- ^ "'Natasaarvabhowma': Pawan Wodeyar wraps up film's shoot in Kolkata". Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- ^ "'Natasaarvabhowma': Pawan Wodeyar wraps up film's shoot in Kolkata". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- ^ "Grand Audio Launch Puneeth Rajkumar's Natasaarvabhowma". www.thenewsminute.com. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Fans have opportunity to share stage with Puneeth Rajkumar for Natasarvabowma audio release". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ Daithota, Madhu (11 March 2022). "Powerism: A song tribute to Puneeth on his birth anniversary by Pavan Wadeyar". Times of India. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
- ^ BookMyShow. "Natasaarvabhowma Movie (2019) | Reviews, Cast & Release Date in". BookMyShow. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "Anupama Parameswaran's Kannada debut 'Natasaarvabhowma' a hit". Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ "'Natasaarvabhowma' review: Puneeth's horror thriller has an unexpected climax". The News Minute.
- ^ "Natasaarvabhowma Review: An out-and-out Puneeth Rajkumar show". Cinema Express.
- ^ "Natasaarvabhowma Review {3/5}: Watch this film if you want a film that has the commercial elements in place, but also has a little twist" – via timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
- ^ "Natasaarvabhowma review: This Puneeth Rajkumar film is old wine in a new bottle". The Indian Express. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ "Natasaarvabhowma going strong at the BO". Bangalore Mirror. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
- ^ "The 9th South Indian International Movie Awards Nominations for 2019". South Indian International Movie Awards. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ "SIIMA 2020: Check Out Full Winners' List". ibtimes. Retrieved 20 September 2021.