Sandalwood has had its share of great movies that were received well by audiences in India.
DH lists a few legendary movies that made it big:
Bangarada Manushya
Bangarada Manushya was one of the longest-running Kannada films and the most successful movie of all time.
It is a story of hope, struggle and swimming against the tide. An educated lad in a city visits his sister in a village and finds out that her family is in deep trouble and financial crisis after her husband’s death. He then decides to take up agriculture in his farm. This story celebrates the life of farmers and villagers. Siddalingiah’s direction and GK Venkatesh’s music took this movie to the next level.
The two songs, Aagadu Endu and Hani Hani Goodidre Halla, convey the message as to how and why the farmer is the backbone of the country.
The movie stars Dr Rajkumar, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, Vajramuni, Arathi, Dwarakish and Loknath.
Mayura
Adopted from the novel by Devudu Narasimha Sastri and directed by Vijay, this is the story of Prince Mayurasharma of the Kadamba dynasty. This historical movie depicts the life of Mayura, a Brahmin youth, who discovers his royal heritage and goes on to dethrone the Pallavas. This film was shot in and around the Mysore Palace.
The movie casts Dr Rajkumar as Mayura, Srinath as the yuvaraja of the Pallava dynasty, Vajramuni as Prince Vishnugopa and Balakrishna as Madhukeshwara.
This movie is regarded with pride and gratification among Kannadigas.
Nagamandala
The movie is directed by TS Nagabharana and the play was written by Girish Karnad.
The story revolves around Rani a young girl who gets married to a Appanna. She is always neglected by her indifferent and unfaithful husband.
The film touches the most sensitive issues of marital life. It portrays lifestyle, food habits and routine of medieval period in Karnataka. The movie has had a great impact on Indian audiences, stressing on the concept of the ideal woman.
The film won many prestigious awards for its content and cinematography. It was also selected for Indian Panorama in the International Film Festival held in 1997.
It stars Prakash Raj, Vijayalakshmi, Mandya Ramesh and B Jayashri in prominent roles.
Bettada Jeeva
The story is based on Jnanpith awardee K Shivaram Karanth's novel. It was directed by P Sheshadri.
It depicts human relations and interaction with nature.
The movie stars Suchendra Prasad, Rameshwari Varma and HG Dattatreya.
The film won the National award for the 'Best Film on Environment Preservation'.
Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu
This is a story of a ruthless zamindar of a village. It was adopted from the novel Vayyari by Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar.
The aspects of friendship and rivalry, feudalism, Indian judicial system etc. are touched upon in this film.
Siddalingiah’s direction brings village life on screen in the most realistic way.
Vishnuvardhan, Lokesh and MP Shankar play the main characters.
Sharapanjara
Based on the novel by Triveni and directed by Puttanna Kanagal, this is a classic film with an incredible performance by Kalpana. This movie deals with the problems faced by a woman. The film revolves around the issues of infidelity and how society treats people with mental problems.
The character played by Kalpana in this movie is considered to be one of the widely acclaimed performances in Sandalwood.
The film won the award for 'Best Feature Film in Kannada'. It also got Karnataka State Film Awards, including the award for Best Film.
The movie casts Kalpana and Gangadhar in the main roles.
Chigurida Kanasu
The film is directed by TS Nagabharana, adapted from the novel written by Jnanpith award winner K Shivaram Karanth.
This movie was considered as one of finest in the history of Kannada cinema.
Shankar, a city lad, visits his ancestral village. When he decides to settle there for good, he faces opposition from his own family and from a village bigwig.
This movie stars Shivarajkumar, Vidya Venkatesh, Rekha Unnikrishnan and Avinash.