Swasthik

Last updated

Swasthik
Directed by Upendra
Written byMico Dileep (Dialogues)
Screenplay byUpendra
Story byUpendra
Produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar
Starring
Cinematography B. C. Gowrishankar
Edited byT. Shashikumar
Music by V. Manohar
Production
company
Poornima Enterprises
Distributed byVajreshwari Combines
Release date
  • 3 October 1998 (1998-10-03)
Running time
140 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageKannada

Swasthik is a 1998 Indian Kannada language thriller film directed by Upendra, starring Raghavendra Rajkumar, Vijayalakshmi and Srinath. At the 1998-99 Karnataka State Film Awards, the film won two awards; Best Art Direction (M. Ismail) and Best Sound Recording (S. Mahendran).

Contents

It was reported that the core storyline and plot twists of Vishwaroopam is thematically similar to this movie. [1] It was also reported that the climax of the movie Run Anthony vaguely reminds of Swasthik. The film has over the years attained a cult status. [2]

Plot

The movie starts in Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, with a woman photographer who is running away from a terror attack. She is able to get to an Indian Army camp and shows the army men the photos of one of the men leading the attack. The scene then shifts to Bangalore, where the militant arrives dressed in Hindu clothes and meets his Muslim parents. He is then attacked by his parents and is taken away to a hospital to treat his injuries, while his parents are arrested and jailed.

The CBI chief (Srinath) visits them, who reveal that they could not bear to have a terrorist, who killed innocent people as their son, and that is why they attacked him. The CBI team then reaches the hospital where they find out the terrorist has escaped. In a slum in Bangalore a man named Guru (Raghavendra Rajkumar), who looks like the terrorist lives with his family, which consists of his parents, sister and grandmother. He is arrested when the police mistake him for the terrorist, being released soon after. He is however repeatedly arrested because of the actions of the terrorist, i.e. Guru's look-alike. It soon becomes clear however that Guru and the terrorist are one and the same.

He then kidnaps Rajeshwari (Sridurga)- daughter of the Defence Minister (Hulivan Gangadharayya) who is his love interest, demanding the release of an imprisoned militant named Imtiaz in exchange for her. He does this with the help of a man (Honnavalli Krishna) from his slum. He then cleverly convinces the police and the CBI that he and the terrorist are separate people. He then has his associate rig a projector at the drop zone to show a recording of Guru as the terrorist and when the imprisoned militant Imtiaz is released, a bomb explodes, destroying the projector. Guru goes after the jeep in which Imtiaz and his associate are in the excuse of catching it. As soon as his associate and Imtiaz jump out, he drives the jeep towards a petrol pump. Guru jumps out just as the jeep hits the pump, causing a big explosion. The police seeing the pre arranged bodies in the jeep think both terrorists are dead. Elsewhere, Guru shaves off the hair of the imprisoned terrorist. A swastika and some writings are revealed to be tattooed to his head. He writes it down, and then pours a liquid on the tattoos to remove it and lets him go. He then goes to the CBI chief.

It is revealed that this was the plan of Guru and the CBI chief. By staging the attack in Baramulla, the woman photographer, who was actually a CBI agent would ensure that the establishment think he was a big time terrorist. This would be reinforced when his pretend parents the aged Muslim couple, also agents would stab and non-fatally injure him, claiming not being able to bear to have a terrorist son. And by kidnapping the defence minister's daughter, he would be able to get the imprisoned militant. It is shown that the tattoos on the militant's head was the location of a cache of arms and explosives. Guru would place fake bombs in their place, thus convincing the terrorist groups that he was their ally. Then they would not attack thinking Guru had done their job for them or they would join hands with him to get the explosives and make a new ally.

While Guru is placing the fake bombs given to him by the CBI chief at Mysore Palace, he is confronted by Rajeshwari, at gunpoint. Even when he tells the whole truth, she does not believe him. So, Guru detonates a fake bomb, planning to convince her of the truth. However it really explodes and kills her, thus revealing it was a real bomb. Even though he is devastated by his actions, he regains his composure and escapes to his home where he tells his parents everything. However they attack and try to kill him. He escapes from there also and he goes to a secluded place. The CBI chief finds him and shoots Guru in both legs. He reveals to Guru that he is the son of an Officer of the Indian Army, who along with his wife were killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. The people who he thought were his parents are revealed to be terrorists of Pakistani descent, who raised him along with their daughter. The CBI chief, who has connections with terror groups, plans an attack along with Guru's fake parents.

He escapes with the help of his neighbor Pinky (Vijayalakshmi), who takes him to her house to help remove the bullets from his legs and bind his wounds. Angered by being betrayed by the people who he thought were his own, he places explosives on himself and goes to the Mysore palace, where he defuses some of the bombs he placed. However, he is unable to prevent the explosions of the other bombs, which kill his adopted sister along with several people. The terrorist couple, who are devastated by the death of their daughter, and the CBI chief are berated by Guru, for killing innocent people in the name of country and religion. Guru's fake father kills the CBI chief when he orders one of his subordinates to kill Guru. He along with his wife and mother admit their mistakes and surrender to the police, revealing to the police that Guru is innocent. The film ends with Guru being released and a voiceover stating that we must overcome prejudices connected with country, religion, etc., and live together equally.

Cast

Soundtrack

Swasthik
Soundtrack album by
V. Manohar
Released1998
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length27:54

V. Manohar composed the background score for the film and the soundtracks, with lyrics for the soundtracks penned by Manohar, Upendra and Venkatesh Prasad. The album consists of five soundtracks. [3]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Colour Colour" V. Manohar S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 4:41
2."MinchuhuLa, Minchadhiru"  Rajesh Krishnan, Suma Shastry4:17
3."Idu yelelu janumada love" Upendra Shankar Shanbhag, Rajesh Krishnan Upendra 7:03
4."Jee Jee Kyajee"Upendra Rajesh 6:09
5."Yeddelo Huduga"Venkatesh Prasad Dr. Rajkumar 5:44
Total length:27:54

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khalistan Liberation Force</span> Sikh militant group

The Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) is a Khalistani militant organisation operating in the Punjab with prominent members based in Canada, United Kingdom and Pakistan. Its objective is the creation of a sovereign Sikh nation‐state of Khalistan through armed struggle. It is responsible for numerous assassinations, abductions, and military engagements with the Indian Armed Forces during the Insurgency in Punjab. The KLF is also listed as a designated terrorist group by India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Indian Parliament attack</span> Islamic terrorist attack in New Delhi

The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a terrorist attack on the Parliament of India in New Delhi, India on 13 December 2001. The attack was carried out by five armed assailants that resulted in the deaths of six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel, and a gardener. All the five terrorists were killed by security forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raghavendra Rajkumar</span> Indian actor, singer and producer

Raghavendra Rajkumar is an Indian actor, singer and producer of Kannada cinema. He is the son of actor Dr. Rajkumar and film producer Parvathamma Rajkumar. He made his debut as a lead in the film Chiranjeevi Sudhakar (1988) before appearing in the hugely successful 1989 film Nanjundi Kalyana. He went on to star in films such as Gajapathi Garvabhanga (1989), Anukoolakkobba Ganda (1990), and Geluvina Saradaara (1996). His last prominent film was Upendra's Swasthik (1998), a box office failure. He starred in Pakkadmane Hudugi (2004) before taking a fifteen year sabbatical from acting. Since then he has produced television serials under Poornima Productions and films under Sri Vajreshwari Combines.

<i>A. K. 47</i> (1999 film) 1999 Indian film

A. K. 47 is an Indian Kannada-language action film, directed by Om Prakash Rao, starring Shiva Rajkumar, Chandni, Om Puri and Girish Karnad in pivotal roles. The music was scored by Hamsalekha. The film was simultaneously made in Telugu with the same name, starring Saikumar, with most of the cast and crew retained from the Kannada version. This film was remade in Hindi with the same title starring Kannada actor Aditya in his acting debut. The movie is said to be the first Kannada movie to collect 2 crores (gross) in the first week of its release. It went on to become a cult hit. This was the first movie to use DTS in Kannada film industry.

<i>Nanjundi Kalyana</i> 1989 Indian film

Nanjundi Kalyana is a 1989 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy film, directed by M. S. Rajashekar, starring newcomers Raghavendra Rajkumar and Malashri, with Girija Lokesh and Sundar Krishna Urs as the lead cast. The film was a major blockbuster of the year and was one among the biggest grossing Kannada films of 1989. The movie saw a theatrical run of 90 weeks.

<i>Preethse</i> 2000 Indian film

Preethse is a 2000 Indian Kannada-language psychological thriller film starring Shiva Rajkumar, Upendra and Sonali Bendre. The film was directed by D Rajendra Babu and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. The film major part was shot in Australia as well. The film is a remake of the 1993 Bollywood film Darr. The film was dubbed in Telugu as Sadist. Preethse was the second highest grossing Kannada film of the year 2000 behind Vishnuvardhan's Yajamana. It ran for 25 weeks and became Upendra's third consecutive blockbuster after A and Upendra.

<i>Lakshmi</i> (2013 film) 2013 Indian film

Lakshmi is a 2013 Indian Kannada-language action film directed by Raghava Loki starring Shiva Rajkumar, Priyamani, Saloni Aswani and Komal Kumar. The film marks Shivarajkumar's 102nd venture, and is produced by Bhaskar of Bharani Minerals. Gurukiran has composed the music and K. S. Chandrashekar is the cinematographer. Stunts are by Thriller Manju.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala</span> Chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force

Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala was a Sikh martyr and the third Jathedar of the Khalistan Liberation Force. Budhsinghwala's organization, KLF, was one of the most active Sikh militant groups of the time. Budhsinghwala had KLF join the Sohan Singh Panthic Committee and partnered with Khalistan Commando Force (Panjwar), Babbar Khalsa, Bhindranwale Tiger Force (Sangha), and Sikh Student Federation (Bittu) in militant actions. Budhsinghwala is also credited with making KLF one of the strongest and most lethal militant groups.

<i>Daari Tappida Maga</i> 1975 Indian film

Daari Tappida Maga is a 1975 Indian Kannada-language film produced and directed by Peketi Sivaram. The film stars Rajkumar, Kalpana, Aarathi, Manjula and Jayamala with K. S. Ashwath, M. V. Rajamma and Vajramuni in supporting roles and Thoogudeepa Srinivas in a cameo along with Rajkumar's second son Raghavendra in a small role in his second on screen appearance as a child artist after Sri Srinivasa Kalyana (1974). Rajkumar appeared in dual roles in the film. The music was composed by G. K. Venkatesh. The film was a commercial success and saw a theatrical run of over 175 days in multiple centres. The movie was re-released on 22 November 2019. The movie was dubbed in Malayalam in 1976 as Kollakkaran. It was later remade in Malayalam in 1980 as Manushya Mrugam.

<i>Vishwaroopam II</i> 2018 film by Kamal Haasan

Vishwaroopam II, or Vishwaroop II, is a 2018 Indian action spy film written and directed by Kamal Haasan and co-written by Atul Tiwari and Chakri Toleti. It is the sequel to Vishwaroopam (2013) and features Kamal Haasan alongside Rahul Bose, Shekhar Kapur, Pooja Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah, reprising their roles. While the first film was set in the United States, Vishwaroopam II takes place in India. The film was simultaneously shot in Tamil and Hindi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ishrat Jahan encounter killing</span> Extra-judicial killing by police in Gujarat, India

On 15 June 2004, officers of the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch and members of the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) of Ahmedabad shot and killed four people to death. Those killed in the incident were Ishrat Jahan Raza, a 19-year-old woman from Mumbra, Maharashtra, and three men – Javed Ghulam Sheikh, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar. The Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) made allegations about the entire operation being an instance of "encounter killing". The state agencies and police claimed that Ishrat Jahan and her associates were Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives involved in a plot to assassinate the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi.

<i>Premada Kanike</i> 1976 film by V. Somashekhar

Premada Kanike is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language romantic thriller film directed by V. Somashekhar and written by the duo Salim–Javed. It was produced by Jayadevi under the banner of Jayadevi films. The film starred Rajkumar, Aarathi and Jayamala in lead roles with Vajramuni and Rajashankar in supporting roles. The plot follows a teacher hired by rich man to home-school his daughter. En route, she witnesses a murder and discovers that the murderer is the father of her student.

<i>Ratha Sapthami</i> 1986 Indian film

Ratha Sapthami is a 1986 Indian Kannada-language romantic musical film directed by M. S. Rajashekar and produced by S. A. Govindaraj. It stars Shiva Rajkumar in his second venture after Anand. Debutant actress Asha Rani and playwright Parvathavani star. The musical score was composed by Upendra Kumar, while the lyrics, screenplay and dialogues were written by Chi. Udaya Shankar. P. Vasu was the co-screen play writer of this movie. The story is based on a Kannada novel of the same name by Vidyullatha Sasanoor. Ratha Sapthami opened on 12 December 1986 and was declared a musical blockbuster.

On 8 June 2014, 10 militants armed with automatic weapons, a rocket launcher, suicide vests, and grenades attacked Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. 36 people were killed, including all 10 attackers, and 18 others were wounded. The militant organisation Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) initially claimed responsibility for the attack. According to state media, the attackers were foreigners of Uzbek origin who belonged to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an Al Qaeda-linked militant organisation that works closely with TTP. The TTP later confirmed that the attack was a joint operation they executed with the IMU, who independently admitted to having supplied personnel for the attack.

<i>Yarivanu</i> 1984 Indian film

Yaarivanu is a 1984 Indian Kannada-language thriller film, directed by Dorai–Bhagavan and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar. The film stars Rajkumar, Srinath, B. Saroja Devi, Roopa Devi, Hema Choudhary and Puneeth Rajkumar. The screenplay, dialogues and lyrics were written by Chi. Udaya Shankar and story was by M. D. Sundar. Master Lohith played a double role in the movie, though both roles never appear together onscreen. It was his second dual role movie after the 1983 movie Eradu Nakshatragalu.

<i>Mass Leader</i> 2017 Indian Kannada film written and directed by Narasimha

Mass Leader is a 2017 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film written and directed by Narasimha, and produced jointly by Tarun Shivappa and Hardik Gowda. It features Shiva Rajkumar, Pranitha Subhash and Vamsi Krishna in the lead roles whilst Vijay Raghavendra, Yogesh, Gururaj Jaggesh, Sharmiela Mandre, Ashika Ranganath and Parinitha Kitty in key supporting roles. The soundtrack and score for the film is composed by Veer Samarth and the cinematography is by Guru Prashant Rai.

Sagara Deepa is a 1994 Kannada-language action drama film directed by T. S. Nagabharana who also wrote the screenplay for a novel by former Chief Minister of Karnataka, M. Veerappa Moily in 1986.

<i>Ghost</i> (2023 film) 2023 Indian Kannada-language film

Ghost is a 2023 Indian Kannada-language action heist thriller film directed by M. G. Srinivas and produced by Sandesh Nagaraj under Sandesh Production. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Jayaram, Anupam Kher, Prashant Narayanan, Satya Prakash, and Archana Jois. It is the second installment of a cinematic universe following Birbal Trilogy Case 1: Finding Vajramuni in which M. G. Srinivas had appeared as Mahesh Das. In the film, an anonymous gangster called "Big Daddy" hijacks a prison to steal hidden gold bars recovered during a CBI raid, but ACP Chengappa arrives to stop Big Daddy from executing his plans.

References

  1. ↑ "Vishwaroopam similar to Upendra's Swasthik? - Times of India". The Times of India . 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "Movie Review: Run Antony". Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  3. ↑ "Swastik - EP". iTunes. January 1998. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.