Kannada cinema industry is not a familiar name among the moviegoers in other industries earlier. Only for the past few years, the audience across the country are looking forward to Kannada movies as the way the filmmakers and actors are coming up with some authentic action and content-oriented dramas which have been impressing everyone. But the Kannada film has its own set of films which are even praised today for the content they dealt with. While some of them got good applause from the audience, a few are left as critically acclaimed films. Now, we bring you the list of Top 10 Must Watch Underrated Kannada Movies of All Time.
Released in 1988, Bhoomi Thaayiya Chichchala Maha is an action drama written and directed by Rajendra Singh Babu. Featuring Shivarajkumar, Ramesh Aravind in the lead roles, the film also has Vijayalakshmi and Shilpa in key roles. Though the movie won Karnataka state award for the special film of social concern, best story writer (Rajendra Singh Babu) and best dialogue-writer for S. Surendranath, it was a flop at the box office. Later, the film got good applause when aired on Television.
Starring legendary Dr Raj Kumar in the lead role, Ondu Muttina Kathe was a 1987 movie directed by Shankar Nag. It is considered one of the classic movies in the history of Kannada Cinema. The movie was based on John Steinbeck’s book The Pearl and can be termed as one of the classics in the Kannada film industry. The film was a flop at the box office when it was released but later got good applause from the audience when aired on Television.
Released in 1977, Ghatashraddha directed by Girish Kasaravalli was not a hit when released in the theatres. Starring Meena Kuttappa, Narayana Bhatt, and Ajith Kumar in lead roles, Ghatashraddha is based on the novel written by U.R Ananth Murthy which was sensually presented by Mr Kasaravalli. The film has won three awards at the 25th National Film Awards (Best feature film, Best Music Direction for B.V Karanth and Best Child Artist for Ajith Kumar).
Chigurida Kanasu was a 2003 Kannada film directed by Nagabharana. Starring ShivRajkumar, Rekha Unnikrishnan, and Avinash in the lead roles, the film is based on the novel of the same name by Shivaram Karanth (Jnanapitha Award winner). Produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar, the screenplay and dialogues were written by Jayanth Kaikini. Though the movie won four state awards for first best film, Best Actor, Best Dialogues and Best Music (V.Manohar), it was a box office flop.
Tarka is an inspiration for the 1973 classic Hindi film “Dhund.” The era of Sunil Kumar Desai’s film career in the Kannada movie industry started with Tarka. Directed by Shankar Nag, the film was not received well by the audience during its release time.
Written and directed by Dinesh Babu, Laali is a 1997 Kannada film featuring Vishnuvardhan, Mohini and Shanti Krishna in the lead roles. Even Vishnuvardhan’s got the Best Actor of the Year Award in 1997 but sadly the film was an average grosser at the box office.
Ananth Nag starrer Udbhava is a 1990 film directed by Kodlu Rama Krishna. Alongside Anant Nag, the film also stars K.S Ashwath, Sundar Raj and others in the lead roles. The film is one of the most underrated Kannada movies.
The film is an inspiration by one of Suresh Heblikar’s notable movies. This suspenseful thriller is one of the most underrated films in the Kannada industry.
Released in 2008, Gulabi Talkies was directed by Girish Kasaravalli and it is based on a short story written by Kannada writer Vaidehi. Though the film was premiered at the Osian’s Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema and won the Best Film and Best Actress Awards and even Umashree got National award for her performance, the film was not a success at the box office.
This Rakshith Shetty directional was released in 2014. Basically, Ulidavaru Kandanthe is a neo-noir crime drama anthology film which was an average grosser at the box office. Later, the film got good applause from the audience when it is out on online streaming channels.
