Naanu Avanalla...Avalu
| Naanu Avanalla...Avalu | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release Poster | |
| Directed by | B. S. Lingadevaru |
| Produced by | Ravi R. Garani |
| Written by | Living Smile Vidya |
| Screenplay by | B. S. Lingadevaru |
| Story by | B. S. Lingadevaru |
| Based on |
I am Vidya by Living Smile Vidya |
| Starring | Sanchari Vijay |
| Music by | Anoop Seelin |
| Cinematography | Ashok V. Raman |
| Edited by | Nagendra K. Ujjani |
Production company |
RG Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
Naanu Avanalla...Avalu (Kannada: ನಾನು ಅವನಲ್ಲ... ಅವಳು, English: I am not a he, but she) is a 2015 Indian Kannada feature film directed by B. S. Lingadevaru, based on Living Smile Vidya's autobiographical work I am Vidya.[1] Based on the life of Living Smile Vidya, a transgender woman, the film revolves around her life as she, growing up as a boy cherishes her feminine characteristics and begins living as a woman, Vidya, and depicts the appalling life of the transgender community in the Indian society. Sanchari Vijay plays the role of Vidya, with Sumithra, Kunal Punekar and Sundar featuring in supporting roles.
Naanu Avanalla...Avalu premiered at the 62nd National Film Festival in May 2015, and won two awards at the 62nd National Film Awards — Best Actor (Vijay) and Best Make-up Artist (Raju, Nagaraj).[2] Prior to theatrical release in India on 25 September 2015, the film also premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2015.[3]
Plot
Naanu Avanalla...Avalu is a tribute to everyone whose everyday life is a struggle. The film focuses on a transgender woman, who is destined to have a life of utter neglect and disappointment.
On a regular patrol in Bangalore, the night duty police catches few transgender prostitutes who are waiting for customers. An innocent transgender person by the name of Vidhya, who was walking towards her home, is also caught. The inspector asks Vidhya about why she is living this life. Then the movie switches to a young boy called Madesha's life.
Madesha is a 10-year-old boy lives in a small village. He exhibits feminine behaviors and some of his school mates bully him. At home, his parents and elder sister support him and want him to study well and become a respected person in the society. One day the enthusiastic Madesha wears his sister's costumes and acts girlish. His father sees him and advises him to be like a man and not play a female role even in dramas. Gradually, after few years, his sister gets married and moves to Bangalore. Some villagers learn of Madesha's girl-like behavior and complain to his father to take him to a doctor or a priest. Meanwhile, Madesha fails in his college exams and develops a crush on his friend Govinda who happens to be a boy. Madesha's father scolds him for his failure in education and also highlights his girl-like behavior. Madesha leaves the village and moves to Bangalore to live with his sister's family.
He gets a job in Bangalore and also completes his Master of Arts through evening college. He finds it difficult to live like a man and is often bullied by many people in Bangalore for his girlish behaviour. One day he befriends someone at the bus-stop who is also feminine, who takes Madesha to his house.
Madesha shows total uneasiness living as a man and wishes to become a woman. He meets the head of the transgender community, Danamma, and asks for her help. Danamma send Madesha to Pune to be with her associate Nani; there, Madesha transforms and is renamed Vidhya.
Vidhya is forced to beg to earn her livelihood. She takes Nirvana (sexual reassignment surgery). Vidhya rejects prostitution, and wishes to earn her livelihood by working, but employers discriminate against transgender people. One day she is beaten up and thrown out of a train while begging. Vidhya moves back to her native village, but Vidhya's sister and parents are stunned to see her in the new look and reject her. They force her to come back as Madesha, but Vidhya rejects that by stating she wants to live and die as a girl. She says goodbye to them and goes out from their house.
Now the movie switches to the present. The police inspector, after hearing Vidhya's/Madesha's story, assures her a job of an assistant to his friend who happens to be a film director. The movie ends with the real pictures of Vidhya who become successful in her life and campaigning for rights of transgender people.
Cast
- Sanchari Vijay as Madesha / Vidya
- Sumithra
- Kunal Punekar
- Sundar
- Maniyamma
- Bhoopal H. M.
- Shivshankar Kadadevarmath
- Shailashree S. T.
- Savitha K. Avarasang
- Aravind Kuplikar
Soundtrack
| Naanu Avanalla...Avalu | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Anoop Seelin | |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
Anoop Seelin composed the film score and the soundtrack, lyrics for which was written by Arasu Anthare. The soundtrack album consists of three tracks.
| Track list | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Ganga Nadi Mindaythu" | Arasu Anthare | Anoop Seelin, Arasu Anthare | |
| 2. | "Gubbacchi Kannige" | Arasu Anthare | Anoop Seelin | |
| 3. | "Vaare Vaare" | Arasu Anthare | Anoop Seelin | |
Marketing
Upon receiving critical acclaim winning two National Film Awards and having premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2015, Naanu Avanalla...Avalu generated curiosity domestically. 25 September 2015 was announced as the date of theatrical release in India. Promotion of the film began around a month prior to release. In Karnataka, the primary market for Kannada cinema, single-screen cinema owners refused to screen as they found the film not "commercial enough".[4] On requests from the makers, film distributors too refused to take up the film for distribution, not anticipating profits. Subsequently, the film received support from actors Yash, Sudeep, Shiva Rajkumar, Puneeth Rajkumar, Sharan and Ganesh who promoted the film on social media platforms. On watching the film and learning of the makers' woes, Yash persuaded distributors Jayanna and Bhogendra to distribute it, who had previously produced and distributed many of his films.[4] The film also received support from and was promoted by directors Ram Gopal Varma and Girish Kasaravalli. With minimal support from single-screen owners, owners of various multiplexes in Bangalore finally agreed to screen the film. A few members of the Indian branch of Rotary International, the Rotary Club, offered their support by booking the first 10,000 tickets of the film.[5]
Awards
- National Film Award for Best Actor - Sanchari Vijay
- National Film Award for Best Make-up Artist - Raju, Nagaraj
- Best Actor - Sanchari Vijay
- Best Story - Living Smile Vidya
And participated following film festivals. 1. Indian select, KIFF -Kolkata, 2015 2. Indian cinema section, IFFK -2015, Kerala 3. Indian Panorama, CIFF -2016, Chennai, 4. Indian cinema, PIFF- 2016, Pune, 5. IFFM-2015, Melbourne, Australia 6. Bangalore International Film Festival, and won 2nd best Kannada Film Award 7. London Indian film festival, 2016.
See also
References
- ↑ Khajane, Muralidhara (25 March 2015). "End of a 27-year drought for Best Actor Award". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ↑ "62nd National Film Awards: List of Winners". NDTV. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ↑ Prasad S., Shyam (22 September 2015). "Film release: Overseas first, city next". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- 1 2 Sharadhaa, A. (23 September 2015). "A Film Lauded by Outsiders Turned Away at Home". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ↑ Khajane, Muralidhara (24 September 2015). "Film on transgenders set to hit multiplex screens in State". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
External links
- ' at the Internet Movie Database