Om (1995 film)

For the 2003 Bollywood film directed by Ashok Honda, see Om (2003 film).

Om
Theatrical re-release poster
Directed byUpendra
Written byS. Muralimohan (dialogues)
Screenplay byUpendra
Story byUpendra
Produced byParvathamma Rajkumar
StarringShiva Rajkumar
Prema
CinematographyB. C. Gowrishankar
Edited byT. Shashikumar
Music byHamsalekha
Production
company
Poornima Enterprises
Distributed bySri Vajreshwari Combines
Release date
  • 19 May 1995 (1995-05-19)
Running time
150 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageKannada

Om, stylized as ॐ, is a 1995 Indian Kannada-language action crime film written and directed by Upendra. The film was produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar under the production company Sri Vajreshwari Combines. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar and Prema with Srishanthi, G. V. Shivanand, Sadhu Kokila in supporting roles with real-life gangsters - Bekkina Kannu Rajendra, Tanveer, Korangu Krishna and Jedaralli Krishnappa - portraying the role of gangsters in a small but important portion of the movie.[1]

The film was notable for its exposure of Bangalore's criminal underworld. The film's plot revolves around Satya, son of a priest who becomes a gangster after his lover frames him for a murder. The rest of the film is about Satya leaving the rowdyism. The soundtrack was composed by Hamsalekha who also wrote the lyrics for all songs. B. C. Gowrishankar and Shashikumar handled cinematography and editing respectively.[2]

Om was remade in Telugu as Omkaram (1997) starring Dr.Rajshekar and Prema which was also directed by Upendra. Hamsalekha was also the music director of the Telugu remake and retained the songs from this movie in the Telugu version.[3] The movie was unofficially remade in Hindi as Arjun Pandit (1999).[4] The 2001 Bangladeshi movie Panja was loosely inspired by the core plotline of this movie.[5] UP gangster Vikas Dubey was reported to be an ardent fan of Arjun Pandit.[6]

The movie which was made under a budget of around 70 lakhs was the costliest film for Dr.Raj banner at that time. It made a pre-release business of around 2 crores.[7] The film became a successful venture at the box office and was declared an industry hit. It remains a cult classic film in Kannada cinema with a dedicated fan following among audience owing to its re-release every two weeks. This film has a Limca record for re-releasing more than 550 times.[8] The movie was reported to be the highest screened film in the history of Kannada cinema.[9] The movie has released 30 times in Kapali theatre, Bangalore which is a record.[10] On the occasion of completion of 25 years, Upendra had revealed that the core plot of the movie was based on a real-life person - Purshi who was his brother's friend.[11][12][13] The movie is credited for ushering in the genre of underworld mafia in a full-fledged manner in Kannada cinema.[14]

  1. ^ "Om Kannada Movie | Super star Upendra directed Shiva Rajkumar starrer Of movie during his college days | ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ ಕಾಲೇಜು ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದ ಕಥೆ 'ಓಂ' ಸಿನಿಮಾವಾಗಿ ಮೂಡಿ ಬಂದಾಗ..!". kannada.news18.com. 16 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Om – ಓಂ (1995/೧೯೯೫)". Kannada Movies Info. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  3. ^ "'ಓಂ' ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ ಪರಭಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಸದ್ದು ಮಾಡಿತ್ತು! ಯಾವ್ಯಾವ ಭಾಷೆಗೆ ರಿಮೇಕ್ ಆಗಿದೆ ನೋಡಿ". Vijaya Karnataka.
  4. ^ S M, Shashiprasad (12 July 2023). "Hit films of Kannada superstar Shivanna that were remade in other languages". South First. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  5. ^ "ದಾಖಲೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ಪರಭಾಷೆಗೂ ರಿಮೇಕ್ ಆಗಿತ್ತು 'ಓಂ' | Unknown Facts of OM Kannada Movie". kannada.news18.com. 19 May 2020.
  6. ^ "How Vikas Dubey became the 'Gabbar' of Bikru". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020.
  7. ^ "21 Years of Kannada Cult Classic Film " OM " – travel 2 films".
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference si was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "OM still chanting".
  10. ^ "Edition". Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  11. ^ "'ಓಂ' ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ಬೇಸರ ಆಗಿದ್ದು ಅದೊಂದೇ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ: ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ | Kannada actor Upendra interview about Silver jubilee movie Om". kannada.asianetnews.com.
  12. ^ "25 years of gangster film 'Om'". Deccan Herald. 23 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Cult film 'Om' clocks 25, Actor Shivarajkumar and director Upendra on its making". The New Indian Express. 19 May 2020.
  14. ^ Khajane, Muralidhara (21 October 2022). "'Head Bush' movie review: Dhananjaya shines in a promising, but caricaturish gangster drama". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022.