Premada Kanike | |
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Directed by | V. Somashekhar |
Screenplay by | Chi. Udaya Shankar |
Story by | Salim–Javed |
Produced by | Jayadevi |
Starring | Rajkumar Aarathi Jayamala |
Cinematography | D. V. Rajaram |
Edited by | P. Bhakthavathsalam |
Music by | Upendra Kumar |
Production company | Jayadevi Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 151 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Kannada |
Premada Kanike (transl. A Token of Love) is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language crime 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.[1]
The story of the film was written by the acclaimed duo Salim–Javed who made their debut in South Indian cinema as original story writers [2] for which they rehashed the story of the 1969 film Do Bhai, by retaining only the core plotline which was originally credited only to Salim Khan under the name of Prince Salim. This was Salim–Javed's first release after Sholay.[3] The film also marked the onscreen debuts of Rajkumar's children — Lohith and Poornima Rajkumar.[4] It was remade in Tamil in 1980 as Polladhavan and in Hindi in 1981 as Raaz.[5]
Premada Kanike saw a theatrical run of 25 weeks[6] upon release and was declared a blockbuster at the box-office. The film has since attained cult status for redefining the thriller genre in Kannada cinema.[5] The songs composed by Upendra Kumar were received extremely well and considered evergreen hits. The film went on to win multiple awards and accolades including the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Film.