Sparsha (film)

Sparsha
Film VCD cover
Directed by	Sunil Kumar Desai
Produced by	Sarovar Sanjeev Rao
Screenplay by	Sunil Kumar Desai
Story by	Sunil Kumar Desai
Starring	Sudeep Rekha Sudha Rani Naveen Mayur
Music by	Hamsalekha
Cinematography	H. C. Venu
Edited by	R. Janardhan
Production company	Sarovar Productions
Release date	23 July 1999 (1999-07-23)
Running time	154 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada
Budget	₹200 million (equivalent to ₹590 million or US$8.2 million in 2017)[1]

Sparsha (English: The Touch) is a 1999 Indian Kannada film written and directed by Sunil Kumar Desai. It stars Sudeep, Rekha and Sudha Rani in lead roles. Naveen Mayur, Sihi Kahi Chandru, Kashi, Umashree and Vanishree feature in supporting roles.

Upon theatrical release on 23 July 1999, the film opened to widespread positive response from critics and filmgoers. However, the screening had to be stopped after bandh was called for in most towns and cities and towns of Karnataka following the abduction of Rajkumar, the Kannada actor, in July 2000, thereby affecting the film's collections.^[1] After normalcy resumed, the film completed a 100-day run in theatres.^[2]

Plot

Sudeep (Sudeep) is a film actor and model. He falls in love with Suma (Rekha) during a film shoot in Ooty. They meet each other, share their views and Sudeep meets with Suma's family. These incidents educate Sudeep that those who are make some mistakes they themselves correct and apologies next when Sudeep rushing to see off his lover at the Ooty railway station, accidentally knocks an unknown young woman, Radha (Sudha Rani), into the path of a moving train. Radha does not see who knocked her over, but only catches a glimpse of the jacket he wears. The accident causes her to lose a leg, as well as the love of her fiancé. Sudeep rushes to the accident spot and takes her to the hospital. He takes care of her, but restrains from telling both Radha and Suma that he was responsible for the accident. To avoid the consequences, Sudeep offer to marry Radha. Suma hurt by his sudden change of heart, but accepts his decision. Radha accepts his offer too, but continues to hunt for the man who knocked her over.

Cast

Production

Prior to Sparsha, Sudeep had appeared in minor roles in Thayavva (1997) and Prathyartha (1999). The director of the latter film, Sunil Kumar Desai, was roped to direct Sparsha by Sudeep's father Sarovar Sanjeev, who produced the film under the banner Sarovar Productions. Filming which began in early 2000 had to be stopped a few days into, after Sudeep fell ill from typhoid. He "lost weight" and "looked haggard" before the shooting resumed. Filming took place for a period of 99 days in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Darjeeling, Ooty, Kushalnagar and Chikmagalur.^[2]

Soundtrack

Hamsalekha scored for the film and its soundtracks, also penning lyrics for the soundtrack with Shyamsundar Kulkarni, K. Kalyan, Itagi Eeranna, Doddarange Gowda and R. N. Jayagopal. The album consists of eight tracks and was distributed in the market by Akash Audio.^[3]

Release and response

The film was released theatrically on 9 June 2000. After a good run in Karnataka having overwhelming response from audiences, it was 'special' screened in parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.^[1] Between 2001 and 2002, it was screened in various parts of the US including Cleveland, Detroit, Washington DC, Chicago, Fremont, California and Dallas.^[4]

The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics upon release. M. D. Riti reviewed the film for Rediff.com and wrote, "Desai relies largely on music to carry this film through. But the music is, of course, of a very different genre: it is soft, melodious and full of Kannada shayari." Despite rating the film well, she felt that it lacked the "special appeal that Desai's earlier films, Beladingala Baale and Nishkarsha had". She further wrote, "Where Sparsha seems to fall short is in the acting skills of its lead pair. Rekha comes across as rather wooden, while Sudeep certainly has the chocolate box good looks that his role calls for, but fails to deliver any powerful histrionics." Adding to it, she rated the music highly before concluding writing, " If only the stars had had more charisma or talent, this film by Desai might have made him even better remembered than his past ventures."^[5]

Awards and nominations

2000–01 Karnataka State Film Awards

• Best Lyricist — Itagi Eeranna^[6]

48th Filmfare Awards South^[7]

• Best Film
• Best Director — Sunil Kumar Desai
• Best Actress — Sudha Rani

Film Fan's Association Awards – Kannada^[8][9]

• Best Film
• Best Actor — Sudeep
• Best Supporting Actress — Sudharani

Cinema Express Awards

• Best Film – Kannada^[10]
• Best Director — Sunil Kumar Desai

2001 Asianet Kaveri Film Awards^[11]

• Best Director — Sunil Kumar Desai
• Best New Face of The Year (Male) — Sudeep
• Best New Face of The Year (Female) — Rekha
• Best Cameraman — H. C. Venu
• Best Music Director — Hamsalekha (also for Shabdavedhi)
• Best Lyricist — Hamsalekha (also for Shabdavedhi, Yajamana and Preethse)

2000 Videocon–Suprabhata Awards^[12]

• Best Film
• Best Director — Sunil Kumar Desai
• Best Newcomer Actor — Sudeep
• Best Newcomer Actress — Rekha
• Best Cinematographer — H. C. Venu
• Best Editor — R. Janardhan

The Karnataka Welfare Association For Blind

• Award — Sudeep ^[13]

References

External links

• Sparsha on IMDb