Bandhana

Doctor Harish (Vishnuvardhan) falls in love with his protege Nandini (Suhasini) but is too shy to express his feelings for her. When he finally musters the courage to tell her that he loves her, he finds out that she holds him in high esteem more as a Guru. She tells him she is unable to reciprocate his romantic love. Nandini marries an engineer Balu (Jai Jagadish), who is incidentally Harish's friend. Harish starts withdrawing into a shell. Marital problems crop between Nandini and Balu because of her dedication to her career as a doctor. Harish develops a heart enlargement condition which draws Nandini closer to him in the hospital. This frustrates Balu who accuses her of having an affair with Harish. When Nandini discovers that Balu has assaulted their house maid she decides to leave him. Harish tries to convince Balu that his relationship with Nandini is pure but Balu misbehaves with him. Harish saves Nandini's baby but dies because of his advanced heart condition. Nandini divorces her husband and moves on with her new born child.

[5]

When director Rajendra Singh Babu cast Vishnu for a love story like Bandhana, the industry had been skeptical, for Vishnu was known more for his action roles. But the director's faith in the actor and the way Vishnu managed the role of Dr. Harish built up reputation in the industry. [6]

The script was first prepared in the late 1970s. The movie was dedicated to the late Kalpana.[7] The director had wanted to cast the legendary Kalpana in the lead role of Dr. Nandini, before she died in 1979. Ambareesh was a contender for the role of Balu. By the time the shooting of the film began in 1983/84 Ambareesh was a popular "hero" and the role went to Jai Jagadish who was a top villain at the time (Incidentally he would become the director's sister Vijayalakshmi Singh's husband, a few years later) Suhasini was cast to play the female lead and became good friends with Babu and his sister. The film was shot in several scenic locales such as Lakya Dam, Hanumanagundi Falls, Lalitha Mahal Palace, Krishnarjuna Sagar Dam, Harangi Dam and the Grand Ashok Hotel in Bangalore.[8]

Usha Navratnaram's novel was a literary romance that dealt with the inner feelings of the lead players. Babu with his strong command of film-making techniques, effectively adapted the novel into a screenplay rich in visuals and external drama that are required for the medium of cinema. He also showed a penchant for filming on a grander scale like the Hindi movies of the time - be it the Holi song or the prominent presence of the grand piano in the wedding song.

The movie was certified on 26 July 1984 and was released on 24 August the same year. The songs of the movie were chart busters.

Bandhana
Soundtrack cover
Soundtrack album by M. Ranga Rao
Released	1984
Recorded	Prasad Studios
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Label	Sangeetha
M. Ranga Rao chronology
Benki Birugali (1984) Bandhana (1984) Bedaru Bombe (1984)

M. Ranga Rao composed the soundtrack, and the lyrics were written by R. N. Jayagopal. The album consists of four soundtracks. The track of Banna Nanna Olavina Banna was based on the tune of the soundtrack Per Qualche Dollaro In Più - Spanish Intro Opening Theme from the 1965 movie For a Few Dollars More.[13]

Bandhana was remade in Tamil as Premapasam. The tamil version released in 1985 had Sivakumar and Revathy in the lead roles. The movie was directed by K.Vijayan and had musical score by Gangai Amaran. [14]

• Bandhana on IMDb