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Geethanjali (1989 film)

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Geethanjali
Films poster
Directed byMani Ratnam
Screenplay byMani Ratnam
Dialogue by
Story byMani Ratnam
Produced byChittamuru Praveen Kumar Reddy
Starring
CinematographyP. C. Sreeram
Edited byB. Lenin
V. T. Vijayan
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Bhagyalakshmi Enterprises
Distributed byBhagyalakshmi Enterprises
Release date
  • 12 May 1989 (1989-05-12)
Running time
135 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu

Geethanjali (/ɡiːθɑːndʒəli/) is a 1989 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars Nagarjuna and Girija who appears as the titular character in her film debut. The music is composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Upon release, the film was a commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and also won six state Nandi Awards. The film was later remade in Hindi as Yaad Rakhegi Duniya (1992).

Plot

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Prakash, a carefree, mischievous student graduates from College. During his celebration with his friends, he gets into a road accident. Although the accident is only minor, during medical tests, he is diagnosed with terminal cancer and has a few months to live. Unable to hear his mother's constant wailing, he packs his bags and leaves to his family's vacation home in Ooty to spend a happy and peaceful time .

There, he meets Geetanjali, who enjoys playing pranks on people around her. In one incident, Geetanjali asks a guy to meet her near a church after sundown to elope with her. When he comes to meet her, she along with her sisters and friends play an elaborate prank by dressing up as ghosts to scare him away. When she tries to pull the same prank on Prakash, who is already aware of this, it backfires as he pulls a bigger prank on her by dressing himself as a vampire and along with aerial wire stunts, scares her.

After being unsuccessful in scaring Prakash away, Geethanjali forms another plan in which she complains to her grandmother that Prakash had asked her (Geethanjali) to elope with him. Furious at this knowledge, Geethanjali's grandmother confronts Prakash about it. Though Prakash tries his best to explain the truth, Geethanjali's grandmother chides him and humiliates him in public. Prakash becomes angry and retaliates by driving Geethanjali to a hillside area and leaving her there. Later that night, Geethanjali's youngest sister comes to Prakash and tells him that Geethanjali has still not returned home and they are getting worried about her. Prakash goes out to look for her and upon finding her shivering in the cold, brings her back to her family. Geethanjali's grandmother scolds Prakash for pulling such a stunt on Geethanjali as such things could have worsened her health condition. Curious at this, Prakash inquires about her health. To his dismay, he finds out that she has a terminal illness. This intrigues him as she is always happy and energetic. Geethanjali tells him that she's not worried about her impending death as everyone who lives in this world will be gone someday. She also tells him that she's not bothered about what happens in the future and she only lives for today. This teaches Prakash to take his own impending death in stride and live life to the fullest.

Prakash begins to fall in love with Geethanjali and pursues her. Thinking that this is also a part of his mischief, Geethanjali keeps putting him off. But one thing leads to another and soon, she too reciprocates his love. One day, Prakash's mother comes to visit him and finds out about her son's love. Not knowing that Prakash has been keeping his illness a secret from Geethanjali, his mother blurts out the truth to Geethanjali. She becomes heart-broken knowing that Prakash's condition is worse than her own. She confronts Prakash and tells him to leave her. Prakash reminds Geethanjali that everyone dies one day and so will he. He tells her that his death is no exception. But a devastated Geethanjali admits that his own life is more important to her than her own and she would not be able to see his death. She begs him to leave her and tells him that she doesn't want to see him again. That night, Geethanjali's health worsens and she is admitted in the hospital. After getting the news, Prakash rushes to the hospital to meet her, but Geethanjali's father, who happens to be a doctor, requests him to leave since Geethanjali wishes the same. Prakash becomes sad and decides to leave the town. At the same time, Geethanjali undergoes an operation for her heart. Hours after her operation, Geethanjali slowly opens her eyes. Her whole family rejoices at her recovery. Geethanjali looks at her father and tells him that she wants to meet Prakash. The family finds out that he is planning to leave the town and rush to the railway station. Prakash sees Geethanjali and turns back to run to her and hold her hand which she outstretches. The movie ends as Geethanjali and Prakash reunite and kiss.

Cast

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Special appearances (listed alphabetically)

Production

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Development

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Nagarjuna, fascinated by Mani Ratnam's Mouna Ragam (1986), was eager to collaborate with the director.[3] Recognizing his own cinematic sensibilities through Ratnam's work, he persistently waited outside Ratnam's house each morning, hoping to engage in conversations during the director's daily walks. After a month of persistence, Nagarjuna persuaded Ratnam to direct a Telugu film with him in the lead.[3] Despite initial reluctance, Ratnam agreed, leading to the creation of Geethanjali—his only Telugu film.[4] The story, inspired by the film Young Die First, was about two characters who know they are going to die soon. Ratnam developed the story and screenplay based on this concept. The title Geethanjali was inspired by a Delhi-based 11-year-old girl suffering from cancer, whose emotional diary entries were published at the time, deeply moving Ratnam, who decided to name both the film and its heroine after her.[5]

Cast and crew

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Girija, born in London to a Kannada mother and a British father, was cast as the lead actress in Geethanjali after Mani Ratnam noticed her at his wedding to Suhasini, where she accompanied the sister of cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth. She trained under a senior associate director for two months before filming.[5] During post-production, her voice was dubbed by Rohini.[6]

Mani Ratnam, impressed with Rajasri's work on Telugu dubs of his Tamil films, asked him to write for his first straight Telugu film. Rajasri agreed, and Mani Ratnam ensured that every dialogue was translated into Tamil and made adjustments as necessary. The film featured fewer dialogues compared to a typical love story.[5]

Filming

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Principal photography began on 12 October 1988 and was completed in sixty working days. Suhasini, newly-wedded to Mani Ratnam, clapped the first shot. The filming started early at dawn, around 5 AM, and wrapped up by about 11 AM, with the cast and crew arriving on location an hour before filming. Most of the scenes were shot in the misty valleys of Ooty, chosen by Director Mani Ratnam for its soft, poetic atmosphere to capture a dreamy, romantic feel. The hero’s house scenes were filmed at a hotel in Ooty where Nagarjuna stayed, and the heroine’s house was a guesthouse in Ooty. Additional scenes set in Madras were filmed at the Vasan House, owned by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios. An ice machine was brought from Madras to enhance the mist when needed.[5]

The film's songs were shot across various scenic locations. "Jallanta Kavvinta" and "Aamani Paadave" were filmed in Ooty. "O Priyaa, Priyaa" was shot in Jaisalmer with around 100 camels and completed in one week. The film featured innovative techniques, such as using ice for mist effects and employing a round trolley for a single-take song. P. C. Sreeram's cinematography was praised for its natural, poetic style capturing the serenity of Ooty with wide-angle lenses and presenting the lead actors with soft lenses to create a dreamlike appearance.[5]

Climax

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In the film's climax, a dialogue was added that reads, "Enni rojulu bratukutaaro teliyadu kaanii bratikinannaallu santoshamgaa untaaru" ("No one knows how many days they will live, but they will live those remaining days happily"). This change was influenced by the President of Nagarjuna’s Fan Association, who expressed dissatisfaction with the initially tragic ending. He suggested that the conclusion should reflect a more positive outcome, since both hero and heroine dying would not make the audiences happy. Consequently, the last scene was revised to align with this feedback.[5]

Soundtrack

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The film's soundtrack, composed by Ilaiyaraaja, was a major hit even before the film's release. Lyrics for the songs were written by Veturi.[7][8] Mani Ratnam had the lyrics translated into English to understand their meaning, and he was so impressed that Veturi became the permanent lyricist for all his future films. Both the soundtrack and background music played a key role in the film's success and remained popular with audiences.[9] The song "O Priya Priya" was later unofficially adapted into the Hindi film Dil (1990) by Anand-Milind.[5]

Telugu
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."O Priya Priya!"K. S. Chithra, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam5:44
2."Jagada Jagada"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:24
3."Aamani Paadave"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:24
4."Nandikonda Vaagullona"K. S. Chithra, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam5:02
5."Om Namaha"S. Janaki, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:06
6."O Papa Lali!"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:27
7."Jallanta Kavvinta"K. S. Chithra4:08
Total length:32:40

All lyrics are written by Vaali; all music is composed by Ilaiyaraaja

Tamil
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."O Priya Priya!"Mano, K. S. Chithra 
2."Vidiya Vidiya Nadanam"Mano 
3."Kaviyam Padava Thendrale"Mano 
4."Kattukulle Paatu Sollum"Mano, K. S. Chithra 
5."Om Namaha"Mano, S. Janaki 
6."O Papa Laali"Mano 
7."Aththadi Ammadi"K. S. Chithra 

Release

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The film as produced on a budget of around ₹1.2 crore. Nagarjuna was paid ₹7.5 lakh while Mani Ratnam’s remuneration was ₹10 lakh. Due to distributor skepticism, Praveen Kumar Reddy distributed the film himself in in select places like Visakhapatnam. It was released on 19 May 1989 and was a commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres. The film was dubbed in Tamil as Idhayate Thirudaade (transl. Don’t steal [my] heart) and was released on 5 July 1989, and was also successful. It was dubbed into Malayalam. The film was unofficially remade in Hindi as Yaad Rakhegii Duniya (1992).[5]

Accolades

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Event Award Awardee Ref.
37th National Film Awards Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment Geethanjali [10]
37th Filmfare Awards South Best Director – Telugu Mani Ratnam [11]
Nandi Awards Best Feature Film – Gold P. R. Prasad, C. Praveen Kumar Reddy [12]
Best Story Writer Mani Ratnam
Best Male Comedian Suthi Velu
Best Choreography Sundaram Master
Best Cinematographer P. C. Sreeram
Best Art Direction Thota Tharani

Legacy

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Geethanjali made Nagarjuna a heartthrob among Telugu audiences, attracting a significant female following and marking a turning point in his career. Released five months before another major hit, Siva, both films solidified Nagarjuna's appeal to both class and mass audiences, paving the way for future blockbusters. Girija’s costumes from the film became popular among the younger generation, while Nagarjuna’s hairstyle set a trend. Mani Ratnam also gained considerable recognition in Andhra Pradesh due to this film.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Rangan 2012, p. 290.
  2. ^ a b Keramalu, Karthik (22 June 2021). "Finding The Roots Of Mani Ratnam's Geethanjali". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Interview with Nagarjuna about Soggade Chinni Nayana". Idlebrain.com. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  4. ^ Jha, Subhash K (10 April 2014). "Nagarjuna, Mahesh Babu to star in Mani Ratnam's next". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Sri (6 August 2008). "Movie Retrospect : Geetanjali (1989)". Telugucinema.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  6. ^ Kumar, P. K. Ajith (11 August 2011). "Back in action". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Geetanjali (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Ilaiyaraaja". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Geethanjali (1989) Telugu Super Hit Movie LP Vinyl Record by Ilaiyaraja". Disco Music Center. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  9. ^ Rangan 2012, p. 82.
  10. ^ "37th National Film Festival" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Double honour for Kamal". The Indian Express. 14 June 1990. p. 3. Retrieved 9 September 2021 – via Google News Archive.
  12. ^ "నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964–2008)" [A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964–2008)] (PDF) (in Telugu). Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Villain press meet". Sify. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.

Sources

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