America America (1995 film)
America! America!! is a 1995 Indian Kannada family drama film written and directed by Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar.[1] It features Ramesh Aravind, Akshay Anand and Hema Panchamukhi essaying the key roles whilst H. G. Dattatreya, Vaishali Kasaravalli and Shivaram performing the supporting roles. The plot revolves around three childhood friends hailing from a coastal village of Karnataka who get entangled in the marital issues after flying and settling in the United States. The film makes an attempt to study the psyche of Non-resident Indians who are settled abroad.
| America! America!! | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar |
| Produced by | G. Nandakumar |
| Written by | Nagathihalli Chandrashekar |
| Screenplay by | Nagathihalli Chandrashekar |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Mano Murthy |
| Cinematography | Sunny Joseph |
| Edited by | Basavaraj Urs |
Production company | Vishwapriya Films |
Release date | 1995 |
Running time | 153 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
| Budget | ₹0.75 Crores |
The film was produced by G. Nandakumar under Vishwapriya Films banner and was made on a budget of ₹0.75 Crores. Whilst the ninety percent of filming was in San Francisco, U.S.A, few shots were canned in the coastal regions of Kundapura, Udupi District and Chikmagalur District of Karnataka in India.[2] The film's successful and acclaimed soundtrack was composed by Mano Murthy, who debuted as a film composer with this film.
The film released in early 1997 to both critical and commercial success. Upon release, the film won the National Award for Best Kannada film in the regional category. This was followed by a string of other awards won for best actor and best film categories. Emerging as a commercial success, the film grossed around ₹5.1Crore within the first two months of its release.[3]
Plot
Three childhood friends – Surya (Ramesh Aravind), Shashank (Akshay Anand) and Bhoomi (Hema Panchamukhi) – are from the coastal region of Karnataka. After finishing their undergraduate studies, Shashank goes to the US for further studies. Surya is extremely patriotic about India and doesn't want to go anywhere and starts his business in his hometown, and Bhoomi stays at home. After three years, Shashank comes back to India. He starts going off on India on his way from the airport, saying how much greater America is. While in India, his family arranges his marriage to Bhoomi. Surya, on the other hand, is the one who truly loves Bhoomi and tries to tell her using recorded audio tape and plants it in Bhoomi's room having no idea that she is to be married to Shashank.
That evening Surya learns of the marriage plans. Confused, he rushes to Bhoomi's house to take the tape back. Before he could get there, someone who was cleaning Bhoomi's room accidentally replaces it with another cassette. Surya, thus unknowingly, grabs the wrong tape and throws it into a nearby river. After the marriage ceremony, Shashank and Bhoomi leave for the US.
Everything goes well until Shashank loses his job and starts to drink. Surya, in the meantime, surprises Bhoomi and Shashank and goes to the US for business, but egotistical Shashank does not come to pick him up at the airport. Surya ends up taking a cab to Shashank's house. Bhoomi and Shashank drive Surya to a lot of places around. After a few days, Bhoomi and Shashank realize that Surya has come to the US on a business visit and has a very good business running back in India. Bhoomi feels very happy with Surya's achievement. On Bhoomi's and Shashank's anniversary, Surya throws them a surprise and gifts them a rabbit. Next day, they all go to a party hosted by Indians in the US. In the party, a man foul mouths India. Surya hits him, angering Shashank. Shashank leaves Surya behind at the party, forcing him to walk all the way back home.
On the way back, Bhoomi plays a tape in the car, the same tape Surya had recorded in India, conveying his love for her. It had come with Bhoomi's bag from India. Shashank asks Soorya to get out of their house and blames India and Indian culture. After Surya leaves their house, he starts suspecting Bhoomi. One day, Bhoomi searches for her rabbit (Minchu), but cannot find her, and Shashank tells her he already ate it, later he tells Bhoomi that he donated the rabbit to a humane society, as it reminded him of Surya. They both start arguing, then Bhoomi starts living separately from Shashank. Shashank finds a new job and later learns that Soorya has helped him get that job. Alone, Shashank realizes his mistake and feels guilty. He calls Surya and apologizes. Surya forgives him and learns that Bhoomi has separated from him. He tells Shashank not to take any steps until he returns to the US, and Surya leaves for the U.S.
From San Francisco Airport, Surya calls Shashank, who is drunk. This time around, Shashank promises to pick him up from the airport. On the way he meets with a horrific accident. After being informed by the airport authorities, Surya rushes to the hospital. Meanwhile, Bhoomi also gets the news about Shashank and she too rushes to the hospital. On meeting Bhoomi and Surya, Shashank apologizes for his behavior and tells them that he is going to die. Doctor takes him to ICU and he passes away.
Surya manages all legal formalities around Shashank's funeral, making Bhoomi feel proud of him. Surya asks Bhoomi to return to India but she declines. By mistake, he tells that he loves her, but Bhoomi tells him she cannot love or marry him because he is her best friend and she would like him to remain so for rest of her life. Surya insists that she comes back to India and gives her a return ticket telling her that he would wait for her in the airport. Finally, Bhoomi relents and joins him in the plane. However, she tells him that she will not marry him and suggests that they be friends forever.
Cast
- Ramesh Aravind as Surya
- Akshay Anand as Shashank
- Hema Panchamukhi as Bhoomi
- H. G. Dattatreya Srinivas
- Vaishali Kasaravalli Bhoomi Mother
- C. R. Simha Surya Father
- Shivaram Bhoomi Father
- Nagathihalli Chandrashekar Professor (Guest Appearance)
Soundtrack
| America! America!! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | May 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 26:16 | |||
| Label | Manoranjan Audio | |||
| Producer | Mano Murthy | |||
| Mano Murthy chronology | ||||
| ||||
America based software engineer, Mano Murthy was roped in to score the music for the film. The lyrics were written by Nagathihalli Chandrashekar himself except for one Gopalakrishna Adiga's poetry made into a song. The music was received very well with all the songs hitting the musical charts for many years.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nooru Janmaku" | Nagathihalli Chandrashekar | Rajesh Krishnan, Sangeetha Katti | 4:18 |
| 2. | "Baanalli Odo Megha" | H. S. Venkateshamurthy | Rajesh Krishnan, Sangeetha Katti, Ramesh Chandra | 4:57 |
| 3. | "Hegide Nam Desha" | Nagathihalli Chandrashekar | Rajesh Krishnan, Manjula Gururaj, Ramesh Chandra | 4:21 |
| 4. | "Yaava Mohana Murali" | Gopalakrishna Adiga | Raju Ananthaswamy, Sangeetha Katti | 4:51 |
| 5. | "America America" | Nagathihalli Chandrashekar | Rajesh Krishnan, Sangeetha Katti, Ramesh Chandra | 5:21 |
| Total length: | 22:58 | |||
Box office
The movie ran for 365 days in many centers of Karnataka and it was the first Kannada movie to be released in United States. The movie was dubbed to Telugu and was released in Andhra Pradesh.
Accolades
| Award | Year of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | [4] | ||||
| Won | |||||
| Won | |||||
| Won | |||||
| Won |
References
- Madur (10 October 2011). "Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar". Karnataka.com.
- "Sify Movie profile". Sify.com. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- Saritha Rai (16 June 1997). "N. Chandrashekhar's 'America! America!' demolishes Kannada film-making myths". India Today. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- "Kamal Hasan, Tabu, Gulzar bag national film awards". Rediff.com. 1996. Retrieved 28 October 2015.