Underplayed Gems

Ondanondu Kaladalli (1978)

Ondanondu Kaladalli poster
Original title
ಒಂದಾನೊಂದು ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ
Directed by
Girish Karnad
Genre
epic film
Country
India
Runtime
2h 36m
Rating
7.0 of 10 from 1 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

Set in medieval India, this film follows a warrior who navigates a strict code of ethics amid conflict and violence. It follows his encounters and battles while exploring honor and duty.

epicstylizedmeditativetensevisually strikingcode-drivenunflinchingforeign

What happens

Ondanondu Kaladalli ( transl. Once Upon a Time) is a 1978 Indian Kannada-language epic film co-written and directed by Girish Karnad with soundtrack by Bhaskar Chandavarkar, starring Shankar Nag and Akshatha Rao in their debut. Through this movie, Kavita Krishnamurthy started her singing career as playback singer. The film has influences of the early samurai films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, to whom Karnad has reportedly acknowledged his indebtedness. The film won the 1978 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada "For delineating the code of warrior's ethics in a medieval setting with a modern vision. The film has excellent outdoor photography, high standard of acting and an eye-catching decor" as cited by the Jury. Shankar Nag received the "Best Actor : Silver Peacock Award" at the 7th International Film Festival of India for his work in the film. The movie was released at The Guild Theatre, 50 Rockefeller Plaza on 17 May 1982. Vincent Canby, the chief film critic of The New York Times, called the movie "that is both exotic as well as surprising in view of all the bodies on the ground at the end, sweet natured!". The film was subtitled into English for its American premiere on 18 October 1995 in Shriver Hall at the Johns Hopkins University as part of the 1995 Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium "Framing Society : A Century of Cinema". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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