Underplayed Gems

Antha (1981)

Antha poster
Directed by
Rajendra Singh Babu
Genre
political thriller film
Country
India
Runtime
2h 05m
Rating
8.0 of 10 from 1 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A police officer impersonates his criminal lookalike to uncover corruption linking the underworld and the government. The film follows his dangerous double life as he works to expose those in power.

tensegrittysuspensefulseriousdarkfast-pacedrebelliousaction-packed

What happens

Antha ( transl. The End) is a 1981 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu, based on H. K. Ananth Rao's serialised story of the same name published for the weekly magazine Sudha. The film stars Ambareesh and Lakshmi, while Shakti Prasad, Lakshman, Vajramuni, Tiger Prabhakar, Sundar Krishna Urs appear in supporting roles. The plot revolves around an honest police officer (Ambareesh) who goes on to impersonate his lookalike, a dreaded criminal, to expose the nexus between the underworld and the establishment. The film was released after a lengthy battle of the makers with the Central Board of Film Certification over a few scenes in the film that allegedly glorified violence. It culminated with the director and producer meeting then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a parliamentary debate over the film's release and a subsequent judicial verdict in their favour. The film was met with commercial success. While it is seen as a landmark in Kannada cinema, Ambareesh's performance further strengthened his image as a 'rebel star', known for playing anti-establishment roles. At the 1981–82 Karnataka State Film Awards, the film received three awards: Best Screenplay (Babu), Best Cinematographer (P. S. Prakash) and Special Jury Award (Ambareesh). It was remade in Telugu as Antham Kadidi Aarambam (1981), in Tamil as Thyagi (1982) and in Hindi as Meri Aawaz Suno (1981). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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