Underplayed Gems

Kartavyam (1990)

Kartavyam poster
Original title
Karthavyam
Directed by
A. Mohan Gandhi
Genre
action film, police procedural
Country
India
Runtime
2h 30m
Rating
7.0 of 10 from 1 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A police officer takes on corruption and crime in her jurisdiction. The film is inspired by the real life of a pioneering female officer in India.

intenseseriousinspirationaldetermineddramaticgrittyfast-pacedtriumphant

What happens

Karthavyam (transl. Duty) is a 1990 Indian Telugu-language political action film directed by Mohan Gandhi and produced by A. M. Rathnam. It stars Vijayashanti and Vinod Kumar in the lead roles. Written by Paruchuri Brothers and Mohan Gandhi, the film is loosely based on the real-life story of police officer Kiran Bedi. Made on a budget of ₹90 lakh, the film was a commercial success, grossing over ₹7 crore. Vijayashanti won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in this film. The film premiered at the 14th International Film Festival of India in the mainstream section. The film was subsequently dubbed into Tamil as Vyjayanthi IPS, which was also a huge success at the box office. The film was remade in Hindi as Tejasvini (1994) with Vijayashanti reprising her role, and later in Tamil as Bhavani (2011). A spin-off Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi starring Vijayashanti who reprised her legendary role once again as Vijayanthi IPS and Nandamuri Kalyan Ram in lead roles released in 2025 and received mixed reviews from critics and audience. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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