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Shanti Kranti
Shanti Kranti (transl. Peace and Revolution) is a 1991 Indian action crime drama film written, produced, and directed by V. Ravichandran. The film was simultaneously made in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi languages. In the Kannada version, Ravichandran played the lead role, while Nagarjuna starred in the Telugu version, and Rajinikanth played the lead role in both the Tamil and Hindi versions. The Tamil version was titled Nattukku Oru Nallavan (transl. A good man for the country). The film’s ensemble cast includes Juhi Chawla, Ramesh Aravind, Khushbu, Anant Nag, Babu Antony, Y. Vijaya and Baby Sangita. Juhi Chawla, Anant Nag, and Khushbu appeared in all four versions of the film. Ravichandran additionally portrayed Ramesh Aravind’s role in the Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi versions.[2] The Telugu and Kannada versions of the film were released on 19 September 1991, followed by the release of the Tamil version on 2 October 1991.[3] Despite its ambitious multilingual production and the inclusion of prominent actors, Shanti Kranti failed commercially in all languages.[4] The Tamil version was later dubbed into Telugu under the title Police Bullet.[3] PlotThe film follows Inspector Subhash, who uncovers the sinister operations of a man named Daddy, who outwardly runs an ashram for children but is secretly involved in organ trafficking, particularly exploiting the children under his care. Subhash teams up with his friend, Inspector Bharath, to bring Daddy to justice. Subhash's girlfriend Jyoti, who works at the ashram, aids in the investigation but is ultimately captured and killed by Daddy. Driven by grief and anger, Subhash enlists the help of the ashram's children to dismantle Daddy's operations. In the climactic confrontation, Subhash avenges Jyoti's death by defeating Daddy and putting an end to his criminal empire. Cast
ProductionShanti Kranti was announced by V. Ravichandran as one of the most expensive projects of his career. He decided to direct the film in four languages—Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi. The Tamil version was titled Naattukku Oru Nallavan. Rajinikanth was cast in the lead role for the Tamil and Hindi versions, while Nagarjuna was chosen for the Telugu version, and Ravichandran himself played the lead in the Kannada version.[5] Initially, Rajinikanth was hesitant to take on the project due to the extensive commitment of a 100-day call sheet, but he eventually agreed after hearing the story.[6] Bullet Prakash, who went on to become a famous comedian in Kannada cinema, made his acting debut as child artist with the Kannada version of this film.[7] The film was launched on 14 November 1988, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, at Kanteerava Studios.[8] The launch event was attended by journalists from various languages, who were shown Ravichandran's previous films Premaloka (1987) and Ranadheera (1988) before engaging in discussions with the director.[9] The film faced several production challenges. During the early stages of shooting, Ravichandran became concerned about the direction of the film. After 10 days of shooting, he felt that the story was not progressing as expected and doubted whether the project would succeed.[10] Despite these reservations, Ravichandran continued with the film, motivated by the encouragement of his father, Veeraswamy, who was producing the film. In a conversation with his father, Ravichandran expressed his intention to quit, citing production difficulties. However, his father advised him against giving up, reminding him of the commitments made to the actors, including Rajinikanth and Nagarjuna, and the film's importance as a prestige project for Eswari Productions. His father urged him to finish the film, as backing out would reflect poorly on the production company.[10] The production process was further complicated by challenges such as securing call sheets from the stars and coordinating their schedules.[11] Filming took place at a time when digital cameras were not available, so the production relied entirely on film reels, which limited the number of takes and required careful planning. Additionally, a strike in the Kannada film industry disrupted the production, making it even more difficult.[11] To realise his vision for the film, Ravichandran took the unconventional step of borrowing a 50-acre plot of empty land to shoot the climax. In addition, large sets were constructed to recreate M. G. Road in Bangalore, with special effects involving explosions and separate teams assigned to cater to the needs of each language version. Multiple cars, catering services, and crew members were organised for the different versions of the film.[2] Although the film was officially launched in 1988, production took nearly two years to complete.[12] Despite his early doubts, Ravichandran finished Shanti Kranti, which was released in 1991.[10] Ravichandran struggled to secure approval for an increase in ticket prices, which could have helped cover the film's substantial budget.[11] SoundtrackHamsalekha composed the music for the film.
ReceptionDeccan Herald wrote, "It was a visual spectacle no doubt, but the narrative lost sight of its subject---the organ transplant mafia". The film became a failure in all four languages. Its failure put Ravichandran in financial distress "forcing him to rely on remakes of hit Tamil and Telugu films" which resurrected his career.[1] Ravichandran later estimated that the project caused a loss of approximately ₹10 crore during the 1989-90 period.[10] References
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