Eradu Kanasu (1974 film)

Eradu Kanasu is a 1974 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by the duo Dorai–Bhagavan, and is based on the novel of the same name by Vani. The film stars Rajkumar, Kalpana and Manjula.

The film was a musical blockbuster with all the songs composed by Rajan–Nagendra considered evergreen hits. They were awarded with the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director for 1974–75.

The movie saw a theatrical run of 30 weeks. The movie completed 100 days when it was re-released in 1982. The film's success led to its second re-release on 6 February 2015 across Karnataka state. The movie was remade in Telugu in 1975 as Pooja with three songs of this movie retained in the Telugu version.

Plot
Ramachandra "Ramu" is a professor at a college in Bangalore, who is married to Gowri, the daughter of a lawyer for his mother's wishes, but is brooding over his past relationship with his cousin/love interest Lalitha, when her father refused to let Ramu marry Lalitha, due to some internal disputes. After their marriage, Ramu doesn't behave properly with Gowri, who remains devoted to Ramu and is yearning for husband's love from Ramu. Ramu's parents observe his behaviour and leave for a pilgrimage, thinking that their absence might unite them. Gowri ask about Ramu negligent behaviour towards her, but to no avail. When Ramu visits his lecturer friend, he learns that his friend is happily married to Lalitha and has a child, where he realize his mistake of neglecting Gowri and heads to meet her at a temple. When Ramu meets Gouri (who is overjoyed), the former meets with an accident. Ramu admits her to an hospital, where she is shown terminally wounded. It leaves the viewer in a question that the women in Ramu's life were just two dreams ? (Eradu Kanasu)

Cast

 * Rajkumar as Ramu
 * Kalpana as Gowri
 * Manjula as Lalitha
 * K. S. Ashwath as Ramu's father
 * Balakrishna as uncle
 * Rajanand as Lalitha's father
 * Sampath as Gowri's father
 * Advani Lakshmi Devi as Ramu's mother
 * M. Jayashree as Gowri's mother
 * Bhargavi Narayan as lecturer
 * Ramgopal as Lalitha's husband
 * Vaishali Kasaravalli as Latha
 * Pandari Bai in Special Appearance

Production
Eradu Kanasu is based on the novel of the same name by Vani. The song Endendu Ninnanu Marethu was shot at Gajanur dam in Shivamoga district.

Themes and influences
Though Eradu Kanasu is based on a novel, Muralidhara Khajane of The Hindu mentioned that the plot was similar to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Soundtrack
The music was composed by Rajan–Nagendra with lyrics penned by Chi. Udaya Shankar. The album consists of six tracks. All the songs composed for the film were received extremely well and considered as evergreen songs.

The song Thamnam Thamnam was remixed by Mano Murthy in Abhinetri (2015).

The tune of the song Endendu Ninnanu Marethu was used in the 1992 Hindi movie Jaan Se Pyaara as Bin Tere Kuch Bhi Nahi Hai Jeevan Mera.

Reception
In a 2015 review of the film, a critic from The Hans India gave the film a rating of 4 $1/2$ out of 5 and wrote that "The film was a blockbuster hit and a must watch".

Awards
At the 1973–74 Karnataka State Film Awards, the film won the award for Best Music Director (Rajan–Nagendra).

Legacy
The film is considered as one of the greatest romantic films in Kannada noted for the strong performances of lead actors Rajkumar and Kalpana.

The film's title inspired a 2017 film of same name starring Vijay Raghavendra.