Gaja (film)

Gaja is a 2008 Indian Kannada-language action romance film directed by K. Madesh. It stars Darshan, Navya Nair, and Devaraj. The producers of the film claimed that it is based on a story by novelist P. Ramachandra Rao (Chandu). It is a remake of the 2005 Telugu film Bhadra. The film was a success after a string of flops Darshan had appeared in.

Plot
Gaja (Darshan) and Krishna are friends. Gaja goes to Krishna's village for a holiday but finds some startling events. He learns that Krishna's brother, Devendra, has a feud with a rival faction which prevents a harmonious relationship between the two families. But Gaja becomes a darling of Devendra's family and also takes a liking to Shwetha (Navya Nair), the sister of Devendra.

In a faction fight, Devendra is killed along with his wife. Gaja tries to save the situation, but when he finds that the entire family of Devendra has become a target, he wants to run away with Krishna and Shwetha. The rival faction leader's brother kills Krishna and in a retaliatory mood, Gaja kills him. He then escapes to Bangalore along with Shwetha. Then a cat-and-mouse game starts with Gaja being hounded by the rival faction leaders. Finally, Gaja wins the battle.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by V. Harikrishna. All the lyrics were written by V. Nagendra Prasad.

Release
Gaja was released on 11 January 2008. It was certified as 'A' by the censor board. It completed over 100 days at the box office and became a comeback film for Darshan after huge flops. "Bul Bul" ("Bangari Yare Nee") and Gaja title song became chartbusters.

Critical reception
Sify gave the film a rating of 4/5 and praised the role of acting, music and the camera departments in the film. R G Vijayasarathy of Rediff.com scored the film at 2 out of 5 stars and says "Gaja's main strength is the music of Harikrishna and rich production values. Cameraman Ramesh Babu has to be complimented for his efforts. The songs Maathu Nannolu, Lambooji Lambooji, and Aithalakadi' are very well choreographed. And so are the fights. The only thumbs down to Gaja is the director and producer's claim that their film is an original."