Upendra (film)

Upendra is a 1999 Indian Kannada-language psychological drama thriller film written and directed by Upendra. It stars Upendra, Raveena Tandon, Prema and Damini. It is an allegorical film, which explores three human emotions through the relationship between the main character and the three heroines and touches upon Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The lyrics were written by Upendra and the music was composed by Gurukiran. The film developed a cult fanbase and is said that the director named it Upendra with the thought that the name includes the names of the main characters of the film (U for Upendra, P for Prema, D for Damini, and Ra for Raveena).

The film won Filmfare Award for Best Film (Kannada) and Filmfare Award for Best Director (Kannada). It was screened at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival in Japan in 2001. A sequel titled Uppi 2 was released in 2015.

Plot
Betala begins to narrate one of his puzzling tales to Vikramāditya which is the story of Naanu (meaning I/Me/Myself), an ego-driven selfish rogue and the three women in his life. Naanu since childhood hates hypocrisy and always speaks the truth. In the process, he exposes the truth behind everything. A young woman, Rathi whose father, a swami is accosted by Upendra and exposes the hypocrisy of religion and his teaching thus revealing his actual hatred towards his daughter. During this, Rathi falls in love with Naanu. However, she finds out that Naanu wants to marry a billionaire, Keerthi whose deceased father decides that her husband would inherit her entire wealth. He prints wedding cards and distributes them to all, including the employees working in Keerthi's establishments. This angers Keerthi who orders her guardian Marimuthu's son (who wants to marry her for the same reason) to attack Naanu. They bring a woman, Swathi, who lives in Naanu's house, and torture her. Naanu comes to her rescue and it is revealed that Swathi is Naanu's wife.

Rathi meets Naanu in person and confirms that Swathis is indeed his "wife". She threatens to kill both the women and to kill herself if Naanu leaves her for either of those two women. He agrees, and Swathi leaves. She rescues the duo from Keerthi's henchmen and in turn, Naanu persuades her to return. She too threatens to kill both women if Naanu leaves her for any of those two, to which Naanu agrees. He continues to be in a relationship with Rathi and hides it from Swathi and vice versa. However, his obsession with Keerthi never dies. He traps Marimuthu and after a turn of events, Keerthi agrees to marry him. While they both are in a jubilant mood, Rathi and Swathi learn of this and reach the harbor where the duo is currently hiding from the henchmen of Marimuthu. When they reach the harbor, Keerthi is informed about Naanu's plans and she drops her marriage plans with him. He kidnaps all the three women and kills Marimuthu and her son.

Naanu and the three women reach an old building where an injured Naanu threatens to kill all of them and forces all to be his life partners to which they do not agree. They are interrupted by a rich person who plans to have a party in the building, Gopala. Naanu in the past advised Gopala not to follow behind women and instead focus on earning money, adding that women will run for you if you are a wealthy man. At the same time, he sees a once-wealthy man (who Naanu encounters throughout the movie) whose wealth is usurped by his girlfriends turning him into a poor man. This pushes Naanu into a dilemma. The three women, with rods in their hands, decide to kill Naanu. Betala stops the story here and asks Vikramāditya whether Naanu would survive or die in their hands. Vikramāditya understands the tale's intention and says that Naanu, Rathi, Swathi, and Keerthi are not actual people and instead represent the human ego, beauty, responsibilities, and money respectively. He concludes that Naanu/I/Self should die and be reborn.

Naanu sees himself in a mirror and feels ashamed of his traits. He curses himself for pursuing all the three who never gave him any happiness. He realizes the importance of "Us" instead of "I" and decides that ego is the root cause of all issues. By tearing the shirt featuring an imprint of his face, he kills his inner ego and the feeling of "I". The three women disappear and Naanu, now silent and aimless, walks out of the building drenched in the rain.

Themes and influences
The movie is a metaphorical reference to a man‘s quest for lust and fame without willing to assume any responsibilities. This theme is depicted in the form of assigning human forms to four feelings - ego (protagonist), commitment, lust and fame. The three heroines represent three stages in a man’s life - responsibilities, lust and fame while the hero himself is a representative of human ego.

Upendra said in an interview, "the theme is philosophical, but when I said it in a different way, some people were unable to digest it."

Soundtrack
Upendra wanted A.R. Rahman to compose for the film, so much so, that he met him and Mani Ratnam in the year 1997 - 98. Since he was busy after the success of Roja, Bombay and he was busy composing for Rangeela, Dil Se, Upendra then opted for Gurukiran. The music was composed by Gurukiran and lyrics penned by Upendra. After a decade he made A.R. Rahman to compose for his movie Godfather in 2012.

There is also a Telugu dubbed soundtrack.

Release and reception
The film was dubbed in Telugu under the same name. The rights for the film for a release in Telugu were acquired by producer Ambika Krishna.

Critical reception
The film received positive reviews from critics upon release. Reviewing the film for Deccan Herald, Srikanth wrote, "The film ... hinges on one argument that the world is full of hypocrites. While most of them do not express themselves inside out, there are others like himself who express themselves outwardly, bravely, and rustically." Calling the film's screenplay "excellent", he further wrote, "Upendra has overdone his role as an actor, director, writer etc. Perhaps, we should see him as a director who puts himself in the middle of the action. Damini shines as the debutant girl. Raveena Tandon dashes off a touch of glamour. Prema is herself let down by the character." A critic from Sify wrote that "This film has generated tremendous curiosity right from its production stage and it seems to have justified the hype, the media has created. This film is a progression from Upendra’s A, defying any kind of categorisation. Director Upendra has proved his brilliance once again, bordering on the bizarre, in terms of filmmaking. It is unconventional and ends in an unexpected manner".

Box office
Upendra was a commercial success and was well received by the audience in Karnataka as well as in Andhra Pradesh. The film had a 200 days run in Karnataka and its Telugu version had a 100 days run in Andhra Pradesh.

Awards

 * Filmfare Award for Best Director (Kannada) (1999)
 * Filmfare Award for Best Film (Kannada) (1999)

Sequel
A sequel to the film titled Upendra 2 was announced by Upendra in January 2012. It was later titled as Uppi 2 and was launched on 18 September 2013 at Kanteerava Studios in Bangalore. The film starred Upendra, Kristina Akheeva and Parul Yadav. The film released on 14 August 2015 in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and United States simultaneously in over 600 theaters and became a commercial success.