| Kurukshetra | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
| |
| Directed by | Naganna |
| Written by | J. K. Bharavi |
| Story by | Munirathna |
| Produced by | Munirathna |
| Starring | Darshan Meghana Raj Arjun Sarja V. Ravichandran Ambareesh Sneha Sonu Sood Nikhil Kumar Hariprriya Danish Akhtar Saifi |
| Cinematography | Jayanan Vincent |
| Edited by | Jo Ni Harsha |
| Music by | V. Harikrishna |
Production |
KCN Movies |
| Distributed by | Rockline
Entertainment (Kannada) Geetha Arts (Telugu) V. Creations(Tamil) Global United Media(Malayalam) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 185 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
| Budget | ₹50 crore[1] |
| Box office | ₹90 crore [2] |
Kurukshetra (transl. Kuru's place) is a 2019 Kannada-language mythological war film[3][4] written by J. K. Bharavi and directed by Naganna. The story is based on the epic poem GadhayuddhabyRanna,[5][6][7] which itself is based on the Indian epic Mahabharata.[8][9] The story is centred on Duryodhana, the Kaurava king.[10] The film was produced by Munirathna.[11]
The film features an ensemble cast, including Darshan, Ambareesh (his final role), V. Ravichandran, P. Ravishankar, Arjun Sarja, Meghana Raj, Sneha, Sonu Sood, Danish Akhtar Saifi, Nikhil Kumar, Haripriya, and Shashikumar, portraying characters from Mahabharata.[12] The score and soundtrack were composed by V. Harikrishna while the cinematography was by Jayanan Vincent.[13]
The film was released on 9 August 2019 across more than 1000 screens, making it the widest release for any Kannada film alongside the dubbed Telugu version. On 15 August, the Tamil version was released. The Malayalam-language version was released on 18 October in Kerala.[14] It was the highest-grossing kannada film of 2019 [15] and one of the highest-grossing Kannada films.[16]
The story is a reinterpretation of the war described in the Mahabharata Sanskrit epic from Duryodhana's viewpoint.[17] After losing to the Kauravas in a gamble, the Pandavas go into exile and endure hardship for a number of years. Upon their return, conflict arises over the dynastic succession leading to a war.
The official launch of the film was held on 6 August 2017 with filming beginning on the same day.[18] A major portion of the film was shot at Ramoji Film CityinHyderabad.[19] The film was shot twice, first in 2D format and then in 3D, with shooting completed after more than 230 days.[20] A few scenes and dialogues were reported to have been inspired by the 1977 Telugu movie Daana Veera Soora Karna.[21][22]
| Kurukshetra | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 2019 | |||
| Genre | Soundtrack | |||
| Language | Kannada | |||
| Label | Lahari Music | |||
| Producer | V. Harikrishna | |||
| V. Harikrishna chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Kurukshetra | ||||
| ||||
| External audio | |
|---|---|
 Audio Jukebox MalayalamonYouTube | |
| Audio Jukebox KannadaonYouTube | |
| Audio Jukebox TamilonYouTube | |
| Audio Jukebox TeluguonYouTube |
Music director V. Harikrishna was commissioned to compose the film's score. Lahari Music, which bagged the film's audio rights for ₹1.5 crore, launched the soundtrack on 7 July 2019.[23] The first song, "Saahore Saaho", was released on 5 July 2019.
All lyrics are written by V. Nagendra Prasad
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Saahore Saaho" | Vijay Prakash | 4:07 |
| 2. | "Chaaruthanthi[24][25]" | Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Yelliruve Hariye" | Anuradha Bhat | 3:01 |
| 4. | "Jhumma Jhumma" | Anuradha Bhat, Shweta Mohan | 3:55 |
| 5. | "Uthare Uthare" | Santhosh Venky, Shreya Ghoshal | |
| 6. | "Aava Yochaneyu" | Hemanth Kumar |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Saahore Saaho" | |
| 4. | "Jumma Jumma" |
All lyrics are written by Vennelakanti
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Saahore Saaho" | M. M. Keeravani | 4:18 |
| 2. | "Raaga Thanthi" | Sai Charan, Harini | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Hey Bharatha Vamshaja" | Mano | 3:01 |
| 4. | "Jhumma Jhumma" | Chinmayi, Mano | 3:55 |
| 5. | "Uthtara Uththara" | Sarath Santosh, Neha Venugopal | 4:18 |
| 6. | "Kurukula Thilakalu" | Sri Vardhini | 4:18 |
All lyrics are written by D. Sai Mohan Kumar
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Veerathi Veera" | Mukesh | |
| 2. | "Kaadhal Kiliye" | Sathyaprakash, Neha Venugopal | |
| 3. | "Jumma Jumma" | Chinmayi, Mano | |
| 4. | "Guru Kulathai" | Surmukhi Raman | |
| 5. | "Uyire Uyire" | Sarath Santhosh, Neha Venugopal | |
| 6. | "Hey Bharatha" | Mano |
All lyrics are written by Mangop Gopalakrishnan
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Aajanu Bahu" | P. Unnikrishnan | 4:07 |
| 2. | "Charugandhi" | Sajin, Preetha | 3:27 |
| 3. | "Engunee Hariye" | Preetha | 3:57 |
| 4. | "Jumma Jumma" | Renjini Jose | 4:46 |
| 5. | "Uthare Uthare" | Sajin, Kavitha | 3:04 |
| 6. | "Hey Bharatha Vamshaja" | Sajin | 2:13 |
| Total length: | 21:34 | ||
The satellite rights for the Kannada and Hindi versions of the film were bought by two different companies for ₹9 crore and ₹9.5 crore, respectively.[23]
A news report in late 2018 speculated that the film would be released in February 2019.[26] But a delay caused the release date to be pushed to 5 April, targeting an Ugadi release.[27] After actor Nikhil Kumar announced his participation in the 2019 Indian general elections, and the release date was further postponed as promotion of a candidate is prohibited during the elections. Producer Munirathna remarked, "The film is made in both 2D and 3D and it has got delayed due to the extensive graphics. Now, we are ready with the product and as planned, I am very keen to release this in April first week. But since Nikhil is part of our film, if I want to go ahead with the planned release date, I will have to lose out the entire Mysuru region."[28] The film was later slated to be released on 9 August but pulled forward by a week in order to avoid a clash in screen allotment with another multi-language release Saaho.[29] Later, it was rescheduled to 9 August to coincide with the festival of Varamahalakshmi Vrata.[citation needed]
The film was planned to be simultaneously released in four languages, apart from Kannada. It was released on 9 August 2019 in both 2D and 3D formats in two languages – Kannada and Telugu. On 15 August 2019, the Tamil version was released. Due to floods in Kerala, the Malayalam version was released on 18 October 2019. The Hindi version hit the theatres on 20 December 2019.[citation needed]
On 5 September 2019, the film was released in the Middle East countries of United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar.[30]
