Atithi (2002 film)

Atithi (The Guest)
Directed by P. Sheshadri
Produced by Mithra Chithra
Screenplay by P. Sheshadri
J. M. Prahlad
Story by J. M. Prahlad
Starring Prakash Rai
Baby Raksha
H. G. Dattatreya
Lakshmi Chandrashekar
Music by V. Manohar
Cinematography Chandru
Edited by B. S. Kemparaju
Release dates
 9 August 2002
Running time
 90 minutes
Country India
Language Kannada

Atithi (Kannada: ಅತಿಥಿ, English: The Guest) is a 2002 Indian Kannada language film directed by P. Sheshadri. The film deals with terrorism and the psychology of the terrorist.

At the 49th National Film Awards, the film was awarded the Best Feature Film in Kannada.[1]

Plot summary

In May 2000, I made my first film MUNNUDI (A Preface) in which I tried to examine the clash between the true religious tenets and demeaning customs. This was produced as a co-operative venture by a team of actors and technicians physically involved in the project. The overwhelming appreciation, two National Awards, Six Karnataka State Awards, entry in International Film Festivals of India, Kerala, Mumbai, Flanders (Belgium), Palm Springs (USA), and decent financial returns gave us confidence about the viability of such ventures as long as we are committed to meaningful cinema. This second film ATITHI comes now on similar co-operative basis.

'Terrorism' is the most talked about word these days. Every one is affected by it in some way or the other- directly or indirectly. Naturally, I was also drawn into debates & discussions on this. All of us thought there is a need to address such an issue in the film medium. A question arose. Can a terrorist be reformed or humanized? Yes, No, Not fully were the answers. There were forceful arguments in support of all these three answers. We did some literature survey. It confused us even more. Then came a thought. Why not we see a terrorist as a human being first and then examine his mental make-up that puts him into terrorist action. Suppose he is drawn away from his 'terrorist' ambiance and placed in a more conducive 'human' ambiance, how would he act? ATITHI took shape in this thinking process.

So, what has ultimately come out as ATITHI is not a stated position on terrorism; it is not about the destructive power of terrorist activities; it does not even offer 'the' solution to eliminate terrorism. It is more in the nature of an examination of human behavior under a set of circumstances- be it that of a confirmed terrorist or that of a peace-loving doctor.

But I am sure it can provide a platform for each one of us to extend one's examinations of different dimensions of terrorism in the light of human behavior. If anyone finds a solution to terrorism in this film, I will be too happy to hear about it. May terrorism end soon.

May humanity find its manifestation in all its glory.

Cast

Trivia

Critical reception

The film was well received by the critics. Critics were particularly unequivocal in their praise of the approach to a complex subject such as terrorism. Though the film had terrorism as the theme, there was no throttling noise of blasts and guns.

Awards and screening

See also

P. Sheshadri

References

  1. ↑ "Atithi (2002)". kannadamoviesinfo.com. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  3. ↑ http://pib.nic.in/archieve/iffi/iffi2002/atithi.html
  4. ↑ http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstory.php?content_id=2849
  5. ↑ "49th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals.

External links

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