| Shanti Kranti | |
| Director: | V. Ravichandran |
| Producer: | V. Ravichandran N. Veeraswamy |
| Starring: | V. Ravichandran Rajinikanth Nagarjuna Juhi Chawla Ramesh Aravind Khushbu Anant Nag |
| Cinematography: | R. Madhusudhan |
| Editing: | K. Balu |
| Music: | Hamsalekha |
| Studio: | Eshwari Productions |
| Runtime: | 142 minutes |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Kannada Telugu Hindi Tamil |
| Budget: | ₹10 crores[1] |
Shanti Kranti is a 1991 Indian action film produced and directed by V. Ravichandran under Eshwari Productions. The film stars Ravichandran and Juhi Chawla, alongside Ramesh Aravind, Khushbu Sundar, Anant Nag, Babu Antony, Y. Vijaya and Baby Sangita. It was simultaneously shot in Kannada, Telugu, Hindi and Tamil languages. Ravichandran was the main lead in Kannada, while he portrayed Ramesh Aravind's role in Tamil and Telugu. Nagarjuna played the lead role in Telugu, while Rajinikanth played the lead role in Hindi and Tamil, with the Tamil version titled Nattukku Oru Nallavan . The film became a box-office bomb in all languages.[2]
Inspector Subhash learns that Daddy, who runs Om ashram for children, is the mastermind behind the organ trafficking of children. Subhash's girfriend Jyoti, who works in the ashram, helps Subhash in the investigation, but she gets captured and killed by Daddy. An enraged Subhash sets out to destroy Daddy with the help of some kids in the ashram, where he mananges to finish Daddy and his business, thus avenging Jyoti's death.
| Actor (Kannada) | Actor (Telugu) | Actor (Tamil) | Actor (Hindi) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| V. Ravichandran | Nagarjuna | Inspector Subhash | ||
| Jyothi | ||||
| Ramesh Aravind | V. Ravichandran | Inspector Bharath | ||
| Daddy | ||||
| Rekha | ||||
| Srinath | Commissioner of Police | |||
| Doddanna | Satyanarayana | Subhash's father | ||
| Annapurna | Subash's mother | |||
| Politician | ||||
| Bob | ||||
| Swathi | ||||
| Daddy's henchman | ||||
| Daddy's henchman | ||||
V. Ravichandran announced that Shanti Kranti will be an expensive project in his career. He decided to direct in four languages — Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. The Tamil version was titled Naattukku Oru Nallavan. Rajinikanth played the lead in Hindi and Tamil, while Nagarjuna was in Telugu and Ravichandran himself in Kannada.[3] Rajinikanth initially refused to do the project as he was required to give 100 days call sheet, but accepted after hearing the story.[4] The film was launched on 14 November 1988, the hundredth birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru at Kanteerava Studios alongside other language versions of the film.[5] Journalists from different languages were invited to the event and were shown the films Premaloka and Ranadheera as Veeraswamy wanted them to see the films before they ask questions to Ravichandran.[6] Bullet Prakash, who went on to become a famous comedian in Kannada cinema, made his acting debut as child artist with the Kannada version of this film.[7] Despite beginning production in 1988, it took at least two years to complete.[8] To bring his vision to life, Ravichandran allegedly borrowed a 50-acre empty land to film the climax. He also erected large sets and recreated M G Road, Bangalore so that he could blast out a few portions while separate cars, catering services and crew members were assigned for each version.[9]
Hamsalekha composed the music for the film and the soundtracks.
Deccan Herald wrote "It was a visual spectacle no doubt, but the narrative lost sight of its subject---the organ transplant mafia". The film became a failure in all four languages. It's failure put Ravichandran in financial distress "forcing him to rely on remakes of hit Tamil and Telugu films" which resurrected his career.