U Turn (2016 film) explained

U-Turn
Director:Pawan Kumar
Producer:Pawan Kumar
Starring:Shraddha Srinath
Roger Narayan
Radhika Chetan
Dileep Raj
Music:Poornachandra Tejaswi
Cinematography:Advaitha Gurumurthy
Satya Hegde
Siddhartha Nuni
Editing:Suresh Armugam
Studio:Pawan Kumar Studios
Distributor:Mysore Talkies
Country:India
Language:Kannada
Runtime:121 minutes
Budget:2.5 crore[1]
Gross:10 crores [2]

U Turn is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language supernatural thriller film written, produced and directed by Pawan Kumar. It stars Shraddha Srinath in the lead role. Roger Narayan, Dileep Raj and Radhika Chetan feature in supporting roles. The plot revolves around the death of motorists who break a traffic rule at a particular flyover in Bangalore and subsequent pinning down of the culprit by an intern journalist and police inspector duo. The film received critical acclaim and being remade a lot of times in different languages.

U-Turn was first remade in Malayalam in 2017 as Careful. Director Pawan Kumar remade it into a Telugu-Tamil bilingual in 2018 with the same title - thereby making it the fourth Kannada film to be remade in three other South Indian languages after School Master, Sampathige Savaal and Devara Kannu.[3] [4]

The movie was remade in Sinhala in 2019 also titled U Turn - thereby becoming the second Kannada movie to be remade in Sinhala after Anuraga Aralithu.[5]

The Filipino remake with the same name was released on pay-to-view basis on 30 October 2020.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] With that, U Turn became the first Indian movie to be remade in Filipino.[11] [12]

The Bengali remake titled Flyover was released on 2 April 2021.[13]

Ekta Kapoor produced the Hindi remake with the same title which released on 28 April 2023.[14] [15] With that, it became the third Indian movie to be remade in seven languages after Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana and Anuraga Aralithu.[16] [17] It was the seventh Kannada movie to be remade in a foreign language [18] and the second Kannada movie to be remade in two foreign languages after Anuraga Aralithu.[19] [20]

Plot

Rachana, an intern with The Indian Express, is working on an article on the accidents at a flyover in Bengaluru. She also has a crush on the crime reporter Aditya, whose help she seeks for research material on accidents on the flyover. She finds that each day some motorists move the concrete blocks that partition the road just to take a quick U-turn and avoid the traffic. They don’t move them back and the blocks are left to lie randomly on the road leading to many accidents. A homeless man sitting on the flyover notes down the vehicle numbers of commuters who violate the rule to take the U-turn and gives the list to Rachana. She obtains the details of the culprits using her contact in the traffic department, with the intention of confronting them for their "short-cut" and writing an article for the paper. Her attempt to meet the first person on the list goes in vain.

Later the same day, the police take her into custody and accuse her of killing the same person she wanted to meet. She is shocked and tells her side of the story. Though the senior police officer rejects it, sub-inspector Nayak finds it believable and does some investigation. It is revealed that all the persons Rachana has on her list have committed suicide. They also noticed that they have committed suicide the same day they took the wrong "u-turn". Rachana and Nayak find another number has been noted by the homeless man which is to be delivered to Rachana the next day. The duo trace the address and try to rescue the man, a lawyer, who has taken the u-turn on the same day. As nothing seems suspicious, both leave only to encounter the very death of the lawyer whom they came to rescue.

Later Rachana tries to confront the homeless man for the injuries in the fly-over. Meanwhile, she sees two young men violate the U-Turn and reports it to Nayak. Nayak locks them up in an old Police lock-up to save them. But they start fighting and eventually die under the nose of the police.

With no way of finding the real cause of the death of the culprits, Rachana herself takes the wrong u-turn and waits for something to happen. The one who has been killing the culprits is a ghost named Maya, because she and her daughter Aarna died in an accident due to the concrete roadblocks that were moved by the culprits in order to make way for their u-turn. Using her supernatural powers, Maya tries to kill Rachana as well. But Rachana promises to find the person who was responsible for Maya's death. Maya agrees. Rachana, with the help of Nayak, tries to find the person who moved the blocks on the day of Maya's accident. They find out the phone number and address of the person who moved the block. Rachana writes this on a balloon and leaves it on the flyover for Maya to find. She then invites her boyfriend Aditya for dinner.

During dinner, Rachana tries to call the number she found earlier. It turns out to be Aditya's work mobile number. Devastated, she confronts Aditya and informs him that due to his negligence a mother and daughter lost their lives. Aditya says it was not him who made the U-turn. He merely exchanged his bike with his friend. In the final twist, it is revealed that the man who moved the block was Maya's own husband. Maya's ghost is waiting in Aditya's house to kill him when Maya's husband whom Rachana has informed about the events turns up and explains to Maya that it was because of him that they lost their lives. He then tries to commit suicide by jumping from the balcony. Maya's ghost saves him and tells him that his punishment is to suffer in this world without his wife and daughter.

Cast

Production

According to the director, the script of the movie took place on the road. He says, "U-Turn happened in July when I used to drop my daughter Lucy to school and traffic used to be high. I used to park in front of her school for more than an hour and used the time to write the script."[22]

U-Turn was produced under Pawan Kumar's then newly launched banner PK Studios, has Poornachandra Tejaswi's music, Satya Hegde, Advitha Gurumurthy and Siddharth Nuni's cinematography and Suresh's editing.[23]

Reception

Sunayana Suresh of The Times of India rated the film four out of five, and wrote, "The film can be read on philosophical and symbolic levels with leitmotifs and what not, but the triumph is that it even appeals to the lay viewer who seeks thrill and entertainment and nothing more."[24] Shyam Prasad S of Bangalore Mirror wrote, "It is what happens post interval that makes or breaks any film. Here, Pawan Kumar takes the easier route and robs U-Turn of becoming a great film."[25] J Hurtado of Screen Anarchy wrote, "Pawan Kumar's U TURN Will Keep You Guessing Until The Last Minute. U-Turn is a film that constantly challenges and defies categorization in the service of telling its own story."[26]

Remakes

U Turn was remade in Malayalam in 2017 as Careful.[27] It was later remade into a Telugu-Tamil bilingual in 2018 with the same title by Pawan Kumar himself.[28] [29] The film was also officially remade in Sri Lanka in Sinhala in 2019 with the same title.[30] The Filipino remake with the same title was released on 30 October 2020.[9] [31] The film was remade in Bengali as Flyover and released on 2 April 2021.[32] [30] [33] The Hindi remake with the same title[34] was released on 28 April 2023 by Ekta Kapoor. The director had revealed that the rights for the Malay language remake were sold out.[35] He also revealed that there are plans to remake the film in Chinese, Thai, Marathi and Gujarati.[36]

Notes and References

  1. News: Actor-director Rakshit Shetty feels the challenge ahead is to keep the audience occupied. The Economic Times. 5 March 2017. 10 June 2016. Shekhar. Divya. Joshi. Bharath. V. Nirupama. 17 August 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220817173502/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/actor-director-rakshit-shetty-feels-the-challenge-ahead-is-to-keep-the-audience-occupied/articleshow/52684042.cms. live.
  2. Web site: Sandalwood 2016: Highest-grossing Kannada movies of 2016 at the box office . . 22 December 2016 . 3 March 2022 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220503095236/https://www.ibtimes.co.in/sandalwood-2016-highest-grossing-kannada-movies-2016-box-office-709450 . live .
  3. Web site: Pawan Kumar's 'U Turn' to be remade in Filipino. 16 March 2020. The News Minute. 8 August 2020. 25 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200325114200/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/pawan-kumar-s-u-turn-be-remade-filipino-120354. live.
  4. Web site: 'U Turn' To Be Remade In Hindi By Ekta Kapoor. 14 March 2019. 8 August 2020. 5 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200605044229/https://silverscreenindia.com/movies/news/u-turn-to-be-remade-in-hindi-by-ekta-kapoor/. live.
  5. Web site: ಅತೀ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಭಾಷೆಗೆ 'ರಿಮೇಕ್‌' ಆದ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಿನಿಮಾಗಳ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ!. Vijaya Karnataka. 20 September 2020. 27 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201027023552/https://vijaykarnataka.com/entertainment/news/these-are-the-top-five-kannada-movies-remakes-in-many-languages/articleshow/74894620.cms. live.
  6. Web site: Kim Chiu's horror flick 'U-Turn' coming to Sky Pay-Per-View. Manila Bulletin. 27 October 2020. 26 November 2020. 1 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201101085652/https://mb.com.ph/2020/10/27/kim-chius-horror-flick-u-turn-coming-to-sky-pay-per-view/. live.
  7. Web site: Official Trailer | Kim Chiu, Tony Labrusca, JM de Guzman | 'U-Turn'. YouTube. 26 November 2020. 14 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221114060302/https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RSdqbekQDDs&feature=youtu.be. live.
  8. Web site: Pawan Kumar's U-Turn goes global . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231128091942/https://m.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2020/mar/15/pawan-kumars-u-turn-goes-global-17563.amp . 28 November 2023 . 8 August 2020 . Cinema Express.
  9. Web site: Halloween watchlist edition. The Manila Times. 30 October 2020. 26 November 2020. 2 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201202095120/https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/10/30/lifestyle-entertainment/show-times/halloween-watchlist-edition/788899/amp/. live.
  10. Web site: Twitter. mobile.twitter.com. 8 August 2020. 23 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240123063600/https://mobile.twitter.com/pawanfilms/status/1238436575492464640. live.
  11. Web site: 'ಯು ಟರ್ನ್' ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಮಾಡಿರುವ ಈ ದಾಖಲೆ ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲೇ ಮೊದಲು!. Vijaya Karnataka. 8 August 2020. 30 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201030140745/https://vijaykarnataka.com/entertainment/news/lucia-pawan-kumars-u-turn-movie-will-be-remade-in-filipino-language/articleshow/74653747.cms. live.
  12. Web site: What intrigued Enrico Santos about Pawan Kumar's U Turn. The Times of India. 20 September 2020. 11 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201211200059/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news/what-intrigued-enrico-santos-about-pawan-kumars-u-turn/articleshow/74639384.cms. live.
  13. Web site: Koel Mallick stars in the Bengali remake of Pawan Kumar's U Turn. The Times of India. 22 March 2021. 15 February 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220215164805/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news/koel-mallick-stars-in-the-bengali-remake-of-pawan-kumars-u-turn/articleshow/81603295.cms#:~:text=The%20latest%20is%20a%20Bengali,its%20fair%20share%20of%20remakes. live.
  14. Web site: Ekta Kapoor to produce Hindi remake of thriller 'U-Turn'; project - starring Alaya F - to go on floors tomorrow - the Economic Times. 5 July 2021. 31 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210731204754/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/ekta-kapoor-to-produce-hindi-remake-of-thriller-u-turn-project-starring-alaya-f-to-go-on-floors-tomorrow/articleshow/84136627.cms. live.
  15. Web site: Alaya F roped in for the Hindi remake of Shraddha Srinath's Kannada film, 'U Turn' . 5 July 2021 . 5 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210705044131/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/alaya-f-roped-in-for-the-hindi-remake-of-shraddha-srinaths-kannada-film-u-turn/articleshow/84131475.cms . live .
  16. Web site: Record created: 'U-Turn' to be remade in Filipino language. NewsKarnataka. 16 March 2020. 8 August 2020. 23 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240123045557/https://newskarnataka.com/south-cinema/sandalwood/record-created-u-turn-to-be-remade-in-filipino-language/16032020. live.
  17. Web site: Pawan Kumar's U Turn movie now in Filipino, remade officially in 5 languages. 14 October 2020. 27 November 2020. 4 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201204191341/http://cinimirror.com/pawan-kumars-u-turn-movie-now-in-filipino-remade-officially-in-5-languages/. live.
  18. Web site: From 'Anuraga Aralithu' to 'U Turn': Kannada movies that were remade in foreign languages. The Times of India. 10 June 2020. 31 October 2020. 24 April 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240424054346/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news/from-anuraga-aralithu-to-u-turn-kannada-movies-that-were-remade-in-foreign-languages/etphotostory/76302041.cms. live.
  19. Web site: From 'School Master' to 'U Turn': A look at Kannada films remade in other Indian languages. The Times of India. 20 September 2020. 30 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201030064513/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news/from-school-master-to-u-turn-a-look-at-kannada-films-remade-in-other-indian-languages/articleshow/75161463.cms. live.
  20. Web site: Archived copy . 22 April 2024 . 22 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240422141403/https://vijaykarnataka.com/entertainment/news/u-turn-kavaludaari-bell-bottom-and-other-kannada-movies-are-remade-in-multiple-languages/amp_articleshow/78574333.cms . live .
  21. News: Making the U-turn home. The Hindu. K.. Bhumika. 24 March 2016. 16 July 2020. 16 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200716094902/https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/making-the-uturn-home/article8393358.ece. live.
  22. Web site: It's U-Turn for Pawan as Nicotine Waits. The New Indian Express. 28 February 2016. 28 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160228184054/http://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/Its-U-Turn-for-Pawan-as-Nicotine-Waits/2015/11/04/article3112127.ece. dead.
  23. Web site: 'Lucia' director Pawan Kumar's 'U Turn' trailer released [VIDEO]]. International Business Times, India Edition. 28 January 2016. en. 28 February 2016. 5 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305100448/http://www.ibtimes.co.in/lucia-director-pawan-kumars-u-turn-trailer-released-video-664780. live.
  24. Web site: Suresh. Sunayana. U Turn Movie Review. The Times of India. 28 May 2016. 20 May 2016. 23 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160523162526/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movie-reviews/U-Turn/movie-review/52360435.cms. live.
  25. News: An urban legend is born . Shyam Prasad S . 21 May 2016 . Bangalore Mirror . 25 February 2018 . 25 February 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180225211631/http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/reviews/entertainment/reviews/an-urban-legend-is-born/articleshow/52366699.cms . live .
  26. News: Review: Pawan Kumar's U-TURN Will Keep You Guessing Until The Last Minute. Hurtado. J. 22 May 2016. ScreenAnarchy. en-US. 22 October 2016. 22 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161022220954/http://screenanarchy.com/2016/05/review-pawan-kumars-u-turn-will-keep-you-guessing-until-the-last-minute.html. live.
  27. Web site: Careful movie review: Vijay Babu and Jomol impress in a flawed but interesting thriller. 4 June 2017. Firstpost. 30 July 2018. 20 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190820191034/https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/careful-movie-review-vijay-babu-and-jomol-impress-in-a-flawed-but-interesting-thriller-3515905.html. live.
  28. News: Samantha starts shooting for 'U-Turn' remake . 18 February 2018 . The Times of India . 25 February 2018 . 19 February 2018 . https://archive.today/20180219051133/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/samantha-starts-shooting-for-u-turn-remake/articleshow/62968343.cms . live .
  29. Web site: Samantha Akkineni's U-Turn to release on September 13. 23 July 2018. 30 July 2018. 23 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180723111200/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/tamil/samantha-akkineni-u-turn-release-5269980/. live.
  30. Web site: ಸಿಂಹಳ ಭಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಬರಲಿದೆ ಕನ್ನಡದ 'ಯೂ ಟರ್ನ್'! | Kannada movie U turn will be remake in Srilanka Simhala language . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20191215175841/https://kannada.asianetnews.com/amp/sandalwood/kannada-movie-u-turn-will-be-remake-in-srilanka-simhala-language-q2hxsj . 15 December 2019 . 8 August 2020 . kannada.asianetnews.com.
  31. Web site: Kim Chiu, JM De Guzman, Tony Labrusca to star in remake of hit Indian thriller. Ian. Biong. 5 December 2019. INQUIRER.net. 13 March 2020. 14 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200114014319/https://entertainment.inquirer.net/354028/kim-chiu-jm-de-guzman-tony-labrusca-to-star-in-remake-of-hit-indian-thriller. live.
  32. Web site: ফের থ্রিলারে কোয়েল মল্লিক, ছবির মুক্তি এপ্রিলে. 22 March 2021. 19 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210319023217/https://eisamay.indiatimes.com/entertainment/cinema/tollywood-actress-koel-mallick-thriller-movie-flyover-to-release-date-out/articleshow/81550603.cms. live.
  33. Web site: Koel Mallick stars in the Bengali remake of Pawan Kumar's U Turn. The Times of India. 21 March 2021. 20 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210320094515/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news/koel-mallick-stars-in-the-bengali-remake-of-pawan-kumars-u-turn/articleshow/81603295.cms#:~:text=The%20latest%20is%20a%20Bengali,its%20fair%20share%20of%20remakes.. live.
  34. Web site: Ekta Kapoor ropes in Alaya F for Hindi remake of Kannada film U-Turn. 5 July 2021. 9 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210709192717/https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/movies/bollywood/story/ekta-kapoor-ropes-in-alaya-f-for-hindi-remake-of-kannada-film-u-turn-1824044-2021-07-05. live.
  35. Web site: Bollywood to remake Kannada hit U-Turn. 22 March 2019. Deccan Herald. 8 August 2020. 29 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201029090126/https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/metrolife-lifestyle/bollywood-to-remake-kannada-hit-u-turn-724547.html. live.
  36. Web site: Pawan Kumar's 'U-Turn' goes global, to be made in Filipino. A. Sharadhaa. The New Indian Express. 8 August 2020. 18 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200318172837/https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/2020/mar/16/pawan-kumars-u-turn-goes-global-to-be-made-in-filipino-2117091.amp. live.