Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu

Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu (transl. The flower that bloomed in fire) is a 1983 Indian Kannada language film directed by K. Balachander and produced by Chandulal Jain. It revolves around Kavitha (Suhasini) who wonders when she will have time to live her own life, as she is too busy taking care of her mother, siblings, and her alcoholic brother's family. It was also the official Kannada debut of South Indian refining star of the 80s & 90s eras, Suhasini.

Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu
VCD cover
Directed byK. Balachander
Written byK. Balachander
Based onAval Oru Thodar Kathai
by K. Balachander
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyB. S. Loknath
Edited byN. R. Kittu
Music byM. S. Viswanathan
Release date
  • 30 September 1983 (1983-09-30)
Running time
142 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageKannada

The film was directed by K. Balachander[1] and is a remake of his Tamil film Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974). Kamal Haasan, who played a major role there, played a different role here. Suhasini won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada for her performance.[2]

Plot

Kavitha is the sole breadwinner of her family comprising her mother, widowed sister Bharati, an unmarried younger sister, a blind younger brother, a drunkard elder brother Murthy, his wife and children. Her father had abandoned the family and become a sadhu. Conscious of her family responsibilities, Kavitha keeps postponing her marriage indefinitely to her long-time boyfriend Tilak. Kavitha's friend Chandra takes life easy and keeps changing boyfriends. Tilak, who patiently waits for Kavitha, meets Bharati, pities her and slowly becomes passionate about her. On learning this, Kavitha sacrifices her love and gets them married. Murthy changes his wayward behaviour, becomes responsible and works as a bearer at a restaurant. An impressed Kavitha accepts him as the head of the family. Kavitha's boss Arun Ghosh offers to marry her, but Kavitha does not give a positive reply.

Chandra dates Chandrasekhar, a womaniser and colleague of Kavitha, despite her warnings. Earlier, when Chandrasekhar had written a love letter to Kavitha, she complained about it to her boss, who then reprimanded Chandrasekhar. Hence, Kavitha does not approve of Chandra's relationship with him. A lustful Chandrasekhar also dates Chandra's widowed mother; on learning this, Chandra attempts suicide. Kavitha and her co-tenant Gopal save Chandra and advise her to marry Gopal. In turn, Chandra advises Kavitha to marry Ghosh. Kavitha accepts the marriage proposal as she now feels confident about Murthy taking care of the family.

On the day of the wedding, Murthy's wife asks him to get back the silver lamp pledged by him earlier, to be gifted to Kavitha for her wedding. While returning to the wedding hall, he seeks a lift from Chandrasekhar, not knowing him. Murthy realises that Chandrasekhar is actually coming to stop the marriage of Kavitha and Chandra when Chandrasekhar states that he had affairs with both of them. Murthy pleads with him not to come to the marriage hall and create any confusion, but Chandrasekhar refuses. A scuffle ensues in which Murthy is killed by Chandrasekhar using the lamp before the police arrest Chandrasekhar. When the marriage is about to take place, Kavitha learns of her brother's death from the police. She then convinces Ghosh to accept her younger sister as the bride as she needs to support her family again. At the same time, Chandra marries Gopal. Kavitha returns to taking care of her family like before.

Cast

Production

Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu is the Kannada remake of the Tamil film Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974). Suhasini played the female lead, and her uncle Kamal Haasan (who appeared in the Tamil original) made a cameo appearance as a bus conductor.[3]

Balachander's favourite heroine Saritha was initially approached for the lead role but she could not accommodate her dates. Suhasini who had just signed the big budget Kannada movie Bandhana landed the role. Saritha gave her the voice over. Suhasini recommended her friend Vijayalakshmi Singh for the role of the ultra modern girl in the movie.

Soundtrack

M. S. Viswanathan composed the music for the soundtracks and lyrics written by Chi. Udaya Shankar. The album consists of five soundtracks.[4]

Track list
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Taali Kattuva Shubhavele"Chi. Udaya ShankarS. P. Balasubrahmanyam6:26
2."Munde Banni"Chi. Udaya ShankarS. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:50
3."Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu"Chi. Udaya ShankarVani Jairam3:42
4."Hogu Ennalu"Chi. Udaya ShankarS. P. Balasubrahmanyam3:58
5."Premada Geetheye"Chi. Udaya ShankarVani Jairam4:43
Total length:23:29

Accolades

References
  1. Khajane, Muralidhara (24 December 2014). "K. Balachander left a mark on Kannada cinema". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  2. "Kannada films got me recognition: Suhasini". Deccan Herald. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  3. "Kamal Haasan's many talents". Rediff.com. 29 May 2008. Archived from the original on 18 April 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
  4. "Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  5. James, Anu (4 March 2017). "International Women's Day 2017 special: These 8 South Indian women-centric movies are a must watch". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
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