Super (2010 Indian film)

The film revolves around Kasinath, an ordinary man leading a monotonous life. He is frustrated with the corrupt and flawed system that prevails in society. He is determined to bring about a change and fights against the injustices he witnesses. In his quest for justice, Kasinath adopts the identity of "Super," a masked vigilante who punishes wrongdoers in his own unconventional way. He becomes a symbol of hope for the common people who are victims of corruption, crime, and social inequality. As Super, Kasinath targets influential individuals who exploit their power for personal gain. He exposes corrupt politicians, dishonest businessmen, and criminals, all while maintaining his secret identity. His actions catch the attention of the public and media, leading to a wave of support for his cause. Amidst his fight against corruption, Kasinath also finds love. He meets Indira, a journalist who becomes intrigued by Super's activities. Indira is determined to uncover Super's true identity, and in the process, she falls in love with Kasinath. However, Kasinath's actions as Super come at a cost. He faces numerous challenges and threats from those he opposes, including powerful individuals who want to silence him. Kasinath must navigate the complexities of his dual life while protecting himself and his loved ones.

Throughout the film, "Super" explores themes of social justice, corruption, and the power of an individual to make a difference. It raises questions about the effectiveness of the existing system and encourages viewers to question societal norms. The climax of the movie unveils the truth behind Super's identity and the motivations behind his actions. It serves as a turning point in the fight against corruption and paves the way for a potential revolution.

• Upendra as Subhash Chandra Gandhi (the name is a portmanteau of Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi—the former is known for his revolutionary views to attaining Indian freedom, and the latter, for his non-violence)[lower-alpha 1]
• Nayanthara as Indira
• Tulip Joshi as Mandira, Indira's elder sister
• R. N. Sudarshan as Subash's father
• Shylashri as Subash's mother
• Sadhu Kokila as Chaddi brother
• Ali as Chaddi brother (term chaddi means shorts and is a parody on the Bellary Reddy Brothers who are alleged to have involved in mining scam)[6][7]
• Jeeva as Police Officer
• Kadhal Dhandapani as Chief Minister
• Yograj Bhat is featured as an off-screen narrator (uncredited)
• Rockline Venkatesh (producer) guest stars as the leader of a folk dance troop

Buddha statue showing the Vitarka mudra, hand gesture.

Upendra returned to direction after nearly ten years. The nameless film was originally represented only by the hand symbol (seen in posters) and Upendra wanted the audience to name the film. The hand symbol could mean zero, or three or the Om symbol or Vitarka Mudrā (an ancient Buddhist gesture), public and media stuck to calling it Super.[8]

Shooting began on 18 February 2010 at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium with the planned schedule for 90 days which included various locations in Bengaluru, Dubai and London.[9] It was produced by Rockline Venkatesh under the banner Rockline Productions, which is its 25th venture. The film saw the debut of Tamil-Malayalam actress Nayanthara in Kannada films. Being a multilingual film, several artists from Telugu and Tamil film industries like Ali, Kadal Dandapani, Jeeva are also featured.[10]

Prior to release, much information about the film was kept under wraps. During the promotion of the film at an interview on a radio station, Upendra expressed his disappointment being labeled as a "different director" and explained that most of his directorial ventures deal with the things that he had undergone in his real life.[11] When asked about the ten-year break, Upendra said he thought he would work on his acting career, but then it sucked him in like a vacuum which he could not get out of. After reaching a point where he was afraid he had lost his ability to direct films, he had to fight his fear and that is when he started working on the script of Super.[12]

A symbol being the title of the film, it is replete with symbolism from the title sequence is displayed.[13] Uppi has made the movie Super that is named after hand symbol completely a different film and that different trick starts right from the displaying title cards, which has never been attempted by anyone in Indian cinema. For instance, the credit for direction just shows "U" with an index finger pointing towards the audience. This story of India is narrated metaphorically through the story of Indira, the female lead.[14]

Super depicts a Utopian India in the year 2030 where Indians are pictured to be wealthy, hard-working, and are seen wearing traditional clothing consisting of Ilkal saree and panche. In contrast, westerners are the ones taking care of menial jobs like taxi driving, janitorial, etc. It is a future where the rupee is valued 70 times the British pound and people who cannot speak Kannada are considered illiterates (and Westerners are visibly apologetic about the same). From this setting, the film regresses back to the current year 2010 where India is beset with problems of corruption, red-tapism, pollution and unemployment. Political satire is played out by using sounds of horses and donkeys when ministers appear on the screen, which represents the political horse trading witnessed in recent times in the state of Karnataka.[15] Scenes of raping Indira and the auctioning process of an entire Indian state are interspersed to draw a parallel between the two.[16] The film finds a climax back in 2030 where a foreigner asks an Indian as to who was responsible for all the good changes in India, and the film ends abruptly again with the index finger pointing at the audience, symbolizing that it's the people who are ultimately responsible for the course of a nation.

In 2011, Rajinikanth attended a private screening of Super arranged by the producer Rockline Venkatesh. "It all started a couple of months ago when I met Rajini sir and told him about the film I was going to produce with Uppi as director. When he heard the story of the film, he was very happy," said Rockline. "When he learnt that it was a hit, he was thrilled and asked me to hold a screening for him, too."[39] After the screening, Rajinikanth commented: "I like watching Upendra's films and this was no exception. He is an excellent director and is one of a kind in the country. The kind of subject he has chosen is excellent. We need more films of this kind which are thought-provoking and also well-made. It's amazing that a film of this scale has been made in Kannada. If I get an opportunity and an impressive script, I'd like to do a Kannada film in the future."[39]

The film saw a special screening in Infosys at its Mysore campus where thousands of employees, which included non-Kannadigas, watched the film.[40] It was screened at the fourth Bangalore International Film Festival (BIFF) in December 2011.[19]

The Super soundtrack album rights was acquired by Madhu Bangarappa of Akash Audio for a record price of ₹12.5 million.[41] Composed by V Harikrishna, the album has five songs and Upendra has penned lyrics for three and remaining two have been written by Yograj Bhat and V Manohar. It was officially released on 19 November at Leela Palace by Puneeth Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar.[42]

Unlicensed copies of the album were available online within hours after the release, and a team was formed by the production unit to fight audio infringement. This resulted in some Kannada music websites being brought down permanently.[43][44]

• Udaya Film Award for Best Screenplay
• Suvarna Film Awards 2011 - Favorite Film Award
• Suvarna Film Awards 2011 - Favorite Director Award

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 2012-05-02)
• Super at IMDb