2018 now is a thing of past. It was an interesting year indeed where we got to see a lot of events happening in fields across. From social media, politics, fashion to technology, and cinema; 2018 stood out for many reasons. As far as the Kannada movie industry is concerned, a total of 230+ movies got released making it the highest in the last 80 years of Kannada cinema. In comparison to 2017’s 190+ releases, sandalwood produced all kinds of movies from commercial, art, originals to remakes embracing both hits and flops. Here is a brief analysis of Sandalwood coupled with our pick for best Kannada movies of 2018.
Sandalwood or Kannada Movies of 2018
With KGF becoming the first Kannada movie to cross 150 crores, Sandalwood had its best grosser. It was indeed a proud moment for all the Kannada cine lovers to cherish. Besides, movies like Tagaru and Ayogya ran for 100 days to become year’s super-hit movies. Rambo 2 didn’t fall flat to impress and gracefully stood up to its expectations.
The Villain which came in the direction of Prem, starring Sudeep and Shiv Rajkumar did a great business. However, failed miserably to strike the audience’s interests.
2018 was also a year of experiments for KFI. Movies like Katheyondu Shuruvagide, Kannadakkagi Ondannu Otti, Iruvdellava bittu, the terrorist, jeerjimbe, and ondlalla eradalla managed to grab the audience’s interests. On the other hand, the most expected movies like Rajaratha, Kanaka, Bhairavageetha, Humble Politician Nograj, and Victory 2 fizzled to create the magic on silver screen.
Out of 230+ movies released in the year 2018, considering its content, performances, box-office, and audience’s rating – following can be put in the list of Best Kannada Movies of 2018.
Tagaru
Tagaru came at the beginning of 2018 with Shiv Rajkumar and Dhananjaya in the lead roles. Owing to its intriguing screenplay and awe-inspiring background score, Tagaru became a hit. It ran for more than 100 days in major centers of Bengaluru. It was a pure blend of art and commercial that only Soori could take off.
Sarkari Hi. Prathamika Shaale Kasaragodu (SHPSK)
SHPSK as a story and a cinema whirl around the Kannada Medium School in Kerala carrying the emotions of resident Kannadigas associated with it. It was a light-hearted drama neatly presented by Rishab Shetty revered with eye-pleasing visuals and satirical performances.
Recommended: 10 Reasons Why You Should Watch this Kannada Movie Titled SHPSK
Gultoo
Directed by Janardhan Chikkanna, Gultoo was an experimental movie well received by the audience. It was a cyber-thriller where Naveen Shankar’s performance stood out while Sonu Gowda did her best.
Jeerjimbe
The story of Jeerjimbe revolves around a 13-year old girl and her adventures of going through the age-old restrictions put on a girl child. It takes off with an entry of bicycle coming in her life as part of free cycles programme by the Government. Giving the idea of the mentality of people in rural areas, the story traverses to a moment after which, it introduces us to the hidden cruelty and its different faces. It is off-beat for a reason that it gives you a theatrical kind of experience in Cinemas.
Dayavittu Gamanisi
Anthology is one of the less-tried genres in Kannada cinema and when we talk about it, Puttanna Kanagal’s Katha Sangama strikes. With Dayavittu Gamanisi, Rohit Padaki’s effort was sincere to try this off-beat genre. It had a great content quality but somehow failed to keep it experiential.
Ondalla Eradalla
After Rama Rama Re, D. Sathya Prakash came out in August to present a comedy-drama titled Ondalla Eradalla. It had an emotional story revolving around a young boy Sameera and his pet cow Bhanu. With its first-half filled with laughter, as the movie runs, it opens up to the futility of societal practices.
Ammacchi Yemba Nenapu
Ammacchi is a sensual story that goes completely off-beat from your regular pop-corn flow. It was based on short stories written by Vaidehi (A popular name in Kannada literature) giving a cinematic look to it by Champa Shetty. Blessed with top-notch performances and apt casting, Ammacchi, according to us is one of the most underrated Kannada movies of 2018.
Hebbet Ramakka
At the 65th National Film Awards, this movie won the best feature film in Kannada award. The story of Ramakka is all about a wife standing against his own husband for his political aspirations. It has a usual flow but still holds your attention. Certainly, it is not a subject that appeals to Millenials owing to its non-commercial aspects in it.
Recommended: 5 Upcoming ‘Edge of a Seat Thriller’ Kannada Movies in 2019 You Should Definitely Look For
KGF – Chapter 1
Nothing has really left for us to say about KGF. Prashanth Neel has put out some great lessons for Kannada film industry to learn and implement. Be it story-telling, casting, marketing, distribution; the KGF team has excelled in every field of cinema making. As a testament to it, the movie went on to become the highest grossing and one of the memorable Kannada movies of 2018.
So, this was about the best Kannada movies of 2018. Which is your favorite? Which one did you like the most? Tell us in the comments below.
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