“On the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava ten years ago, Raja Huli (2013) (meaning The Tiger King) was released in Karnataka theaters.” Raja Huli, produced by K Manju, is a remake of the box office success Sundarapandian (2012) in Tamil.
Many actors and technicians were affected, as were those who invested in and distributed the material. Raja Huli’s enormous success entrenched Rocking Star Yash as a star actor in the Kannada cinema industry after two back-to-back triumphs with Drama (2012) and Googly (2013). Over the next ten years, he rose to prominence as a pan-Indian hero, followed by the phenomenal success of the KGF series. Let’s go back to the beginning and see why Raja Huli is regarded as a watershed moment in the Kannada film industry. In an interview with Reporter.in, Raja Huli director Guru Deshpande discusses the film, including some memorable moments and never-before-heard happenings from the set. “Without a doubt, it’s a special film in my career as a filmmaker, and I’m sure it is for many who worked on it.” It was a fantastic experience, not only because of its box office success, but also because it offered everything to me and many others,” he explains. When asked how Raja Huli’s adventure began, the director recalls that he and producer K Manju released Yash’s Kirataka (2011), the Rocking Star’s first-ever huge commercial hit.
“We offered to make a film for Yash after Kirataka,” Guru Deshpande continues, “but it never took off.” Meanwhile, I watched Sundarapandian, which I thoroughly enjoyed, as did Yash. Everything fell into place this time.”
The soundtrack, according to the creators, was the most difficult challenge.
According to the film’s director, “Nadabrahma Hamsalekha sir, who composed the music and penned all the songs barring one, elevated the entire musical experience of the film to many folds.” “We spent around 35 to 40 lakh for the picturisation of the song ‘Om Hindu Gurutu…’ which was one of the highest back then,” Guru continues. The casting was what made this production stand out. Except for Yash, everyone on the screen was new. Senior actor Charan Raj took on a new role.”
during the film was being shot in 52 days over two schedules, Rocking Star Yash was hurt during filming the climax action scene. “On the final day of the climax part’s action scene, Yash was injured when one of the fighters hit him from behind on his right hand.” “The pain caused a high fever, and Yash shot the remaining portions while he was extremely hot,” Guru Deshpande recalls. Another song from the film, “Chaltha Chaltha…”, was shot at Nandi Hills, but many assumed it was done elsewhere. “Even the shooting of scenes inside the buses was done so meticulously to good effect,” the director explains. We had to transport all of the equipment and lights into the bus and install it, then repeat the process every time we filmed inside.” Apart from Yash, the majority of the cast members were new, according to the director. Meghana Raj made her Kannada debut with Punda in 2009, but Raja Huli was her second and first huge triumph. She had previously worked on Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu films.
Chikkanna established himself as a comic actor with this one after an amazing performance in Kirataka, and it eventually gave birth to Vasishta N Simha, an actor who has completed ten years in the industry alongside Raja Huli. When asked why Raja Huli is meaningful to him, Vashishta says he was involved in a few forgettable ventures before to Raja Huli. “One was never released, and another was without credit to my work as an actor, cinematographer, playback singer, and so on.” I had almost given up hope. “I never imagined myself as an actor,” Vasishta Simha tells Reporter.in. He recalls being astonished when an assistant director from his uncredited project called him, because it was the same person with whom he couldn’t stand eye to eye. “He mentioned an opportunity in Raja Huli. I was stunned and unable to respond when K Manju sir, instead of inquiring about my abilities, inquired about my compensation.” By then, the squad agreed that Vasishta Simha would be playing ‘Jagga’. “Incidentally, I was so low on confidence a week ago when I was ridiculed by someone that I could not perform, and mine had the emotions of a wooden face.” On the sets of Raja Huli, however, the actor performed so effectively that everyone began referring to him as a one-take actor. Vasishta Simha says it still feels like yesterday a decade later. “I was gathering all my certificates the day before the release of Raja Huli, thinking that if the film did not go well, I would go back to do some work.” The rest is history, and I’ve gotten all I wanted, including the adoration of my film Hariprriya.” Raja Huli was manufactured on a budget of approximately 2.72 crore. It eventually made more than 13 crore, a record for a Kannada film ten years ago. It is estimated that the film grossed roughly 35 crore in total. According to trade observers, the picture grossed Rs. 4.5 crore in its first week, despite heavy competition from the Bollywood film Krrish 3 (2013).
