Sarkaari Hiriya Praathamika Shaale, Kaasaragodu, Kodugé: Raamanna Rai (transl. Government Higher Primary School, Kasaragodu, Donated by: Raamanna Rai) is a 2018 Indian Kannada-language socio-political comedy film written, directed and produced by Rishab Shetty, presented by Sudeepa. The film stars Anant Nag, Pramod Shetty, Ranjan, Sampath, Saptha Pavoor, Mahendra, Sohan Shetty, Prakash Thuminad, Manish Heroor and others.
The film was released on 24 August 2018 to positive reviews and was declared a success at the box office.
In 2019, it won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film, at the 66th National Film Awards.
Contents
Plot
In the milieu of Kasaragod (a border district in Kerala having a large Kannada speaking population), the language supremacy becomes a hothead matter. A Kannada-medium Government-run Middle and High School, faces financial difficulties due to nonreceipt of money from the government officials. As a consequence, various expenses like books, uniforms, teachers' salaries, building repairs and extracurricular activities are virtually at a standstill.
Nambiar, the righteous Principal is being harassed by a hostile and corrupt Government official, Balakrishna Panikker, who is hell-bent upon closing the school as he wants to establish the supremacy of Malayalam. In a moment of weakness, Nambiar is forced to sign on a government order without reading it, which declares that the building is unsafe and needs to be demolished. A group of students coming from normal middle class to poor backgrounds are bound by the common thread of learning in Kannada. Their lives are thrown into turmoil when Panikker comes with a government order to physically close the school.
They then decide to get a famous person to fight their case. Accordingly, they chance upon the name of one social worker in Mysore (Mysuru), Ananthapadmanabha in a newspaper. They then journey to Mysuru to persuade Ananthapadmanabha to take up their case. In a hilarious twist, there are two Ananthapadmanabhas living next to each other and both these friends are at loggerheads over trivial issues. The boys are supposed to talk to Ananthapadmanabha.M but instead, end up talking to Ananthapadmanabha P., who agrees to take up their struggle.
With a lot of hope, they bring the "famous" Ananthapadmanabha P. to Kasargod. After initial skirmishes with Panikker, it appears that the boys are fighting a losing battle. There are many minor events that help in crystallizing a hitherto scattered struggle into a cohesive well-oiled movement. The parents of the children also get involved in the same under the leadership of Ananthapadmanabha. The culmination of this is a court scene under a sympathetic judge. Ananthapadmanabha, though not a lawyer himself, is allowed to argue on behalf of the students.
Ananthapadmanabha exposes the machinations of Panikker, arguing that the pictures of the abandoned school are photoshopped and concludes the case triumphantly. Being involved with the kids makes him realize how lonely he was. He then decides to remain in Kasargod as a part-time teacher in the school. Realising his mistakes, Ananthapadmanabha M. visits the school and gives Ananthapadmanabha P. his best wishes. The film ends with a group photo of students, parents and teachers.
Production
Filming
The film was shot in 55 days at one stretch.
Soundtrack
Vasuki Vaibhav has composed the songs and B. Ajaneesh Loknath has composed background score for the film. The lyrics for the songs are written by K. Kalyan, Trilok Trivikrama, Avinash Balekkala, Veeresh Shivamurthy and Vasuki Vaibhav.
Release
More than 3,000 students were reported to have watched the film at Kasargod. The Kannada Sangha members of Chandigarh made it possible to play the Kannada state anthem before the screening of the movie. It was reported that the movie had the highest ticket sales in Mumbai compared to any Kannada movie released there earlier. It was also the first Kannada movie to be released after 12 years in Thiruvananthapuram (two centres) and in Vizag (one centre) and the first Kannada movie to have its posters spread over 12 areas in Chennai.
Reception
The movie has received predominately positive reviews.
Sunayana Suresh of The Times of India rated the film 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Sarkari Hi. Pra. Shaale Kasaragodu, Koduge: Ramanna Rai is not an edgy commercial film, but it does have scenes that have an edge over the run-of-the-mill tales. If the narrative was a little tighter, it could have been nearly flawless." A critic from The New Indian Express gave it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "The director of Ricky and Kirik Party definitely deserves a shout-out for his brave attempt and neat execution. However, some unnecessary scenes tend to dilute the serious tone and stretch the film. A tighter edit would have ensured a better impact." Shyam Prasad S. of Bangalore Mirror gave it 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "The actors are natural and real, the issue important and the effort sincere. But in the end it is the film that should be able to make an impact. It sputters."
Box office
The movie got positive response from both audience and critics. It completed 100 days in theatres and was a blockbuster hit.
Satellite rights
The satellite and digital rights were secured by Udaya TV and Sun NXT where the film had its World Television Premiere on 23 December 2018 at 6:00 p.m. IST