‘‘Kasturi Nivasa’ — the yesteryear’s runaway hit movie of thespian of Kannada filmdom Dr Rajkumar — hit the screens in the city in coloured version, on Friday. The movie starring Rajkumar and Arathi is a sentimental drama with a tragic end. It was first released in the year 1971.
At Woodlands theatre, on the Bangalore-Nilgiri Road, the film is screened in four shows, while it is being exhibited one show each at DRC Cinemas at Jayalakshmipuram and Satyam Cineplex on M G Road.
At Woodlands, over 80 tickets had been sold for the second show (at 7.30 pm) for balcony alone, having a seating capacity of 233.
When enquired, it was learnt that though the response was average, given the genre of the film that dates to four decades back, it still remains a crowd-puller.
‘Abhisheka’
A posse of fans — irrespective of age group — led by Vyramudi, Mahadeva Swamy among others performed ‘abhisheka’ in milk to the 30-foot-tall cutout of the actor in front of Woodlands. A total of 30 litres of milk was emptied, with the fans pouring the milk from the terrace of the theatre.
Vyramudi told media: “It was the happiest moment in my life, having the privilege to watch the movie in colour that had wooed the cine lovers in large numbers decades ago”.
When the movie was first released in black and white, it was screened in three shows at Padma talkies at Agrahara, where it saw a 100-day run.
S Mahadevaswamy, manager of the theatre, who had just joined the theater as an accountant then, told Deccan Herald: “It was a solo release (single theatre release) in the city, that set the cash registers ringing in those days”.
Mahadevaswamy’s memory is still fresh, as he recalls the visit of the director duo of the film Dorai-Bhagawan, to the theatre then.