Kathanayakudu

Kathanayakudu (“The Protagonist”) is a 2008 Telugu drama directed by P. Vasu and produced by Aswani Dutt and G. P. Vijayakumar, a remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol (2007), made simultaneously in Tamil as Kuselan. Jagapathi Babu plays a poor village barber and Rajinikanth, in an extended guest role, the film-star friend of his childhood, with Meena as the barber’s wife. It was released on 1 August 2008.

What the story is about

Balu and Ashok Kumar were inseparable as boys, but their lives went different ways: Ashok became a national superstar, and Balu a barber in the village of Siricilla, happily married to Devi with three children but always short of money, in debt to the moneylender Dharmaraju and losing customers to the slicker Shanmugam across the street. Then news arrives that Ashok Kumar is coming to shoot a film nearby. The village is thrilled, but Balu hesitates to tell anyone that the star was once his friend, afraid that he has long been forgotten. When word gets out, the people who mocked him suddenly want favours, and Balu’s quiet life is turned upside down.

Cast and crew

• Jagapathi Babu as Balakrishna “Balu”
• Rajinikanth as Ashok Kumar (voice dubbed by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam)
• Meena as Balu’s wife
• Sunil as Shanmugam
• Dharmavarapu Subramanyam as Dharmaraju
• Tanikella Bharani as a school teacher
• Guest appearances by Nayanthara as herself, Brahmanandam, Prabhu and Mamta Mohandas

Director: P. Vasu. Producers: Aswani Dutt and G. P. Vijayakumar (Vyjayanthi Movies). Music: G. V. Prakash Kumar. Cinematography: Arvind Krishna. Runtime: 146 minutes.

Making the film

After Chandramukhi (2005), Vasu wanted to work with Rajinikanth again, and had even pitched a Chandramukhi spin-off called Vettaiyan, Oneindia reported. Unlike Mammootty’s cameo in the original, Vasu insisted Rajinikanth’s part would be a full role. Ileana D’Cruz turned down an offer because of dates. Both language versions were shot together over 82 days, mostly at Ramoji Film City, with schedules in Kerala and Pollachi.

Music

G. V. Prakash Kumar’s five-song soundtrack was released on 30 June 2008. Its song “Cinema Cinema” marks the 75th anniversary of Telugu cinema, mixing archival footage of N. T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, M. G. Ramachandran and Rajkumar with Rajinikanth spoofing Zorro, Lawrence of Arabia and James Bond.

Reviews

Critics found it moving if overlong. Rediff (two and a half out of five) felt Vasu went overboard in moving away from the original but called the film “worth a watch for the touching last moments”. Jeevi of Idlebrain (three out of five) praised Rajinikanth, Jagapathi Babu and “a heart touching climax” but wanted a faster narration, and 123telugu (three out of five) recommended it as “another very good family outing”.

Where to watch Kathanayakudu

We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for the 2008 Kathanayakudu on file. If we verify one with a platform, it will appear on this page.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Kathanayakudu (2008 film) and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.