For the 2020 Telugu film, see Bombhaat.
Bombaat
Poster
Directed byD. Rajendra Babu
Screenplay byD. Rajendra Babu
Story byJanardhana Maharshi
Produced byRockline Venkatesh
StarringGanesh
Ramya
CinematographyShekhar Chandru
Edited byT. Shashikumar
Music byMano Murthy
Production
company
Release date
  • 8 August 2008 (2008-08-08)[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageKannada

Bombaat (pronunciationⓘ transl. Superb)[2] is a 2008 Indian Kannada-language action comedy film directed by D. Rajendra Babu. The film stars Ganesh and Ramya.[3][4] It follows Anand, a fearless young man with a troubled past who frequently clashes with criminals and wrongdoers in Bangalore. His life takes a turn after he becomes involved with Shalini, the daughter of the city's police commissioner, leading him into conflict with a powerful underworld gang.

The film was produced by Rockline Venkatesh under the banner Rockline Productions. The music for the film was scored by Mano Murthy. Upon theatrical release on 8 August 2008, the film opened to generally negative reviews from critics. The plot was criticized to be a hotchpotch of Telugu films such as Dhana 51 (2005), Dhee (2007) and Aata (2007).[5] The film also failed to perform commercially.

Plot

Shalini returns to Bangalore after completing her MBA from a university in Austria and is welcomed home by her father Ananthakrishnan, the city's police commissioner. On her way home, she witnesses a man assaulting a participant in an Ayyappa procession, only to discover that the victim had been smuggling explosives disguised within the offerings carried by devotees. Disturbed by the growing hooliganism in Bangalore and angered by the police's inability to control it, Shalini expresses her desire to return to Austria. To reassure her, Ananthakrishnan arranges for the same man, Anand, to be temporarily shown as being in police custody, leading Shalini to believe he has been arrested.

Anand lives with his friends and cares deeply for his aged mother, who wishes to see him become a police officer. Meanwhile, Bangalore's underworld is controlled by mafia leader Gajendra along with his brother Das and associate Guru, who are involved in smuggling, extortion and trafficking. Gajendra's son Adi Shankar becomes infatuated with Shalini after seeing her at a party, but his inappropriate behaviour results in Shalini publicly humiliating him. Enraged, Gajendra initially orders her murder, but Guru instead proposes marrying Adi Shankar to her in order to establish ties with the police. Subsequently, Gajendra and his men forcibly finalize the marriage alliance through a traditional tambula ceremony conducted at Ananthakrishnan's house. Unable to oppose the gang openly, the commissioner secretly entrusts Shalini's safety to Anand, much to Shalini's amusement.

Anand shelters Shalini at his residence and cleverly convinces Gajendra that forcing her into marriage immediately may endanger Adi Shankar. Claiming that he can gradually persuade her to accept the alliance willingly, Anand gains the gang's trust, with Das being assigned to monitor him. Anand and his friends then manipulate Das into believing that Gajendra has denied him a rightful share in the gang's wealth and property. Their repeated provocations create distrust between the brothers, eventually escalating into violent conflict between their factions at a stone quarry, resulting in several deaths. Believing the gang has weakened, the police begin operations against them, but Guru escapes from custody with the help of an insider and reveals Anand's role in turning the brothers against one another.

Anand later reveals to Shalini that his father had once been a feared rowdy who exploited the public before being murdered by his own associates. Ashamed of his father's past, Anand had promised his mother that he would become a police officer, but his application was rejected because of his family background. He explains that, despite this, he has secretly been assisting Commissioner Ananthakrishnan by targeting criminals. Following the success of his operations against Gajendra's gang, Anand is finally appointed as a sub-inspector, fulfilling his mother's long-cherished wish. When Gajendra and his men arrive to reclaim Shalini, Anand single-handedly fights and defeats the gang before proudly saluting his mother in police uniform.

Cast

Production

"There is lot of hardwork from me. It is a new kind of cinema for me. I have lost eight kilos especially for the second half."

— Ganesh on the film, 2008[7]

Ganesh worked out to play a tough guy in the film.[8] Ramya was cast as a non-resident Indian.[9] The songs were shot in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy.[9][10][11][12] Ramya shot for this film at the same time as the unreleased Bhimoo's Bang Bang Kids and Mussanje Maathu.[13] Ganesh got injured while doing the splits.[14] Shooting finished in March 2008.[10]

Soundtrack

The music of Bombaat was composed by Mano Murthy who previously worked with Ganesh in Mungaru Male and Cheluvina Chittara.[7] Lyrics were by Jayanth Kaikini and Kaviraj. Bangalore Mirror opined that "Amid high expectations from Mano, for a Ganesh starrer, Bombaat’s soundtrack just about manages to stay afloat.[15]

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Maathinalli Helalaarenu" (male)Jayanth KaikiniSonu Nigam5:22
2."Strawberry Kenne"KavirajRajesh Krishnan, Supriya Ramakrishnayya5:03
3."I Am So Bombaat" (title track)KavirajGurukiran4:11
4."Maathinalli Helalaarenu" (female)Jayanth KaikiniShreya Ghoshal5:09
5."Chinna Hele Hegiruve"Jayanth KaikiniSonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal5:12

Release and reception

Bombaat was released around the same time as Ramya-starrer Anthu Inthu Preethi Banthu.[16] A critic from Sify called the story "water thin" and opined that "Added to it is the mother sentiment plus Mano Murthy’s rehashed tunes from his earlier films, makes it messy."[17] R G Vijayasarathy of Rediff.com gave the film a rating of two out of five stars and opined that "All this might just appeal to Ganesh's fans despite the poor script".[18] Deccan Herald said, "Bombaat is better left alone for a quickest burial at the boxoffice and one’s money better spent at bhel-puris, badushahs, chais, cappuccinos, and Cafe au Laits than let Bombaat make bheja-fry of you brains and mincemeat of your mindspace".[2] The audience criticised Ganesh's characterisation.[19] Rajendra Babu cast Ramya in Aryan (2014) after he liked her performance in this film.[20]

Box office

The initial collections were high,[21] but the film later became a box office failure after the collections dipped.[22][23][24][25] The film flopped along with Ramya's Anthu Inthu Preethi Banthu.[26]

References

  1. ^ "Ramya is all excited about Bombaat and her other projects". The Hindu. 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Babu, Bejaar (9 August 2008). "This Bombaat is bheja-fry". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  3. ^ Shiva Kumar, S. (28 March 2008). "Life can be bombat". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Bombaat". Sify. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Paramesha Paanwala is a laugh riot".
  6. ^ CR, Sharanya (22 March 2013). "Malashri takes on five baddies in her next". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Bombaat gets ready". Sify. 9 July 2008. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  8. ^ Vijayasarathy, R G. "Ready for a new-look Ganesh?". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Bombat". The Hindu. 9 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  10. ^ a b Veeresh, K.M. (16 May 2008). "Gandhinagar Gossip". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Ganesh's parallel love story in Austria". The Times of India. 21 May 2018. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Ramya's turning a globetrotter". The Times of India. 16 April 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Rajeev's impressed with Ramya". The Times of India. 25 July 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Ganesh is in splits!". The Times of India. 2 February 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Falls short of expectations!". Bangalore Mirror. 25 July 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Ramya rules". The Hindu. 17 May 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Bombaat". Sify. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  18. ^ Vijayasarathy, R G (8 August 2008). "For Ganesh fans". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  19. ^ Madhu Daithota (7 January 2009). "'Why stop at Rs 2 crore?'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Ramya and Shivanna to pair up for Babu's next". The Times of India. 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Kannada Box-Office (Sep1-5)". Sify. 5 September 2008. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Rs 60-cr loss for Sandalwood". Bangalore Mirror. 29 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  23. ^ Lokesh, Vinay (16 January 2014). "Ganesh to take the action route?". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  24. ^ "Double crore? Not quite there". Bangalore Mirror. 28 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  25. ^ Daithota, Madhu (3 October 2008). "'I was scared to bits'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  26. ^ Madhu Daithota (4 January 2009). "'I've reached a more serious phase in my life'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.