# Aa Karaala Ratri

Aa Karaala Ratri (transl. 'That Intense Dark Night') is a 2018 Indian Kannada-language thriller film directed and produced by Dayal Padmanabhan. The film is based on a Kannada play by Mohan Habbu which was translated from the tragic English play Lithuania by Rupert Brooke.
In September 2020, director Dayal announced that he will be directing the Telugu remake of the movie which would be produced by Allu Aravind. The Telugu remake titled Anaganaga O Athidhi was directly released on the Aha. He had also revealed that he would be directing the Tamil remake. The Tamil version was titled Kondraal Paavam released in 2023. The film was remade in Malayalam in 2023 as Pakalum Paathiravum, thereby making it the fifth Kannada film to be remade in three other South Indian languages after School Master, Sampathige Savaal, Devara Kannu and U Turn. Both the Tamil and Malayalam versions were released in March 2023 within one week.

## Plot

In an interior village, deep in Karnataka, a fortune teller visits a poverty-stricken family and foretells that their fortune will change overnight. A mysterious traveller (played by Jayaram Karthik) visits their home on the same day and requests to be allowed to stay overnight. What happens during that one intense night forms rest of the story.

## Cast

* Karthik Jayaram as Channa Keshava
* Anupama Gowda as Mallika 'Malli'
* Rangayana Raghu as Muthanna 'Onti Mane Muthanna'
* Veena Sundar as Gowramma
* Jaya Srinivasan
* Ashitha Chandrappa
* Navarasan as Kannappa
* Naveen Krishna in a cameo appearance

## Production

The film is based on a Kannada play by Mohan Habbu which was based on the play Lithuania by Rupert Brooke. Director S. K. Bhagavan had revealed that during the making of 1978 Kannada film Shankar Guru, he had narrated this story to actor Rajkumar.The film was planned to be shot in Ladakh and some preparation was undertaken, but in the end Rajkumar backed out as he felt the story was too dark.
Impressed by Mohan Habbu's story, Dayal decided to acquire the rights and make it into a full-length feature film. When Dayal entered the Bigg Boss house as a contestant his idea was strengthened when his fellow contestants JK and Anupama Gowda agreed to be a part of the film if it was made. Dayal then completed the entire script, along with co-dialogue writer Naveen Krishna, and narrated the full script to JK and Anupama.
Once the lead pair was fixed, Dayal zeroed in on Rangayana Raghu and Veena Sundar for other pivotal roles. Many of Dayal's contestant friends from Bigg Boss Kannada like Jaya Srinivasan, Ashitha and Diwakar appeared in the film.

## Reception

The News Minute mentions that "seasoned" actors and "clever" director came together hand-in-hand to make an interesting suspense thriller flick. Shyam Prasad S of Bangalore Mirror said the film is one of the best movies of the year and credited the convincing performances and brilliant technical execution for the success.

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| Karnataka State Film Awards | 10 January 2020 | First Best Film | Dayal Padmanabhan | Won |
| Karnataka State Film Awards | 10 January 2020 | Best Director | Dayal Padmanabhan | Won |
| Karnataka State Film Awards | 10 January 2020 | Best Supporting Actress | Veena Sundar | Won |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 15 August 2019 | Best Supporting Actor | Karthik Jayaram | Nominated |