# Shankar Guru (1978 film)

Shankar Guru (pronunciation) is a 1978 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film directed by V. Somashekhar and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar under Dakshayini Combines. It stars Dr. Rajkumar in triple role, alongside Jayamala, Padmapriya, Kanchana, Balakrishna, Vajramuni, Thoogudeepa Srinivas and Uma Shivakumar. The music was composed by Upendra Kumar, while the cinematography and editing were handled by R. Madhusudan and P. Bhaktavatsalam.
Shankar Guru marks Parvathamma Rajkumar's debut as a producer. The film was shot extensively in and around Kashmir. The film was the second film of Rajkumar after Kula Gourava in which he played a triple role and his only colour film in a triple role.
Shankar Guru was released on 17 February 1978 to widespread critical acclaim and became an all-time blockbuster at the box office. P. Bhaktavatsalam won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Editor. The film was remade in Telugu as Kumara Raja, in Tamil as Thirisoolam and in Hindi as Mahaan.

## Plot

Rajashekhar is an upright business magnate whose associates are involved in shady deals. During an argument over such a deal, a scuffle ensues and Rajashekhar accidentally shoots one of his associates dead. Fleeing from the cops, Rajashekhar loses contact with his pregnant wife Sumathi.
Many years later, Sumathi is now living with her son Shankar in Delhi, while Rajashekhar is a rich estate owner in Kashmir. Rajashekhar's niece Nalini encounters Shankar in Delhi and recommends him to manage her uncle's estate in Kashmir. Guru, Shankar's doppelgänger, also arrives in Kashmir for a romantic quest with his rich girlfriend Malathi. Through Shankar, Rajashekhar manages to establish contact with Sumathi and is overwhelmed with joy.
Before Rajashekhar can meet Sumathi, trouble arrives in the form of Rajashekhar's erstwhile crooked business partners, who are after a valuable necklace stolen from a temple in Delhi, which they believe is now in Rajashekhar's possession. The partners kidnap Sumathi and imprison and torture Rajashekhar and a final fight ensues in which Shankar and Guru (who are revealed to be twins) rescue and reunite with their parents.

## Cast

* Rajkumar as Rajashekhar alias Jayaraj
** Shankar, Rajashekhar's son and Guru's brother
** Guru, Rajashekhar's son and Shankar's brother
* Jayamala as Nalini, Rajashekhar's niece
* Padmapriya as Malathi, Guru's love interest
* Kanchana as Sumati, Rajashekhar's wife and Shankar and Guru's mother
* Balakrishna as Adv. Lakshman Rao
* Vajramuni as Premkumar
* Thoogudeepa Srinivas as Madanlal
* Sampath as Gurumurthy
* Tiger Prabhakar as Tiger
* Uma Shivakumar as Dr. Prema
* Chandrashekhar as Divakar alias Duplicate Shankar
* Chi. Udayashankar
* Honnavalli Krishna
* Vaishali Kasaravalli
* Keerthi Raj

## Soundtrack

The music was composed by Upendra Kumar with lyrics for the soundtrack by Chi. Udayashankar.

## Release

Shankar Guru was released on 17 February 1978

## Reception

Shankar Guru was a phenomenal success in all centers and completed 100 days in theatres. The film had a theatrical run of over a year and grossed ₹3.26 crore in its final run. The film became the first Kannada film to gross over ₹3 crores at the box office, thus breaking record of the 1972 film Bangaarada Manushya and making it as the highest grossing Kannada film of the 1970's.

## Remakes

It was remade in Tamil as Thirisoolam, in Telugu as Kumara Raja and in Hindi as Mahaan in which Rajkumar's characters were played by Sivaji Ganesan, Krishna and Amitabh Bachchan respectively. The Telugu version had Jayanthi reprising Kanchana's role, while Jaya Prada reprised the role of Padmapriya. The names of all the characters were retained in the Tamil version.

## Awards

* 1977–78 Karnataka State Film Awards
** Best Editor – P. Bhaktavatsalam

## Trivia

The film's title Shankar Guru was named after Chi. Udayashankar's sons Ravishankar and Chi. Guru Dutt. It was the first film in which Tiger Prabhakar's character was called Tiger and also marks Chandrashekhar's second collaboration with Rajkumar after Raja Nanna Raja. During the making of the film, S. K. Bhagavan narrated a play called Lithuania by Rupert Brooke (titled The Return of the Soldier in Russian) to Rajkumar. The film was planned to be shot in Ladakh and some preparation was undertaken, but Dr. Rajkumar backed out as he felt the story was too dark. In 2018, Dayal Padmanabhan adapted the play into a film titled Aa Karaala Ratri.