Om, stylized as ॐ, is a 1995 Indian Kannada-language romantic gangster drama film written and directed by Upendra. The film was produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar under the production company Sri Vajreshwari Combines. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar and Prema with Srishanthi, G. V. Shivanand, Sadhu Kokila in supporting roles with real-life gangsters - Bekkina Kannu Rajendra, Tanveer, Korangu Krishna and Jedaralli Krishnappa - portraying the role of gangsters in a small but important portion of the film.
Om was remade in Telugu as Omkaram (1997) starring Rajasekhar and Prema which was also directed by Upendra. Hamsalekha was also the music director of the Telugu remake and retained the songs in the Telugu version. The film was unofficially remade in Hindi as Arjun Pandit (1999). The 2001 Bangladeshi film Panja was loosely inspired by the core plotline of this movie. UP gangster Vikas Dubey was reported to be an ardent fan of Arjun Pandit. Later another Bangladeshi remake named Prem Kayedi was also made & released in 2009.
The film became a successful venture at the box office and was declared an industry hit. It remains a cult classic in Kannada cinema with a dedicated fan following among audience owing to its re-release every two weeks. This film has a Limca record for re-releasing more than 550 times. The movie was reported to be the highest screened film in the history of Kannada cinema.
The movie has released 30 times in Kapali theatre, Bangalore which is a record. On the occasion of completion of 25 years, Upendra had revealed that the core plot of the film was based on a real-life person - Purshi who was his brother's friend. The film is credited for ushering in the genre of underworld mafia in a full-fledged manner in Kannada cinema.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
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