Kasturi Nivasa (1971) watch online

Kasturi Nivasa ( transl. House of Fragrance) is a 1971 Indian Kannada-language drama film written and directed by the director duo Dorai–Bhagavan based on a story by G. Balasubramanium which was loosely inspired by William Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens. It was produced by K. C. N. Gowda under the banner of Anupam Movies. The film stars Rajkumar as Ravi Varma, an extremely generous man, who succumbs to his intention of being generous no matter what happens. It features Jayanthi, Raja Shankar, K. S. Ashwath and Aarathi in key roles.

After Balasubramaniam wrote the story exclusively for Sivaji Ganesan, director K. Shankar and producer Noor were impressed. Sivaji Ganesan however declined to use the story, citing its tragic ending. In early 1971, Chi. Udayashankar and S. P. Varadaraj chanced upon the project. Eventually, they persuaded Dorai–Bhagavan to listen to the story. Upon hearing the story, they agreed to make the film, with Rajkumar in the lead role. They bought the rights for the film for ₹38,000. The film was financed by K. C. N. Gowda. It features original songs composed by G. K. Venkatesh, while the filming was done by B. Dorairaj, Chettibabu and N. G. Rao.

Expectations for Kasturi Nivasa were low. Upon its release on 29 January 1971, initial response was tepid, but favorable word-of-mouth publicity and positive critical response helped it to become a box office success, with a theatrical run of 100 days in 16 theatres across Karnataka. The film was remade in Hindi as Shaandaar (1974), and in Tamil as Avandhan Manidhan (1975). The film's soundtrack was well received with the songs Aadisidaata and Aadisi Nodu Beelisi Nodu becoming chartbusters.

In 2014, Kasturi Nivasa became the second Kannada film to be digitally remastered and colourised, at an estimated cost of ₹2 crore. The project of colorising the film was taken up by K. C. N. Gowda himself. However, he died midway through the project. After he died, his son, K. C. N. Mohan took over the project. The updated version was released on 7 November 2014 in over 100 theatres in Karnataka. It was a commercial success that generated mostly positive reviews.

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