Made with a whopping ₹1.25 crore in 1987, 'Premaloka' not only recovered the budget but created records at the box office.
Ravichandran Ravichandran addressing the Hampi Utsava on Sunday evening. (Supplied)
The 1987 romantic musical blockbuster Kannada film Premaloka is a milestone in the industry. Apart from being the biggest hit, the movie marked the debut of actor V Ravichandran, son of noted film producer Veeraswamy.
Premaloka was also the launching pad for composer Hamsalekha, who went on to score music for hundreds of films to this date. The flick, made in Kannada and Tamil, had no less than 11 songs!
It was also technically the first movie of Bollywood actor Juhi Chawla in a full-fledged character in a lead role. By that time, she only made a brief appearance in the Hindi film Sultanat (1986).
The audio rights of the Kannada film minted money for the popular music label “Lahari” through the sales of audio cassettes. Well, the list goes on.
While the news of Crazy Star V Ravichandran returning with a sequel to or another modern version of Premaloka is quite old, the latest update is that the actor-filmmaker has announced that he will release Premaloka 2 in 2025.
He announced this at the ongoing Hampi Utsav on Sunday evening, 4 February.
A poster of the film Premaloka’. (Supplied)
Reflecting on the impact of Premaloka, Ravichandran reminisced about the profound moment when his father embraced him after watching the film.
The actor also fondly recalled the warmth of late Dr Puneeth Rajkumar’s hugs, each embodying a testament to the power of love and resilience.
“After watching Premaloka, my father hugged me, which I will never forget. I could sense his tears rolling down the back of my shoulder. Another moment I always remember is regarding Appu (late Dr Puneeth Puneeth Rajkumar). He would always greet me with a big hug. Both gestures symbolise moving forward in life with a smile, leaving tears behind,” said Ravichandran.
He also shared his fond memories of Hampi when he last visited three decades ago.
“It’s a special feeling when I visit Hampi, which has so much history and culture attached to it. I feel energised. Hampi Utsava was started in the late 1980s by former deputy minister of Karnataka MP Prakash. Even my film Premaloka was released in the late 80s. Both are almost the same age.”
The first time I came was when Premaloka was released. And now, I will be back with another Premaloka,” he said.
Known by multiple names — “Showman of Sandalwood” for his exuberant and lavish filmmaking style and “Crazy Star” for his out-of-the-box thinking, V Ravichandran’s career has spanned over 37 years with several superhits and even some super flops.
“I have known nothing but cinema. The way people treat us gives us the energy and zeal to work irrespective of financial losses or gains. I have always aspired for only one thing in life — love and nothing but love. Even my parents guided me on the path of love, which I continue to tread to this date,” the actor said.
He added, “I have survived in this industry for over 37 years just because of one film — Premaloka, which is remembered and loved even now by the audience.”
Noted film producer late Veeraswamy, father of Ravichandran. (Supplied)
About the financial risk his father took to produce Premaloka, Ravichandran recalled one of their interactions.
“After seeing an elephant in Hampi, I remembered what my father told me while I was making Premaloka. Back then, a Kannada film was made at a maximum budget of ₹10 lakh, barring Dr Rajkumar’s, which was a bit higher on production cost for obvious reasons.”
“But I made Premaloka with a whopping ₹1.25 crore. My father once called me to his bedroom and told me that I was like a white elephant. Though he was confident with my vision and the making, he was a bit sceptical as to whether the film could even recover the budget spent on the film,” Ravichandran added.
“But Premaloka not only recovered the budget but created records at the box office. It was possible only because of the love shown by the people. My success and failure is in the hands of the people,” the actor added.
The actor-director felt that judging a film by its box office success is not right.
“For me, the success is to make a movie every time I want to entertain the audience. Many thought I was sitting idle at home. No, I was working on making another Premaloka. This time Premaloka will have even more songs than the 1987 film.”
Ravichandran revealed that while recording the songs for Premaloka in Chennai, almost everyone who sang the songs was present at the recording studio. They were at least 150 in number.
“The result of it is evident that many still hum to the tunes of Premaloka. I had no idea about money. I never felt the importance of money to survive in life and I am brought up that way,” he quipped.
V Ravichandran. (Supplied)
Ravichandran also took an indirect jibe at the present trend in the industry, where many movies are based on violence.
“Back then, everyone listened to violins (melodious songs). But these days, they are ‘listening’ to violence on the screen. I have journeyed all my life with violins and always aimed at winning hearts. But many are targeting elsewhere with guns at present. I will come back again with violins rather than violence,” he announced.
The actor-filmmaker also reminisced a few incidents about the melodious songs from his film.
“While arriving here (Hampi), a car driver told me that his journey is incomplete if he doesn’t play any songs from my films. I have a song for all moods in my films, starting from the celebration of the birth of a child to the emotional bond of parents and even honeymoon sequences,” he signed off.
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