Dia (film)
| Dia | |
|---|---|
_film_poster.jpeg) | |
| Directed by | K. S. Ashoka |
| Written by | K. S. Ashoka |
| Produced by | D Krishna Chaitanya |
| Starring | Kushee Ravi Pruthvi Ambaar Dheekshith Shetty |
| Cinematography | Vishal Vittal Sourabh Waghmare |
| Edited by | Naveen Raj |
| Music by | B. Ajaneesh Loknath |
Production company | Sri Swarnalatha Productions |
| Distributed by | KRG Studios |
Release date |
|
Running time | 136 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
Dia is a 2020 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film written and directed by K. S. Ashoka, and produced by D Krishna Chaitanya under Sri Swarnalatha Productions. The film stars Kushee Ravi, Pruthvi Ambaar and Dheekshith Shetty, with a score by B. Ajaneesh Loknath. It was released in India on 7 February 2020. The film was a box office success and was re-released in 2021.
The film was remade in Telugu as Dear Megha (2021), in Hindi as Dear Dia (2022) and in Marathi as Sari (2023).
Plot
Dia Swaroop, an introverted biotechnology college student who lives in Bengaluru, has a crush on Rohit. She does not express her feelings for him before he moves out of the country. Three years later, Dia encounters Rohit in Mumbai, where she has moved and is now working. Dia and Rohit gradually begin to develop a bond, and Rohit proposes his love for her. One night, as they are returning home from a movie, they get into an accident after a car hits them. When Dia wakes up in the hospital and asks for Rohit, her father's friend tells her that Rohit has died. Unable to accept Rohit's death, Dia becomes severely depressed and she leaves to Bengaluru, where she decides to kill herself at a railway crossing. Facing an oncoming train, she is interrupted by a phone call from Adi, who has retrieved Dia's bag from a thief. Annoyed, she tells him to keep it and not to call her again. Dia and Adi then run into one another several times, and Dia reveals her past to him. Adi charms Dia out of her depression; they become friends and eventually fall in love. Dia returns to Mumbai,where she is shocked to find Rohit waiting for her. Rohit explains that he was declared brain dead, and that it was uncertain that he would regain consciousness, causing her father to tell his friend to lie to her with the hope that she would move on. Dia calls Adi and tells him that Rohit is alive. Adi, heartbroken, tells Dia that she should be happy with Rohit. Despite his mother forbidding him to see Dia, Adi goes to see her one last time. He finds Dia disheartened and Rohit happy, wishes them well and returns home. While away, Adi's mother has died from a heart attack, and he learns that she could have been saved had someone been there. Meanwhile, Dia confesses her college love, how she thought he died and how she met Adi to Rohit. A distressed Rohit tells her to return to Adi so that she will be happy. Elated, Dia goes to Adi's home and finds an auto driver who tells her that he is missing. She and the auto driver search for him until another auto driver reveals that Adi has gone to the railroad crossing where she attempted to kill herself. Adi has decided to kill himself at the railway crossing because he feels immense guilt over his mother's death and believes that he will be unable to live without his mother and Dia. He prays to God one last time for Dia's happiness and waits for the train. Dia reaches him and calls out; Adi turns to her, surprised, and is hit by a train as a startled Dia watches.
Cast
- Kushee Ravi as Dia Swaroop "Soup"
- Pruthvi Ambaar as Adi
- Dheekshith Shetty as Rohit
- Pavithra Lokesh as Dr. Lakshmi "Lucky", Adi's mother
- Arvind Rao as Dia's father
- Rajesh Rao as Dia's father's friend
- Jyothi Rai as Rohit's sister
- Chandan Ravandur N as passenger in a train
- Gokul Chakravarthy as Auto Driver
- Rakesh Srinivas as Auto Driver
- Darshan Apoorva as Rohit's friend
- Rudwin as Rohit's friend
Background and production
Dia is K. S. Ashoka's second feature film. It was released seven years after his successful debut, the horror film 6-5=2 (2013).[2] The film features Kushee Ravi and Dheekshith Shetty, who starred in Naagini, in their Kannada cinema debut.[3][4] The film also features Tulu actor Pruthvi Ambaar, who had previously starred in Karvva (2016), Rajaru (2017), and DK Boss (2019).[5] A few scenes of the film were shot at Padukere Beach.[6]
Soundtrack
| Dia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 2020 | |||
| Recorded | 2020 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| B. Ajaneesh Loknath chronology | ||||
| ||||
B. Ajaneesh Loknath composed Dia's score. The film was originally supposed to feature two songs,[7] but Ashoka decided to use an instrumental score with no songs, similar to European romance films.[8] The film was promoted with a song, "Soul of Dia".[9]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Soul of Dia" | Dhananjay Ranjan | Chinmayi, Sanjith Hegde | 3:35 |
Critical reception
"However, Dia has given me an identity, and today, film industries across languages are aware that a certain K S Ashoka exists. Moreover, it's a pleasure to know that the entire world watched the film and talked about its artistic aspects."
Reviewing Dia for The Times of India, Sunayana Suresh gave the film four out of five stars, praising the realism of the story, the three main performances, the cinematography, and the score. Suresh noted that the story centers on the external and internal experiences and dialogues of the eponymous female protagonist. Suresh said that "the film is for those who want to experience cinema in a brave new style sans the commercial staples".[1] In a review for The Hindu, S. Shiva Kumar praised the direction, acting, writing and score, but criticised the conclusion as abrupt. Kumar said: "The acting is first-rate particularly Kushee and Pruvthvi. Pavithra Lokesh is all grace and poise in a beautifully written role".[2] In the Deccan Herald, Vivek M V praised the direction, score, and Shetty and Ambar's acting, while criticising the plot as predictable, as well as Kushee's performance.[11] Asianet News, on the other hand, praised Kushee, as well as the screenplay, but noted that the beginning was slow.[12] For The New Indian Express, A. Sharadhaa rated the film four out of five stars, praising the screenplay, direction, performances, music and cinematography. Sharadhaa said: "With a skillfully told love story - one that is not generic - the director creates a unique kind of euphoria with heartbreaks".[9] Manoj Kumar R., also writing for The New Indian Express, said that although the film's title is "dia" (transl. lamp), the film is "dark, gloomy and a tragedy of errors".[13]
This film was one of the few commercially successful Kannada films in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]
Accolades
| Award[a] | Date of ceremony[b] | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chandanavana Film Critics Academy Awards | 21 February 2021 | Best Film | D. Krishna Chaitanya | Won | [15] [16] [17] |
| Best Director | K. S. Ashoka | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
| Best Dialogue | Won | ||||
| Best Actor | Pruthvi Ambaar | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress | Kushee Ravi | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Dheekshith Shetty | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Pavithra Lokesh | Nominated | |||
| Best Music Director | B. Ajaneesh Loknath | Nominated | |||
| Best Background Music[c] | Won | ||||
| Best Lyricists | Dhananjay Ranjan – (for "Soul of Dia") | Nominated | |||
| Best Female Singer | Chinmayi – (for "Soul of Dia") | Won | |||
| Best VFX | Nominated | ||||
| Best Editing | Naveen Raj | Nominated | |||
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 19 September 2021 | Best Film – Kannada | Sri Swarnalatha Productions | Nominated | [18] |
| Best Director – Kannada | K. S. Ashoka | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress – Kannada | Kushee Ravi | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor – Kannada | Dheekshith Shetty | Nominated | |||
| Best Male Debut – Kannada | Pruthvi Ambaar | Won | |||
| Best Music Director – Kannada | B. Ajaneesh Loknath | Won | |||
| Best Lyricist – Kannada | Dhananjay Ranjan – (for "Soul of Dia") | Won | |||
| Best Female Playback Singer – Kannada | Chinmayi – (for "Soul of Dia") | Nominated | |||
| Best Cinematographer – Kannada | Vishal Vittal, Sourabh Waghmare | Won | |||
| Best Actress in a Leading Role (Critics Choice) – Kannada | Kushee Ravi | Won | |||
| Filmfare Awards South | 9 October 2022 | Best Film | D Krishna Chaitanya | Nominated | [19] |
| Best Actress | Kushee Ravi | Nominated | |||
| Best Female Playback Singer | Chinmayi Sripaada for "Soul of Dia" | Nominated |
Release and remakes
After DIa's success, it was re-released on 14 February 2021.[6] It was initially supposed to re-release on 23 October 2020 with the new version reported to include the song "Soul of Dia" and have a different climax.[20] It was also released on Amazon Prime.[21] It was remade in Telugu as Dear Megha (2021),[22] in Hindi as Dear Dia (2022) and in Marathi as Sari (2023). Both the Hindi and Marathi remakes were directed by Ashoka. Ambaar reprised his role as Adi in both as well.[23][24]
References
- ^ a b "Dia Movie Review: A heartwarming tale that leaves you misty eyed". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ a b Kumar, S. Shiva (13 February 2020). "A look at K.S. Ashoka's 'Dia', the most interesting Kannada film of 2020". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ Nachiyar, Nalme (25 March 2023). "An actor prepares: Dheekshith Shetty on 'Dasara' and a career of experimentation". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ Joy, Prathibha (7 February 2023). "Three years of Dia: The tragic love story that put Pruthvi Ambaar, Kushee Ravi and Dheekshith Shetty in the spotlight". OTTplay. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ ಹಾರೊದ್ದು, ಪ್ರದೀಶ್ (4 December 2018). "ಪ್ರಯೋಗಮುಖಿ ಪೃಥ್ವಿ ಅಂಬರ್". Prajavani (in Kannada). Archived from the original on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ a b "In Pictures: Pruthvi Ambaar spends a serene moment at one of his favorite 'Dia' spots". The Times of India. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "Dia, a love story by director Ashoka, to have 2 songs". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "Dia, a love tale from the director of 6-5=2". Cinema Express. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Dia movie review: Director Ashoka delivers a heart-warming, unique love story". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ Sharadhaa, A. (12 May 2020). "Dia has given me an identity: director KS Ashoka". Cinema Express. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "Dia Review, A Pleasing Feel Good Romance Drama". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ "Dia Film Asianet news Review". Asianet News. 17 February 2020. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ R., Manoj Kumar (20 March 2020). "South Stream: KS Ashoka's Dia". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "2020: A flop show". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "Chandanavana Film Critics Academy Awards: Love Mocktail, Dia, Gentleman Dominate Nomination List". IBTimes. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ "Winners: Chandanavana Film Critics Academy 2020: Dia, Popcorn Monkey Tiger, Gentleman Walk Away with Maximum Honours". IBTimes. 23 February 2021.
- ^ "CFCA Awards 2021 – Dhananjaya and Kushee win Best Actors award in lead role". cinimirror. 22 February 2021.
- ^ "The 9th South Indian International Movie Awards Nominations for 2020". South Indian International Movie Awards. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ "67th Parle Filmfare Awards South 2022 with Kamar Film Factory". Filmfare. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ "Dia releases on October 23 with a new climax and bonus song". The Times of India. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "After popularity on Amazon Prime, 'Dia' remake rights in demand". The News Minute. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "Pooja Hegde launches first single from 'Dear Megha'". Telangana Today. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ "Dear Dia Movie Review : This mushy fare will give you warm fuzzies". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "Writer-director KS Ashoka helms the Marathi remake of 'Dia' - The New Indian Express". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 11 August 2023.