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Last edited March 26, 2026


Chithegu Chinthe
Directed byM. S. Sathyu
Produced byG. N. Lakshmipathy
Screenplay byJaved Siddiqui
Dialogues byS. Ramaswamy
Story byJaved Siddiqui
Starring
Music by
  • B G Ramanath
  • Prabhakar Bhadri
Background score by
CinematographyAshok Gunjal
Edited byChakraborthy
Production
company
Savan Movies
Release date
  • 23 August 1978 (1978-08-23)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageKannada

Chithegu Chinthe (transl. The Restless Corpse) is a 1978 Indian Kannada-language Political satire film directed by M. S. Sathyu and written by Javed Siddiqui.[1] It stars C. R. Simha and Manjula in the lead roles along with Paula Lindsay, Ramprakash, Shivaram and Mac Mohan in key supporting roles.[2] The songs were composed by B. G. Ramanath and Prabhakar Bhadri while the background score was by G. K. Venkatesh and L. Vaidyanathan. The cinematography and editing were handled by Ashok Gunjal and Chakraborthi.

The satirical film is a comedy set in a fictional country called Gajadweepa, where a superstar becomes a politician, and it uses mainstream film tropes to deliver a keen allegorical critique of power.[3] Upon release, the film was critically acclaimed and went on to win the Special Jury Award at the Karnataka State Film Awards.[citation needed]

Plot summary[edit | edit source]

A popular film star navigates a new life as a politician while avoiding the traps of crooked politicians and criminals on a mythical island called Gajadweepa.

Cast[edit | edit source]

  • C. R. Simha as Gajasimha
  • Manjula as Malini
  • Paula Lindsay
  • Ramprakash as Avinasha
  • Shivaram as film director
  • Uma Shivakumar as Thayavva, film producer
  • Mac Mohan as Shantharam
  • Anantharam Macheri
  • Padmashree Gajasimha's secretary
  • Hamju Imam as Sambashiva
  • Narayana Rao Phule
  • Kunigal Ramanath
  • Sundar Krishna Urs in a guest appearance
  • Dheerendra Gopal in a guest appearance
  • Shantharam in a guest appearance
  • B. S. Achar in a guest appearance
  • Meena Kuttappa in a guest appearance

Soundtrack[edit | edit source]

Chithegu Chinthe
Soundtrack album by
B. G. Ramanath & Prabhakar Bhadri
Released1978
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelSaregama

The music was composed by B. G. Ramanath and Prabhakar Bhadri with lyrics for the soundtrack by S. Ramaswamy.

Track list
No. TitleSinger(s) Length
1. "Naavella Kurudaru"  D. Prabhakar Rao  
2. "Sharanu Sharanavva"  S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, B. K. Sumitra  
3. "Kadala Seemeyinda"  K. J. Yesudas  
4. "Jeeva Arasida"  S. Janaki  

Awards[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "Sathyu's Satirical Gem 'Chitegu Chinte' to Screen at BIC". NewsKarnataka.com. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  2. "ಚಿತೆಗೂ ಚಿಂತೆ - Chithegu Chinthe". Bangalore International Centre.com. 5 January 2025.
  3. "Is making a politically meaningful film in this country even worth it? : M. S. Sathyu". TimesofIndia.com. 2 February 2019.

External links[edit | edit source]