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Varnapatala
File:Varnapatala.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChethan Mundadi
Produced byDr. Saraswathi Hosdurga
Kavita Santhosh
Dr. Saraswathi Hosdurga
Story byDr. Saraswathi Hosdurga
Karthik Saragur
Kavita Santhosh
Starring
  • Jyothi Rai
  • Anoop Sagar
  • Dhanika Hegde
Music byHarsha Vardhan Raj
CinematographyGanesh Hegde
Edited bySrikanth Gowda
Production
company
Sri Sai Ganesh Productions
Release date
  • 2020 (2020)
CountryIndia
LanguageKannada

Varnapatala (or Spectrum) is a 2020 Indian Kannada-language family drama film directed by Chethan Mundadi.[1][2] The film is inspired by real life incidents and stars Dhanika Hegde as an autistic child and Jyothi Rai and Anoop Sagar as her parents.[3]

Cast[edit | edit source]

  • Jyothi Rai as Nithya
  • Anoop Sagar as Michael
  • Arjun Nagarkar
  • Suhasini Maniratnam as a doctor
  • Anshika Shetty
  • Dhanika Hegde as Myna
  • Srikanth Heblikar
  • Arvind Rao
  • Indira Nair
  • Chethan Rai
  • Guru Hegde

Release[edit | edit source]

The film was shortlisted at the UK Asian film festivals in 2020 and was theatrically released in 2022.[4][3]

Reception[edit | edit source]

Jagadish Angadi of Deccan Herald rated the film 4/5 stars and wrote, "The screenplay is both nuanced and riveting. Mundadi conveys how exhausting, traumatic, and scary it is for parents to combat myths concerning the disorder. It partially appears to be a children’s film, and partially an educational film on ASD".[3] Priya Kerwashe of Asianet Suvarna gave the film the same rating and wrote that the fact that the main character is an autistic child and the entire film is built naturally is a testament to the talent of director Chethan Mundadi. [5] Vani Bhatt of Udayavani wrote that Varnapatala is an attempt to dispel the misconceptions about austism in society and to make it clear that everyone has an opportunity to live equally.[6] Jagadish Angadi of Prajavani called the film a new experiment and that the film should be viewed from a different perspective.[7][8]

Accolades[edit | edit source]

Varnapatala won the Karnataka State Film Award for Second Best Film in 2020.[9]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Sebastian, Shilpa (19 September 2019). "Award-winning director Chetan Mundadi is busy with his latest project, a film on autism". The Hindu.
  2. "'Varnapatala' is a film on autism in children". Deccan Herald.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "'Varnapatala' review: A stirring medical drama". Deccan Herald.
  4. "Clinician launches autism film set in India". Sirona Care & Health. 6 August 2020.
  5. "Varnapatala Film Review: ವರ್ಣಪಟಲ, ಇದು ಭಿನ್ನ ಜಗತ್ತು". Asianet Suvarna News.
  6. "'ವರ್ಣಪಟಲ' ಚಿತ್ರ ವಿಮರ್ಶೆ: ಆಟಿಸಂ ಸುತ್ತ 'ವರ್ಣ'ಚಿತ್ರ | Udayavani - Latest Kannada News, Udayavani Newspaper". Udayavani. 9 April 2022.
  7. ಅಂಗಡಿ, ಜಗದೀಶ. "ವರ್ಣಪಟಲ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ವಿಮರ್ಶೆ: ಆಟಿಸಂ ತೀವ್ರತೆಯ ಪಾಠದ ಚಿತ್ರ". Prajavani.
  8. Girishankar, Vidya (2023). "Varnapatala – the Spectrum Spectacular". Journal of Psychiatry Spectrum. 2: 68–69. doi:10.4103/jopsys.jopsys_2_23.
  9. "Karnataka State Awards 2020: Sanchari Vijay presented posthumous Jury Award". Deccan Herald.

External links[edit | edit source]