Paramathma is a 2011 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy film written, directed and co-produced by Yogaraj Bhat. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Deepa Sannidhi in the lead roles and it was released on 6 October 2011, on the eve of Vijayadashami. Halfway through its production, the film's TV rights was procured for a record 3.5 Crore. Even before the release, the film grossed a record amount of over 25 Cr included broadcasting and distribution rights. Since release, the movie has garnered a cult status for its metaphorical narration and out-of-the box storytelling.
Plot
Param son of a heart specialist doctor Jayanth is an eager to know many things in life. He keeps on shuffling from one place to another. A gold medalist in Bachelor of Science takes six attempts to complete his master's degree because of his friends. He is a rich guy and he can do any task easily. He falls in love with Deepa, but Sanvi is in love with him. He does not have any intentions other than friend with Sanvi. So he makes it clear and shows interest in getting Deepa as his partner in life. There are tough guys in the house of Deepa that he has to convince. But the proposal comes in a fit of anger of Deepa for the marriage. After marriage Deepa delivering a child a few years' later dies and Sanvi this time comes with her marriage invitation. Param reacts to it in a very jovial style and he is under the impression Deepa is not physically with him but mentally she has not left him.
Originally movie titled Lagori was to be filmed in 2009 starring Puneeth Rajkumar, but it got shelved after producer Rockline Venkatesh withdrew from the film citing increasing production costs. In 2011, after the success of Bhat's 2010 home production movie Pancharangi, he is co-producing Puneeth Rajkumar starrer Paramathma with distributor-turned-producer Jayanna. The script is said to demand three female leads, and they are: Deepa Sannidhi, Ramya Barna and Aindrita Ray. Filming began on 3 March in Sakleshpura, and the film is being released on 6 October 2011. Shooting locations include the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, mainly places surrounding Udupi and Manipal.
Soundtrack
After a delayed launch of about 10 days, the music album of Paramathma was officially released by Duniya Soori and Raghavendra Rajkumar on 14 September 2011 at Hotel Le Méridien, Bengaluru. While V. Harikrishna has scored the music, lyrics are penned by both Yogaraj Bhat and Jayant Kaikini. Ashwini Media Networks corporation owns the audio rights of the album which was purchased at a record 7.7 million. The movie's audio, which had created a buzz because of lyricist Yogaraj Bhat and music director Harikrishna's recent track record of successful combinations like Jackie and Hudugaru, was well received by the critics. A record 1.5 lakh audio CDs were sold in the first 3 days of album release. Incidentally, popular Indian film music director A.R. Rahman who listened to the songs while at a recording studio in Chennai, praised and congratulated the team on the songs' composition and lyrics. The song "College Gatelly" took the number 1 spot among the top 20 South Indianfilm songs on Nokia Ovi music store in the month of October 2011.
Reception
It received positive reviews from film critics. Sify rated it at 3.5/5 stars by summarizing that it "is a classic film with lots of comedy and a little bit of mystery thrown in" and lauded director Yograj Bhat by calling him a master story teller who narrates it in an unexpected manner. Whereas Rediff called it a 'Disappointing film'. Critics have also praised cinematographer Santosh Rai Pathaje's camera work. News channel CNN-IBN called the film a "fresh delight" and summed it up by recommending to watch the film for its "classic style of narration and good packaging."
