Aakasmika

Plot

Prologue

A vehicle drives up to a graveyard and a policeman emerges from within carrying a wreath. He walks up to one of the graves and pays his respects. The policeman is revealed to be Murthy (Rajkumar).

Act 1

Murthy is in a train compartment with Indira (Geetha) and Vyasaraya (Vajramuni). Vyasaraya and Murthy start small talk about drama, music and stuff. Vyasaraya tells Murthy that he is taking Indira to a drama company. On goading from Vyasaraya, Murthy sings "Anuragada." Indira takes an instant liking to Murthy. Meanwhile, Vyasaraya gets down the train to get some coffee, sees a man in a long coat and hides from him. He almost misses the train and luckily Murthy opens the door just in time to let Vyasaraya in. Vyasaraya tells Murthy that the man in the long coat is a pimp preying on unmarried girls like Indira. He asks Murthy to look after Indira until he returns and gets off the train.

The man (Inspector Rajagopal) in the long coat comes to Murthy and Indira and tells them Vyasaraya is actually the pimp and has made a living cheating innocent girls like Indira. Before Murthy can tell the cop about Vyasaraya he gets down the train and Vyasaraya reappears. This time he has a knife; Murthy fights Vyasaraya and tries to find Inspector Rajagopal but cannot find her. In panic, Indira gets off the train and so does Murthy. They try to find a place to stay the night in Traveler's Bungalow. Indira is impressed by Murthy's gentle behavior ("Ee Kannigu Hennigu," a dream sequence song).

Indira reveals to Murthy that Vyasaraya paid Rs.1000/- to her poor mother with the promise that he'll ensure that Indira joins a drama company. Indira asks Murthy to take her to her hometown of Navilukere near Sagar, as he wants to go back to her mom and two younger sisters. He agrees to take her to her hometown in the morning; unfortunately in the morning Vyasaraya and his henchmen attack Murthy who suffers a head injury. Vyasaraya elopes with Indira not to be seen anywhere.

Murthy is devastated and reaches out to Inspector Rajagopal to find Indira but with no luck. On screen are Murthy's mom (Pandari Bai) and his friends Sundar Raj, Umesh and Mandeep Rai.

Act 2

Murthy is slowly trying to regain his life back after the Indira episode until he sees a drunk woman, Clara (Madhavi), driving her Premier Padmini on railway tracks. Murthy, being the gentleman as ever, finds out that she's staying in Gulmohar suite and drives her home. There he meets Clara's brother Anthony who reveals why Clara started drinking in the first place - Clara is engaged to get married to Reggie (Avinash). Reggie is revealed to be a drunk as well as womanizer who is caught cheating with Clara's best friend. This drives Clara to alcoholism. To ensure a change of scenery, Anthony brings Clara to Murthy's town (a hill station like Agumbe); but obviously the change has not worked as Clara is revealed to be drinking even during the day.

One day, Murthy comes to Clara's place looking for Anthony and they have an argument about the merits of alcoholism. Clara has turned out to become a misogynist - Murthy tries to change her mind ("Baaluvantha Hoove"). At the end of the song Clara realizes she needs to give up alcohol.

Clara and Murthy seem to take a liking to each other, but Murthy also has a hard time forgetting his past. Seeing trains always makes him depressed. During one of their many walks, Murthy reveals to Clara about Indira, and Clara is even impressed that Murthy has found a way to cope with his loss.

Clara and Murthy decide to get married. They have a Hindu wedding and head to Agumbe for honeymoon in a brand new Contessa ("Agumbe"). Clara and Murthy stand at a view point waiting to watch the sunset when Murthy runs back to their car to fetch a flask of coffee. The wooden railings, against which Clara is leaning, give way and she falls down the rock-face to her death, leaving a hapless Murthy behind. Murthy trudges down the ravine himself hoping to rescue her but to no avail. Murthy awakens in a hospital, surrounded by his mother and friends. He is informed of Clara's demise and there is a cut to the opening graveyard scene. His friends turn up, hoping to cheer him up, but Murthy tells them that he is doing fine. Life's vicissitudes have only made him stronger.

Act 3

Murthy goes about his usual activities, specifically taking a harsh stance on offenses against women. He then makes his way to the Central Jail looking for a woman named Anandhi who has been in prison for three years. He is told that she is on her death bed in the hospital. At the hospital we learn that in her past life she was a madam at a brothel. Murthy would like her to aid his investigation and she insists that as quid pro quo Murthy should convince her estranged daughter Dr. Sarala who works in Mumbai to see her. Dr. Sarala is reluctant at first but is convinced by her husband to visit her ailing mother. Anandhi is overwhelmed to see her daughter but dies before Murthy can get any information from her, leaving Murthy with another dead end.

Later Murthy receives a letter from Anandhi which mentions that while she doesn't know where they are, the names of her three associates are Vyasaraya, Tipparaju and Kaatayya. Murthy sets his men on their trail. He then collects some letters from the late Anandhi's belongings.

Murthy's subordinates locate a man by the name Kaatesh who seems to have recently amassed a significant amount of wealth. Murthy calls Kaatesh under the false pretext of having recovered some stolen jewelry and vessels that belong to him. When Kaatesh denies having ever been burgled, Murthy convinces him to come to the police station to make a statement in writing. Having obtained a handwriting sample, he sends it off to be compared with the letters found among Anandhi's belongings. The comparison reveals that Kaatesh is indeed Kaatayya.

Murthy then brings Kaatesh in, having taken Kaatesh's daughters into custody earlier for leverage. Under duress Kaatesh reveals that Tipparaju is dead but Vyasaraya lives in Hubli.

Murthy heads to Hubli in search of Vyasaraya. He locates the house where Vyasaraya is running his prostitution racket. Murthy goes into the house disguised as an elderly Muslim man. He locates Vyasaraya's right-hand man and thrashes him into submission to reveal that Vysaraya left for Bangalore in that evening's train. Murthy follows the train and boards it in the next station.

While searching for Vyasaraya, Murthy notices a girl running and being chased by a couple of goons on the platform. He gets off the train and gives them a chase. When he catches up with the girl, he realizes it is Indira. Indira tries to attack Murthy, thinking he is one of the Vysaraya's henchman. Upon realizing it is Murthy, she breaks down and reveals what happened after Vysaraya took her from the Travelers Bungalow in a brief flashback: Indira killed the man who tried to molest her and has been constantly on the run since.

In the present, Vyasaraya appears with his goons and sarcastically mentions that it has been his pleasure to snatch Indira from Murthy every time. A fight ensues and Murthy takes down the goons. Vyasaraya, trying to escape, gets trapped on a railway track between one of the cross wedges. Seeing an oncoming train, he panics and is unable to pull his leg out. Murthy tries to set him free, but Indira pulls him back seconds before the train hits Vyasaraya head-on and killing him instantly. With Vyasaraya dead, Indira heaves a sigh of relief. Murthy and Indira walk back into the darkness and the titles start rolling.

Cast

Soundtrack

The music of the film and soundtracks were scored by Hamsalekha. The song "Huttidare Kannada" went on to become a blockbuster hit and unofficial state anthem. The song "Aagumbeya Prema Sanjeya" became popular for its foot-tapping melody. The album has five soundtracks.

State Awards

Filmfare Awards