Auto Shankar (film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Auto Shankar

| image = Auto Shankar Grand 100 Days poster.jpg

| director = D. Rajendra Babu

| producer = Ramu

| writer = B. L. Venu

Tushar Ranganath
(Dialogues)

| screenplay = Ajay Kumar

| story = Ajay Kumar

| starring = Upendra
Shilpa Shetty
Radhika

| music = Gurukiran

| cinematography = H. C. Venu

| editing = T. Shashikumar

| studio = Ramu Films

| distributor =

| released = {{Film date|2005|09|09|India|df=y}}

| runtime = 170 minutes

| language = Kannada

| country = India

| budget =

}}

Auto Shankar is a 2005 Indian Kannada-language Masala film starring Upendra, Shilpa Shetty, and Radhika.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/telugu-cinema/happy-birthday-shilpa-shetty-azad-to-auto-shankar-her-8-best-south-indian-films-you-should-watch-101623167025881.html|title=Happy birthday Shilpa Shetty: Azad to Auto Shankar, her 8 best South Indian films you should watch|date=8 June 2021|work=Hindustan Times}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/2006/jul/11slide4.htm|title=Raadhika: Glam doll or performer?|date=11 July 2006|work=Rediff.com|author=R. G. Vijayasarathy}} The film was directed by D. Rajendra Babu and produced by Ramu, of Ramu Enterprises.The film was dubbed in Tamil as Aanavakari, in Hindi as Shilpa - The Big Don in 2007 and in Malayalam as Sarappa Sundari.{{Cite web |title=Make way for Shilpa, The Big Don |url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/sep/10shilpa.htm |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=www.rediff.com}} The film was remade in Bangladesh in 2017 as Ohongkar.{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news/from-anuraga-aralithu-to-u-turn-kannada-movies-that-were-remade-in-foreign-languages/etphotostory/76302041.cms|title = From 'Anuraga Aralithu' to 'U Turn': Kannada movies that were remade in foreign languages| work=The Times of India |date = 10 June 2020}}

The films tells about Shankar an autorickshaw driver belonging to a middle-class family who gets into a conflict with Maya, a money-lender. However, tables turn when she loses her property and they fall in love.

Synopsis

Shankar is a middle class autorickshaw driver. He is friendly and jovial. Maya, a money-lender, is brought up in a rich family and is portrayed as a boorish character. She is unscrupulous in recovering loans given to the poor and has designed crude methods to recover the money. She is also the daughter of a lady don.

Shankar defends the poor and fights the moneylenders. Several interesting battles follow, after which the Maya loses all her property and prestige. It is also revealed that she is not really the daughter of the lady don. She then learns a lesson that reforms her attitude. She makes amends and Shankar embraces her as the two fall in love. The rest forms the plot of the story.

Cast

Upendra as Auto Shankar
Shilpa Shetty as Maya, an arrogant money lender
Radhika as Gowri
Sudharani as Geeta, Shankar's sister
Bhavya as an Auto driver's wife
Srinivasa Murthy as Shankar's father
Sumithra as Girija, Shankar's mother
Gurukiran as Akash, Geeta's husband
Avinash as Ramayya, Maya's biological father
Tara as Maya's biological mother
Srinivas Prabhu
Ramesh Bhat as a victim whose daughter committed suicide due to Maya
Ashok Rao as DGP of Police
Lakshman Rao as Corrupt Police Inspector
Doddanna as Kalamma's husband
Rangayana Raghu as Maava, Kalamma's accountant
Telangana Shakuntala as Kalamma, a lady don and Maya's adopted mother
Ashalatha
Mohan Raj as Peddodu, Kalamma's brother
Rajashekhar Kotian as Chinnodu, Kalamma's brother
Mohan Juneja as a man who came to see Geeta for marriage proposal
Maarimutthu Sarojamma
Shanthamma
H. M. T. Nandha
Padma Vasanthi
Sadhu Kokila as Anandha, Gowri's maternal uncle
B. Jayamma
Bangalore Nagesh as Kalamma's husband's accountant
Dileep
M. N. Suresh
Pailwaan Venu

Production

As the director was ill during the majority of the shoot, Telugu cinema's renowned associate director Shiva Ramakrishna, an associate of Puri Jagannadh, directed the songs, fight sequences and a major portion of Shilpa Shetty's scenes. The movie was filmed in different locations including Austria, Finland, the Bangalore Palace, and the Mysore Lamps Factory, Mysore.

= Controversy =

The film sparked off a controversy with regard to a movie poster depicted a glamour still of Shilpa Shetty from the film. A Madurai based lawyer filed an obscenity case against Shetty. Shetty however, protested by saying that "It (the photo) is not vulgar. I am an actor and an entertainer and I won't endorse vulgarity".{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/news-feed/nm15/i-won-t-endorse-vulgarity-shilpa/article1-135246.aspx |title=I won't endorse vulgarity: Shilpa |date=8 August 2006 |work=Hindustan Times |accessdate=26 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427012523/http://www.hindustantimes.com/news-feed/nm15/i-won-t-endorse-vulgarity-shilpa/article1-135246.aspx |archivedate=27 April 2014 |df=dmy }}

Soundtrack

The music is composed by Gurukiran.

The music of the song "Ready Ready" was used in the Telugu film Nagavalli and the music was given by Guru Kiran.

class="wikitable" width="70%" ! Song title !! Singers
"Kabaddi Kabaddi"	Rajesh Krishnan, Malathi
"Kachhi Kachhi"	Udit Narayan
"Line Hodi"	Malgudi Subha, Guru Kiran
"Raja Muddu Raja"	S. Janaki, P. B. Sreenivas
"Ready Ready"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
"Yen Madlo"	Sundar

Reception

Film critic R. G. Vijayasarathy of IANS wrote that "Auto Shankar is one of those typical mass (or it masala) films which are made in style but lack substance".{{Cite web|url=https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2475/kannada/auto-shankar/581/review.htm|title=Auto Shankar Movie Review|work=IANS|via=Nowrunning|date=9 September 2005}} B. S. Srivani of Deccan Herald wrote "Ajaykumar has written an 'original' screenplay which is heavily influenced by Telugu movies -even the scenes reek of Telugu overtones. It is sad to see a director of Rajndra Babu's calibre picturising 'reality' in such a crude manner".{{cite web|title=Auto Shankar|website=Deccan Herald|access-date=1 April 2025|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/sep112005/movies171152005910.asp|first=B. S.|last=Srivani|date=11 September 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061207073130/http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/sep112005/movies171152005910.asp|archive-date=7 December 2006}}

Box office

Auto Shankar successfully ran for 100 days. The film was released at the same time as the Puneeth Rajkumar starrer Namma Basava and there was a fierce competition between the two films. Both the films were successful at the box office,{{cite web|url=http://www.viggy.com/english/current_namma_basava_100days.asp |title=Namma Basava and Auto Shankar hit the 100days mark |publisher=Viggy.com |date=2011-03-13 |accessdate=2012-07-23}}{{cite web |url=http://www.latestcinema.com/kannada/Kannada-audio-race.html |title=Kannada audio race : Jogi, Amrithdhare, Vishnu Sena, Anna Thangi, Uppi Dada MBBS, top five films : Jogi, Amrithdhare, Auto Shankar, Namma Basava, Swamy, Guru Kiran has now become the toast of Kannada film music fans|work=IANS |via=Latestcinema.com |accessdate=2012-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427025714/http://www.latestcinema.com/kannada/Kannada-audio-race.html |archive-date=27 April 2014 |url-status=dead }} but Auto Shankar turned out to be more successful than Namma Basava.