Pogaru is indeed a 2021 Indian action drama film written and directed by Nanda Kishore as well as financed by B. K. Gangadhar, written by Arunbalaji. The movie stars Dhruva Sarja and Rashmika Mandanna, with Chikkanna, P. Ravi Shankar, Pavitra Lokesh, and Raghavendra Rajkumar in supportive parts, and Sampath Raj, Dhananjay, Kai Greene, Morgan Aste, and Dharma as villains, shot concurrently in Kannada and Telugu. The music was created by Chandan Shetty and Gummineni Vijay, whereas the background score was composed by V. Harikrishna. Vijay Milton and Mahesh S are in charge of cinematography and edits, correspondingly.
The movie is concurrently released in Tamil as Semma Thimiru, and this is dubbed in Hindi as Pogaru by RKD Studios. It garnered mixed reviews, with fans praising the ensemble cast’s performances as well as action scenes but criticising the narrative, storyline, and pacing.
The songs are written by Chandan Shetty. The film’s soundtrack was launched at Davangere on February 14, 2021, featuring ex-CM Siddaramaiah as that the chief guest. The video for the song ‘Karabuu,’ wherein the protagonist among other thugs appeared to be assaulting the leading lady (Rashmika Mandanna), sparked outrage.
Throughout the video, Dhruva Sarja’s character was caressing a lady in an improper and clearly unconsented manner. There were violent incidents when he lit bikes on fire to grab her attention and threatened her with a knife on the streets, all while his sidekicks cheered him on to do more to the scared woman, who is ironically his love interest. The film appears to promote harassment and eve-teasing, and it has been slammed in the media by women’s rights organisations. The actress, who previously starred in the Tamil movie Dear Comrade, which included ‘women harassment’ as a significant narrative component, was also chastised for signing such a movie, which she allegedly did just for the money.
The director was charged with eve-teasing and a police report was filed. “Hero Dhruva Sarja is trying to capture Rashmika Mandanna’s heart in the song by flashing her knives, having his minions smash vehicles while she walks, and doing pull-ups with her clinging onto him,” the storey claimed.
Shortly after the Pogaru movie’s premiere, another controversy developed, with the film being accused of insulting Brahmin priests. Following the uproar, director Kishore said that certain sequences will be cut and the movie would’ve been re-edited for re-release. 14 sequences were cut, causing controversy, and 8 minutes of additional content was added to the film in preparation for its re-release on February 26, 2021.
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