Dattha

Dattha is a 2006 Indian Kannada-language comedy drama film directed by Chi Guru Dutt and written by Janardhana Maharshi. The film stars Darshan and Ramya whilst Keerthi Chawla, Srinath, and Vinaya Prasad play other pivotal roles.^[1]

Datta
VCD cover
Directed by	Chi Guru Dutt
Written by	Janardhana Maharshi
Produced by	Chi Guru Dutt
Starring	Darshan Ramya Keerthi Chawla
Cinematography	Ramesh Babu
Edited by	Deepu S Kumar
Music by	R. P. Patnaik
Production company	Udayaravi Cinemaz
Release date	8 June 2006 (2006-06-08)
Running time	146 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada

The film featured an original score and soundtrack composed by R. P. Patnaik. It received an average response from both critics and the audience.^[2] A Few comedy sequences were based on the 2003 Telugu movie, Maa Alludu Very Good, for which dialogues were penned by the story writer, Janardhana Maharshi.

Plot

Datta and his friend, Tingu, are small-time crooks. They get in the wrong books of drug peddler, Basha. During one of their thefts, Datta sees Ramya and falls for her. In order to woo her, he returns what has been stolen from her house, pretends to be a well-educated person, and also acts as a SI. However, she finds out and breaks up with him, insulting him in the process.

Later, Datta is persuaded by a businessman Shanti Veerappa who requests him to act as his son Raju, so that his wife, Meenakshi, would recover from a bedridden sickness. However, Shanti Veerappa plots to eliminate Datta. Once his rivals finish Datta who is acting as his son, he can bring back Raju and be assured of his safety.

Datta, not knowing Shanti Veerappa's ploy, goes out along with Shanti Veerappa's family to his village, but is surprised that he is being constantly followed and attacked by Mallikarjuna's goons who he feels are henchmen of Basha. Ramya, who is the daughter of Shanti Veerappa's rival, also tries to eliminate Datta, thinking that he is Raju, but realizes her mistake and reconciles with him. Datta manages to stop Mallikarjuna and Shanti Veerappa's enmity. The families apologize to each other and accept Datta.

Cast

• Darshan as Dattha
• Ramya
• Keerthi Chawla
• Komal as Tingu
• Srinath as Shanti Veerapa
• Avinash
• Vinaya Prakash
• Chitra Shenoy
• Bullet Prakash as Gandhinagar Ghouse
• Besant Ravi as Henchman
• Rajashekhar Kotian as Baasha Bhai
• Shanthamma
• Preethi Rao
• Vatara Mallesh
• Vishwas Bharadwaj
• Dr. Nagesh Kaveti
• O. A. K. Sundar
• M. N. Suresh
• Mohan Juneja as Police Officer
• Vaijanath Biradar

Soundtrack

The music was composed by R. P. Patnaik.^[3] A part of the song "Valamenukkum" from Chithiram Pesuthadi was reused in "Baare Baare".

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Escape Mamu"	V. Nagendra Prasad	Karthik
2.	"Manasa Manasa"	K. Kalyan	Kunal Ganjawala, Shreya Ghoshal
3.	"Ee Soundaryakke"	K. Kalyan	Kunal Ganjawala, Nanditha
4.	"Kannige Kaanisuva"	K. Kalyan	Madhu Balakrishnan
5.	"Baare Baare"	V. Nagendra Prasad	Shankar Mahadevan, Malathi

Reception

R. G. Vijayasarathy from Rediff.com wrote that "All in all, an above average effort".^[4] A critic from Chitraloka.com wrote that "This is a good entertainer and worth your money".^[5] Deccan Herald wrote "Debutante director Gurudatt’s Datta is an action packed entertainer. Catchy dialogues, rib tickling comedy, sentiment and beautiful picturisation in foreign locales make it watchable".^[6]