Kasturi Nivasa

1971 film by Dorai–Bhagavan

Expectations for Kasturi Nivasa were low. Upon its release on 29 January 1971, initial response was tepid, but favorable word of mouth publicity and positive critical response helped it to become a box office success, with a theatrical run of 100 days in 16 theatres across Karnataka. The film was remade in Hindi as Shaandaar (1974), and in Tamil as Avandhan Manidhan (1975). In 2014, Kasturi Nivasa became the second Kannada film to be digitally remastered and colourised, at an estimated cost of ₹2 crore. The project of colorising the film was taken up by K. C. N. Gowda himself. However, he died midway through the project. After he died, his son, K. C. N. Mohan took over the project. K. S. Ashwath as Ramaiah
Vijayashree
Surekha
Halam

The story Kasturi Nivasam written by G. Balasubramanium had been bought by film producer Noor for 25,000 wanting to make a film in Tamil with Sivaji Ganesan However, Ganesan was reluctant after hearing the story, considering that the film had a tragic ending with the protagonist dying. In early 1971, Kannada screenwriter Chi. Udayashankar and Rajkumar’s younger brother S. P. Varadaraj chanced upon the project. Eventually, they coaxed Dorai–Bhagavan (B. Dorai Raj and S. K. Bhagavan) to listen to the story. Upon hearing the story, Dorai–Bhagavan, were interested in making the film with Rajkumar under their banner Anupam Movies.

The director duo was not sure if Rajkumar would accept the role. Rajkumar was then convinced by his brother Varadappa, following which the rights were brought from Noor by Dorai–Bhagavan for 38,000. Rajkumar received a remuneration of 15,000. Filming done in Mysore and Kanteerava Studios in Bangalore, was completed in 19 and a half days, having spent 3.75 lakh. The dove bird used in the film was bought for 500 from outside the erstwhile Mysore State. When filming began in 1971, Kasturi Nivasa was initially to have been shot in colour. On the second day of filming, the producer K. C. N. Gowda asked the team to stop filming on its second day and was adamant about filming it in colour, in spite of having a black and white set of 1.25 lakh. He felt the film must be shot in Eastmancolor, and said he was ready to incur an additional expenditure of 5.5 lakh. But Rajkumar felt it should go on as conceived. Finally, Rajkumar on insisting Gowda that money not be wasted, the filming resumed in black and white.

The music was composed by G. K. Venkatesh. The album consists of six tracks. The songs "Aadisidaata" and "Aadisi Nodu Beelisi Nodu" were written by Chi. Udayashankar, who also wrote the film's screenplay. On the final day of the re recording, while scoring the background music for the climax, L. Vaidyanathan, assistant to Venkatesh, felt free verse would enhance the mood and add additional depth to the situation. Immediately, Udayashankar was called and made to listen to the tune on violin, he then wrote the lyrics for song "Aadisidaata" which Venkatesh himself sang. TitleLyricsSingersLength"Nee Bandu Nintaga"R. N. JayagopalP. B. Sreenivas
P. Susheela4:17"Aadisi Nodu Beelisi Nodu"Chi. UdayashankarP. B. Sreenivas3:19"Aadona Neenu Naanu"Vijaya NarasimhaP. B. Sreenivas3:41"Elle Iru Hege Iru"Chi. Udaya ShankarP. Susheela3:26"Aadisidaata Besara Moodi"Chi. Udaya ShankarG. K. Venkatesh3:21"Oh Geleya" (Cabaret song)R. N. JayagopalL. R. Eswari3:19

The film stresses the principle that "life is to give—not to take". The role of Ravi Varma, the protagonist played by Rajkumar is a character who upholds the values of life even it means his destruction; a person who is keen on retaining his character's purity and those morals he has cherished. Ravi Varma led a lonely yet righteous life. He did not break his principles even as it led to his downfall.

Hita Prakash of Deccan Herald praised the film for portraying the nuances of leading a righteous yet lonely life. It was also praised for chartering the rise of new order – the relevance of modern manufacturing techniques and the loss of class divide with an associated loss of morals. Sivaji Ganesan was all praise for Rajkumar's performance in the film.

The film got an average response in its initial run of nine weeks. However, it picked up soon and went on to complete 175 days at several centres across Karnataka with a 100 day run at 16 centres in Mysore. The colourisation work was carried out by 60 personnel for a period of 20 months, who coloured each of the 215,000 frames of the original film. The music of the film was also recreated. The audio of the film stored digitally was converted to 5.1 surround sound. With the work 70 per cent completed, Gowda died in October 2012. Speaking of colourising the dresses in film's frames, he said, "We had to take into consideration the costumes of the 1970s. We used a software which gave us the nearest matching colour." The black and white film was first saved in digital format before removing the scratches, dots and rainy lines from it. Based on the grey scales, colours were then added using a digital enhancement technique for the first time for an Indian film. The colourised film has a frame rate of 24 per second. The project was completed at a cost of It opened to packed audiences in the initial weeks of its release, performing well in both single screens and multiplexes. Following a good response at the domestic box office reports, in late November 2014 the film was screened in six cities in the United States.

The film is considered to be a milestone in Kannada cinema. The role of Ravi Varma, the protagonist played by Rajkumar is a character who upholds the values of life even it means his destruction; a person who is keen on retaining his character's purity and those morals he has cherished. The character became an inspiration for the protagonist, Siddhartha of the 2017 film Raajakumara which starred Rajkumar's son Puneeth. "Every character played by Dr Rajkumar Some roles like that of Rajeeva's character in Bangarada Manushya and the one in Kasturi Nivasa, have attained greatness due to this. They are considered to be the topmost films in Dr Rajkumar's career. This is also one of the reasons why the recently released film Raajakumara featuring Puneeth Rajkumar, has great similarities of those selfless acts of Annavru in Kasturi Nivasa and this instantly connected with the audience", said film historian Srinivas. The film was also noted for featuring the dove which has over the years attained a cult status and is noted for its special connection with the Rajkumar Family. Puneeth Rajkumar can also be seen with a dove in Raajkumara. Shivarajkumar, Rajkumar's eldest son was also seen with a dove in the 2022 film Bairagee.