General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20264 min read

Ganga (ಗಂಗ)

Ganga (ಗಂಗಾ) is a 2015 Indian Kannada-language action drama film written and directed by Om Saiprakash, produced by Ramu, and starring Malashri in the title role as an autorickshaw driver.¹ It was released on 22 October 2015, on the eve of Dasara, after receiving a U/A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification.²

Key fact	Detail
Director / producer	Om Saiprakash (also story, screenplay); Ramu, Malashri's husband, under Ramu Films¹
Lead role	Malashri as Ganga, an autorickshaw driver, the first time she played that role³
Release	22 October 2015, wide theatrical release in India, on the eve of Dasara; certified U/A¹^•²
Music	Arjun Janya; lyrics by K Kalyan; label Anand Audio¹
Runtime	Reported as 138 minutes by FilmiBeat, 161 minutes by the censor record on Kannada Movies Info, and 2 hours 41 minutes by Moviebuff⁴^•⁵
Recognition	Karnataka State Film Awards 2015: Best Actress, Malashree⁵

Spoilers

Plot

Ganga is an autorickshaw driver and the only earning member of her family. She cares for her widowed elder sister (Pavithra Lokesh) and raises the sister's children, devoting her earnings to educating Arjun so he can become a doctor and Anu so she can complete an engineering degree. She is also angered by corruption and dirty politics at every level, and sets out to clean up the system at any cost, making personal sacrifices along the way.⁷

Production

The film reunited Malashri with director Om Sai Prakash after roughly two decades; the pair's earlier collaborations included hits such as Policana Hendathi and Gruhapravesha. Production was announced in June 2014 under Malashri's home banner, with the muhurtha (launch ceremony) held on 6 June 2014 in Bangalore, and Arjun Janya signed as composer.⁶ Malashri said at the time that she would wear a saree on screen after a long gap and that the film would remind audiences of "the old Malashree".⁶

A different kind of role. Malashri described the part as a departure from her usual mass-action persona: the character is often sari-clad, so she toned down her habitual body language and gait, and she named getting the emotional scenes right as the most difficult part of the performance.³ The Kannada Filmibeat coverage noted that she performed her own stunts in the role and that the film blends her family image with her mass image.²

Cast and crew

The cast includes Malashri, Srinivasa Murthy, Pavithra Lokesh, Sharath Lohitashwa, Hema Chaudhary, Suchendra Prasad, Rangayana Raghu, Sadhu Kokila, and Bullet Prakash, with Sadhu Kokila and Bullet Prakash in comic roles.¹^•⁴ Rajesh Kata was the director of photography, M. R. the editor, Anil Kumar the dialogue writer, and Palaniraj the stunt choreographer.¹^•⁵

The soundtrack, on the Anand Audio label, has lyrics by K Kalyan. The listed songs include "Chukki Chukki", sung by K. S. Chithra and Anuradha Bhat, and "Neene Thane Ganga", sung by Madhu Balakrishnan.¹

Reception

Critical response was mixed. Sunayana Suresh of The Times of India gave the film 1.5 out of 5, calling it "strictly for Malashree fans and those who like their dose of over-the-top melodramas", while allowing that the actress's entry scene, an auto wheelie followed by a jump across several jeeps, was a treat for front-benchers.⁸ The New Indian Express review was more favorable, crediting scriptwriter Om Sai Prakash with a story suited to Malashri's action oeuvre and praising her fist fights and fearless screen presence, though it noted that the second half turns her into a "long-suffering drama queen" and that such films find limited success.⁷ Kannada-language dailies were divided along similar lines: Prajavani called the film a test of patience, while Kannada Prabha praised it as a purely emotional film in which Malashri is effectively both hero and heroine.⁹

Malashree received the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress for 2015 for the role.⁵ As of recent listings, the film is not available on streaming platforms in the United States.¹⁰

Other works named Ganga

The title has been used several times in Kannada-language media. An earlier Kannada feature Ganga (ಗಂಗಾ), directed by Balaji and based on H. Venkatesh's novel of the same name, was a black-and-white film of 102 minutes with a CBFC U certificate dated 28 June 1980.¹¹ A Kannada short film Ganga, directed by Bhageeratha and dealing with prostitution, gender, and patriarchy, was a Shorted nominee in August 2019, starring Shwetha Srinivas and Sandhya.¹² Zee Kannada also launched a fiction serial titled Ganga on 14 March (Monday to Friday at 9 pm), produced by filmmaker Krishna of Mungaru Male and Gajakesari fame and notable for using the Havyaka Kannada dialect of North Karnataka.¹³

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Kannada films of the 2010s

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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