# Premada Kanike
*Premada Kanike* (ಪ್ರೇಮದ ಕಾಣಿಕೆ) is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language crime thriller film directed by V. Somashekar, starring Rajkumar and Aarathi in the lead roles.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html) Its story was written by the Hindi-screenwriting pair Salim-Javed, with screenplay, dialogue, and lyrics by Chi Udayashankar.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html) The film was produced under the Jayadevi Films banner and is counted among the popular Kannada films of the 1970s.[2](https://kannadafilmlyrics.com/kmdb/Premada--Kanike/1976) • [3](https://ijellh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/51.-Dr.-B.P.Mahesh-Chandra-Guru-paper-final.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Year and language | 1976; Kannada-language feature[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html) |
| Director | V. Somashekar[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html) |
| Lead cast | Rajkumar (Manohar) and Aarathi (Seetha), with Jayamala (Kumuda)[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html) • [4](https://www.oodlescoop.com/movies/premada-kanike-kannada-1976) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/premada-kanike/cast/2030137857/) |
| Writers | Story: Salim-Javed; screenplay and dialogue: Chi Udayashankar[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html) |
| Music | Upendra Kumar; lyrics by Chi Udayashankar and Vijayanarasimha[6](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/premada-kanike-1976/) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/premada-kanike/cast/2030137857/) |
| Technical details | Censor certificate U dated 28-02-1976; 16 reels, 4339.74 meters of film, in color; runtime 150 minutes[6](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/premada-kanike-1976/) |
| Remakes | Polladhavan (Tamil) and Dushmano Ka Dushman (Hindi)[7](https://www.moviebuff.com/premada-kanike) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The plot follows Seetha (Aarathi), who witnesses a shootout while traveling on a train and sees a murder committed before her eyes.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html) She reports the killing to the police and states that she will be able to identify the murderer if she sees him again.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html) The police begin an investigation, and Inspector Ashok, played by [Thoogudeepa Srinivas](https://www.edgepedia.org/thoogudeepa-srinivas), repeatedly questions Seetha about the killer.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html)
In one scene, Seetha is called to the police station and shown photographs of suspects to see whether the murderer is among them.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html) The rest of the story follows the investigation that surrounds this witness.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html)
## Cast and crew
**Principle players.** Rajkumar, whose birth name Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju appears on some cast listings, plays Manohar; Aarathi plays Seetha; Jayamala plays Kumuda; Vajramuni plays Chandru; and T. N. Balakrishna plays Madhavayya.[5](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/premada-kanike/cast/2030137857/) • [4](https://www.oodlescoop.com/movies/premada-kanike-kannada-1976) Thoogudeepa Srinivas appears as Inspector Ashok, and the child actor [Puneeth Rajkumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/puneeth-rajkumar), later a leading star himself, appears as an infant.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html) • [4](https://www.oodlescoop.com/movies/premada-kanike-kannada-1976)
The credited crew includes D. V. Rajaram as cinematographer, P. Bhakthavathsalam as editor, [Upendra Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/upendra-kumar) as composer, Udupi B. Jayaram for choreography, and Shivayya for stunts.[6](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/premada-kanike-1976/) The film was produced by Jayadevi under the Jayadevi Films banner.[2](https://kannadafilmlyrics.com/kmdb/Premada--Kanike/1976)
## Music
Upendra Kumar composed the score, and the lyrics were written by Chi Udayashankar and Vijayanarasimha.[6](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/premada-kanike-1976/) Among the listed songs, [S. Janaki](https://www.edgepedia.org/s-janaki) sang "Putta Putta Hejje Ittu" and Rajkumar sang "Baanigondu Elle Ellide", both with lyrics by Chi Udayashankar.[6](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/premada-kanike-1976/) The soundtrack's other recorded singers include P. B. Srinivas and Vani Jayaram, and the audio rights are held by Saregama.[7](https://www.moviebuff.com/premada-kanike)
## Production details and the Rajinikanth anecdote
The film passed censorship with a U certificate dated 28 February 1976, on 16 reels totaling 4339.74 meters, in color, with a listed runtime of 150 minutes.[6](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/premada-kanike-1976/) Release dates differ between databases: oodlescoop lists 28 February 1976,[4](https://www.oodlescoop.com/movies/premada-kanike-kannada-1976) while Moviebuff lists 01 January 1976 for a wide theatrical release in India.[7](https://www.moviebuff.com/premada-kanike) The picture was shot in the scope aspect ratio of 2.39:1 at 24 frames per second.[7](https://www.moviebuff.com/premada-kanike)
A widely retold anecdote concerns [Rajinikanth](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajinikanth), then a Madras Film Institute graduate still looking for acting opportunities. According to a Filmibeat account, he approached the production for a role after casting was complete, left his photograph with the unit, and the crew later used that photograph as a prop in the police-station scene in which Seetha examines suspects' pictures.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html) The same account relates that the infant Puneeth Rajkumar appeared in a song sequence of this film at about six months of age, after his mother Parvathamma initially declined and then agreed.[1](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html)
## Reception and afterlife
An academic survey of [Kannada cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/kannada-cinema) lists *Premada Kanike* among the popular films of the 1970s, alongside *Kasturi Nivasa* (1971), *Bangarada Manushya* (1972), *Gandhada Gudi* (1973), and *Bayalu Dari* (1976).[3](https://ijellh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/51.-Dr.-B.P.Mahesh-Chandra-Guru-paper-final.pdf) The Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema records it as one of Rajkumar's releases in 1976.[8](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Indian%2520Cinema.pdf) It was later remade in Tamil as *Polladhavan* and in Hindi as *Dushmano Ka Dushman*.[7](https://www.moviebuff.com/premada-kanike)
The film has remained in circulation on home video and on television; a Filmibeat television column noted heavy commercial advertising during a broadcast of the film.[9](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/tv/lot-of-commercial-break-rajkumar-premada-kanike-066956.html) A 35 mm print was projected at an open-air screening at the Bengaluru International Film Festival, an occasion the archivist and moving-image preservationist Aparna Subramanian used to call on the Chalanachitra Academy to support the restoration of Kannada films.[10](https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/urge-chalanachitra-academy-to-restore-kannada-films-archivist-aparna-subramanian-at-biffes-3885416)
## References
1. [Do You Know Rajinikanth's Photo used in Dr Rajkumar starrer Premada Kanike Film, Kannada Filmibeat](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/features/do-you-know-rajinikanths-photo-used-in-dr-rajkumar-starrer-premada-kanike-film-092999.html)
2. [Premada Kanike 1976, Kannada Film Lyrics database](https://kannadafilmlyrics.com/kmdb/Premada--Kanike/1976)
3. [Dr. B.P. Mahesh Chandra Guru, IJELLH, popular films of the 1970s in Kannada cinema](https://ijellh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/51.-Dr.-B.P.Mahesh-Chandra-Guru-paper-final.pdf)
4. [Premada Kanike (Kannada) (1976), oodlescoop](https://www.oodlescoop.com/movies/premada-kanike-kannada-1976)
5. [Premada Kanike – Full Cast & Crew, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/premada-kanike/cast/2030137857/)
6. [Premada Kanike – ಪ್ರೇಮದ ಕಾಣಿಕೆ (1976/೧೯೭೬), Kannada Movies Info](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/premada-kanike-1976/)
7. [Premada Kanike on Moviebuff.com](https://www.moviebuff.com/premada-kanike)
8. [Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (filmography excerpt), indiancine.ma](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Indian%2520Cinema.pdf)
9. [Lot of commercial breaks in Dr. Raj's Premada Kanike movie, Kannada Filmibeat](https://kannada.filmibeat.com/tv/lot-of-commercial-break-rajkumar-premada-kanike-066956.html)
10. [Urge Chalanachitra Academy to restore Kannada films: Archivist Aparna Subramanian at BIFFes, Deccan Herald](https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/urge-chalanachitra-academy-to-restore-kannada-films-archivist-aparna-subramanian-at-biffes-3885416)
---
*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 before 2010*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license