This day, that year: Dinakar Thoogudeepa's 'Saarathi' turns 10

Exactly ten years ago came Dinakar and Darshan Thoogudeepa's most successful collaboration, 'Saarathi'. This was the brothers' second film together (although Darshan had made a cameo appearance in 'Jothe Jotheyali') after the 2008 heist thriller 'Navagraha', wherein the Challenging Star was part of an ensemble cast. 'Saarathi', on the other hand', features Darshan as the sole lead who is paired with Deepa Sannidhi in the film.
'Saarathi' was a huge success at the box office and stands tall even today as one of Darshan's biggest commercial hits. Fans of the Challenging Star were particularly pleased with his auto-rickshaw driver avatar and also the on-screen chemistry between him and Deepa Sannidhi. The film proved to be a major commercial success despite the controversy that surrounded Darshan at the time, who was arrested on charges of domestic violence by his wife Vijayalakshmi. 'Saarathi' was produced by K.V. Sathya Prakash.
The music of 'Saarathi' was another major contributor to its success. V. Harikrishna, who has been part of many of Darshan's successes, served as the film's music composer and rendered many memorable tunes. The duo has continued working together and V. Harikrishna turned director for the very first time in his career with 'Yajamana', a bonafide mass entertainer starring Darshan as the lead. Both Harikrishna and Darshan are back together to repeat the magic with the upcoming film 'Kranti' (Darshan's 55th project).