Kaviratna Kalidasa

Kaviratna Kalidasa
Film poster
Directed by	Renuka Sharma
Produced by	V. S. Govinda
Starring	Rajkumar Jayaprada Balakrishna Srinivasa Murthy
Music by	M. Ranga Rao
Cinematography	V. K. Kannan
Edited by	P. G. Mohan
Production company	Ananda Lakshmi Enterprises
Release date	1983 (1983)
Country	India
Language	Kannada

Kaviratna Kalidasa (Kannada: ಕವಿರತ್ನ ಕಾಳಿದಾಸ) is a 1983 Kannada historical drama film based on the life of Kalidasa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of 4th Century A.D., whose name was extremely popular across Indian sub-continent. The film was written and directed by Renuka Sharma and produced by V. S. Govinda. The film starred Rajkumar, portraying the title role of Kalidasa, along with Jaya Pradha in the role of Vidyadhare and Srinivasa Murthy as Raja Bhoja.

The film is considered to be one of the all-time top money-grossing films in the history of Kannada movies. It was distributed by Parvathamma Rajkumar under the 'Vajreshwari Combines' banner.

The kingdom's chief minister wants his son to marry the king's daughter, Princess Vidyadhare. When he expresses his wish to the king, he is ridiculed. Instead, the king orders him to search for a "Sakala Vidya Paarangatha" groom for his daughter. Vowing to take revenge against the insult, the minister goes in search of a foolish groom.

Kalidasa, a humble shepherd is shown rearing his sheep. Convinced of his stupidity, the minister charms Kalidasa to accompany him to the palace, so that Kalidasa can marry the princess. Coached by the minister, Kalidasa excels in the tests conducted by Vidyadhare (Jaya Pradha). The minister is shrewd enough to teach a key sentence to Kalidasa. If he can't answer a question, Kalidasa must utter "heluvudakkU, kEluvudakku, idu samayavalla" ("This isn't the right time to question or answer.")

Vidyadhare is fooled by Kalidasa's brilliance and marries him. However, the truth comes out during the first night. Shattered, Vidyadhare locks Kalidasa in the palace temple and gets him to demand "vidyaabuddhi" (knowledge and wisdom) from the goddess Kali. In a mystical scene, Vidyadhare loses consciousness, while Kalidasa is blessed with vidyaabuddhi. Kalidasa is shown walking away from the palace-temple, implying his casting off his earlier ignorance and walking away from his previous life. Vidyadhare regains consciousness and goes in search of her husband.