Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu () is 1974 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by Siddalingaiah, who co-wrote the screenplay with Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, based on Iyengar's short story of the same name from his novel, Vayyari. The film stars Vishnuvardhan and Lokesh; with M. P. Shankar, Jayamala, Rushyendramani and Balakrishna all acting in supporting roles. The film revolves around the enmity between two villagers, Ayyu and Gulla and how they mend their relationship.
Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu was a 12 page short story in a compilation of stories by Gorou Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy had initially declined to give the rights to the story but eventually agreed. Though Siddalingaiah added new plot details and characters to increase the running time of the film, it retains the core premise of the original short story. D. V. Rajaram acted as the film's cinematographer. The film was shot extensively at Kalasapur, Dharmasthala, and Talakadu. The film was edited by P. Bhaktavatsalam and the music was composed by G. K. Venkatesh, with lyrics written by Chi. Udaya Shankar and R. N. Jayagopal.
The film was released on February 2, 1974. The film ran for over 100 days in theatres, and later won the Karnataka State Film Award for First Best Film at the 7th Karnataka State Film Awards. The film also won three other Karnataka State Awards: Best Actor for Lokesh, Best Actress for Bhavani and Best Supporting Actress for Rushyendramani. The film was remade in Tamil as Ellorum Nallavare (1975), starring Muthuraman, in Hindi as Ek Gaon Ki Kahani (1975), starring Rakesh Pandey and in Telugu as Andharoo Manchivaare (1976), starring Shoban Babu.
Plot
Bhootayya is a ruthless zamindar of a small village, who mercilessly occupies the land of the villagers to whom he had lent money, when they fail to repay their debts. He is very shrewd and talks the villagers into building a dam across the river in the outskirts of the village, that is prone to floods. He gets hold of the fertile land on the banks of the river and builds a house for his son Ayyu. A few days later, Bhootayya falls ill and eventually dies. The villagers rejoice at his death and hold such a grudge against him that nobody turn up to perform his last rites leaving his son Ayyu to do it all alone.
The villagers remain wary of Ayyu, and the most rebellious among them is Gulla. He is very outspoken and tries to restrict Ayyu from being mean and merciless towards the villagers like his father. Gulla's father previously given a surety to Bhootayya for another villager's debt and is unable to repay the money. Ayyu promptly goes with his men to confiscate Gulla's house. In an ensuing argument, Gulla smacks Ayyu. Ayyu takes it seriously and files a police complaint against Gulla, who is then arrested by the police, and in the process begins a prolonged enmity between the two. Gulla also hires a lawyer and ends up spending all his family's property on the court case that he eventually loses. Unable to bear the consequences, his father commits suicide. Gulla holds Ayyu responsible for his father's death, and when he swears to kill him, his wife goes to the latter to warn him and also pleads him to forgive her husband. However, Ayyu behaves ruthlessly with her and swears to kill Gulla.
Ayyu's wife reminds him about his father's attitude towards the villagers and their reaction to his death. This makes Ayyu give a thought about his behaviour. Gulla's wife tries to kill herself by drowning herself in the river as she gets convinced that Ayyu will not spare her husband. Ayyu sees a woman drowning and being a distinguished swimmer saves her only to find that she is his enemy's wife. This incident has a lasting effect on Ayyu, who tries to end the feud. Ayyu clears all of Gulla's debts asking him to work for him in return. Gulla agrees and works sincerely to pay off the debts, but resents Ayyu's friendship.