Bangalore, April 21 (IANS) Thirty-seven years after it made a big splash on the Kannada screen in black and white, 'Sathya Harishchandra' is all set to be released in colour April 24, which marks the birth anniversary of late Kannada superstar Raj Kumar who played lead role in the film.

Thanks to the efforts of topline producer K.C.N Gowda that the coloured version of 'Sathya Harischandra" is being released. He has spent Rs.30 million on colourising of the film.

Released in 1965, the film ran for more than 100 days in several theatres across Karnataka. Multi-faceted Hunusur Krishnamurthy directed the film and its songs are popular even today.

This is for the first time in the history of south Indian cinema that a nearly four-decade-old black and white film is being released in colour.

While Raj Kumar played the role of Raja Harishchandra, Udaya Kumar had donned the role of Vishwamithra and then leading actress Phandari Bai featured as Chandramukhi. All the three veterans are no longer alive.

Well-known actor and producer Dwarakish, who played a comedian's role in the film, says it was Krishnamurthy's literary talents and superb performances by Raj Kumar and Udaya Kumar that greatly helped the film to become a blockbuster.

'All the artists and technicians had benefited from this film. As I know the theatres all around Karnataka would have released the film one time or the other,' said Dwarakish.

Legendary filmmaker K. Asif's 'Mughal-e-Azam', a Hindi classic, was the first Indian black and white film to be colourised and released.