Mrugaya (1989 film)

Mrugaya
Mrugaya
	Poster designed by Gayathri Ashokan
Directed by	I. V. Sasi
Screenplay by	A. K. Lohithadas
Story by	AK Lohithadas
Produced by	KRG
Starring	Mammootty; Sunitha; Thilakan; Jagathy Sreekumar; Urvashi
Cinematography	V. Jayaram
Edited by	K. Narayanan
Music by	Shankar–Ganesh
Production; company	KRG Enterprises
Distributed by	KRG Release
Release date	23 December 1989;
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Mrugaya (English: The Hunt) is a 1989 Malayalam drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by I. V. Sasi. The film stars Mammootty and Sunitha in the lead role, with Thilakan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Lalu Alex and Urvashi in supporting roles. It tells the story of Varunni (Mammootty), the uncultured and drunkard hunter who arrives in the village to kill a man-eating leopard. The film won two Kerala State Film Awards.^[1] The leopard, used in a number of scenes in the film, was lent by animal trainer Govindarajan Naidu.^[2]

Plot[]

The story takes place in a Highrange village, terrorised by the frequent attacks of a man eating leopard. Tired of waiting for help from the authorities, the villagers under Reverend Father Panangodan (Thilakan) and Philipose Muthalali (Jagannatha Varma) decide to hire a hunter. The hunter whom they wanted had recently died, so his son Varunni (Mammootty) is summoned to the village. The uncultured life of Varunni soon became a headache for the village. The villagers try to avoid the drunkard hunter.

However, a woman named Bhagyalakshmi (Sunitha) (whose mother was killed by the leopard) befriends Varunni. This relation makes Thomaskutty (Mahesh), who is in love with Bhagyalakshmi, jealous. Seeing Varunni talking to Bhagyalakshmi, Thomaskutty gets angry and starts fighting with the hunter. In the fight, Thomaskutty accidentally slips and falls from the top of the cliff. Varunni feels responsible for the death of Thomaskutty and confesses secretly to Reverend Father Panangodan. Father Panangodan realises the big heart inside the hunter. He decides to protect Varunni despite the objections from the villagers and arranges a livelihood for him. Varunni gradually starts to help the villagers and the family of Thomaskutty. The villagers also develop a soft corner for the hunter. Meanwhile, the leopard again comes to the village and Varunni fails to kill it. The leopard escapes with a wound.

The preparations of the betrothal of Thomaskutty's sister Annamma (Urvashi) is going on. But the groom fails to show up at the function. At the directions of Father Panangodan, Varunni decides to marry Annamma. This makes Bhagyalakshmi, who was in love with Varunni, jealous. On the eve of the wedding, she informs Annamma that Varunni had killed her brother Thomaskutty. Varunni gets exposed on the wedding day and flees to his hut. On reaching the hut, Varunni finds his dog barking alarmingly. He concludes that the dog has rabies and kills it. Soon he spots the leopard at the top of his hut and realizes that his dog was actually signalling about the leopard. He manages to kill the leopard with an axe. The villagers celebrate the death of the leopard. However, the police soon arrive and arrest Varunni for murdering Thomaskutty.

Cast[]

Mammootty as Varunni
Sunitha as Bhagyalakshmi
Thilakan as Reverend Father Panangodan
Uravashi as Annamma
Jagathy Sreekumar as lawyer Ramankutty
Lalu Alex as Anthony
Sankaradi as Shankunni
Kuthiravattom Pappu as Kunjabdullah
Jagannatha Varma as Philipose Muthalali
Bheeman Raghu as Kunjachan
Paravoor Bharathan as Pillai
Mahesh as Thomaskutty
Kunjandi as Kuriachan
Shari as Selina
Vaishnavi as Radhamani
Kousalya as Zeenath
Priya as Yashoda

Release[]

The film was released on 23 December 1989.

Box office[]

The film was both commercial and critical success.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Music[]

Lyrics for this movie was written by Sreekumaran Thampi and music was composed by Shankar–Ganesh.

Tracks[]

Orikkal Niranjum sung by KJ Yesudas
Oru Nadam sung by K J Yesudas K.S.Chithra

Accolades[]

References[]

^ Roshith, Sivalakshmi. (2013-04-30) Cinema is a serious business, after all, says I V Sasi. The New Indian Express. Retrieved on 2014-05-18.
^ ഇന്ത്യന്‍ സിനിമയില്‍ ഇനി ഈ 'പുലിക്കുട്ടി'യുണ്ടാകില്ല , Web Special – Mathrubhumi Movies Archived 24 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Mathrubhumi.com (2011-12-02). Retrieved on 2014-05-18.
^ "IV Sasi, Malayalam cinema's trailblazer and king of the box office". The News Minute. 25 October 2017.
^ C S Venkiteswaran (8 November 2017). "Trendsetting titan". The Hindu.
^ "The End of an Epoch". The Hindu. 26 October 2017.

External links[]

Mrigaya at IMDb

[1] Roshith, Sivalakshmi. (2013-04-30) Cinema is a serious business, after all, says I V Sasi. The New Indian Express. Retrieved on 2014-05-18.

[2] ഇന്ത്യന്‍ സിനിമയില്‍ ഇനി ഈ 'പുലിക്കുട്ടി'യുണ്ടാകില്ല , Web Special – Mathrubhumi Movies Archived 24 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Mathrubhumi.com (2011-12-02). Retrieved on 2014-05-18.

[3] "IV Sasi, Malayalam cinema's trailblazer and king of the box office". The News Minute. 25 October 2017.

[4] C S Venkiteswaran (8 November 2017). "Trendsetting titan". The Hindu.

[5] "The End of an Epoch". The Hindu. 26 October 2017.

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