Mrugaya (1989 film)

Mrugaya (English: The Hunt) is a 1989 Malayalam language action thriller 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. The leopard, used in a number of scenes in the film, was lent by animal trainer Govindarajan Naidu. Sasi had said that the climax fight scene with the leopard was done by Mammootty himself without dupes.

Mammootty's Mrugaya became a blockbuster, and the character of Varunni attained cult status. Mammootty's different look and natural acting helped in the movie's success.

Mammooty reprises his iconic role as Varunni emerging from the reservoir through flashback scenes in the 1999 Malayalam film My Dear Karadi, which is imitated by his onscreen younger brother Kittunni (Prem Kumar).

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 and Philipose Muthalali decide to hire a hunter. The hunter whom they wanted had recently died. Hence, his son, Varunni, is summoned to the village. The uncultured life of Varunni soon became a headache for the village. The villagers try to avoid Varunni who is a drunkard.

However, a woman named Bhagyalakshmi (whose mother was killed by the leopard) befriends Varunni. This relation makes Thomaskutty, who is in love with Bhagyalakshmi, jealous. Seeing Varunni talking to Bhagyalakshmi, Thomaskutty gets angry and starts fighting with Varunni. 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 Father Panangodan. Father Panangodan realises the big heart inside Varunni. 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 Varunni. Meanwhile, the leopard again comes to the village, and Varunni fails to kill it after Philipose's son-in-law Antony and his friend Kunjachan cheats them and tries to kill him. The leopard escapes with a wound. Soon, Kunjachan dies after suffering from rabies.

The preparations for the betrothal of Thomaskutty's sister, Annamma, go 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 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 warning him about the leopard. Though injured, Varunni 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. He confesses to Annamma that he accidentally killed Thomaskutty.

Cast

 * Mammootty as Varunni
 * Thilakan as Reverend Father Panangodan
 * Sunitha as Bhagyalakshmi
 * Urvashi 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 commercially blockbuster and critically acclaimed.

Music
The lyrics for this movie were written by Sreekumaran Thampi and the music was composed by Shankar–Ganesh.

Tracks

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

Accolades

 * Kerala State Film Award for Best Director – IV Sasi
 * Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor – Mammootty