Moondru Mugam

Moondru Mugam
Theatrical release poster
Directed byA. Jagannathan
Screenplay byKanaga Shanmugan
P. L. Sundar Rajan
Thamizhazhagan
Radha Veerannan
Story byPeter Selvakumar
Produced byThamizhazhagan
G. Thyagarajan
StarringRajinikanth
Radhika
CinematographyViswam Natarajan
Edited byK. R. Krishnan
Music byShankar–Ganesh
Production
company
Sathya Movies
Release date
  • 1 October 1982 (1982-10-01)
Running time
134 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Moondru Mugam (transl. Three Faces) is a 1982 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by A. Jagannathan. The film stars Rajinikanth in three distinct roles as Alex Pandian, Arun and John. The film was a blockbuster and ran for 250 days in theatres. Rajinikanth won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for Best Actor.[1]

The film was remade in Hindi as John Jani Janardhan (1984) with Rajinikanth reprising his roles,[2] in Telugu as Mugguru Monagallu (1983) and in Kannada as Gedda Maga (1983).[3]

Plot

Arun, the son of wealthy businessman Ramanathan, returns to India after spending 10 years in the United States – but as a saint. Shocked by his transformation, Ramanathan enlists Rekha, a press reporter, to help to change him back to his former self. Rekha first arranges an interview, which Arun deliberately disrupts. Undeterred, she devises another plan under the pretence of taking him to a temple.

On the way, Rekha fakes a car breakdown. As Arun wanders around, he encounters a crying child and offers a chocolate. Suddenly, he is swarmed by other children and villagers, who accuse him of being a child-kidnapper. Taking advantage of the situation, Rekha cuts off Arun’s beard – a symbol of his piety. After orchestrating a few more incidents, Arun renounces his sainthood.

Returning to work, Arun grows curious about why his father has been sending money to a woman named Sagaya Mary for over 20 years. Meanwhile, Sagaya Mary learns that someone has proposed to her nephew, John. When questioned about John’s parentage, she recounts the story of her brother, Alex Pandian – John’s father.

A flashback reveals Alex’s past. As a fearless and just police officer, Alex frequently clashes with local mob boss Egambaram. Their conflict escalates, and Egambaram ultimately stabs Alex fatally. With his dying breath, Alex vows to return and avenge his death. His wife dies soon after giving birth to twins. At the same hospital, Ramanathan’s wife loses her child – as she had during her previous pregnancies. Sagaya Mary entrusts one of Alex’s sons to Ramanathan, who raises him as Arun, while she raises the other twin, John.

On Arun’s 25th birthday, he experiences a divine epiphany, realising he is the reincarnation of Alex. Arun agrees to meet a woman named Asha at a hotel, but it turns out to be a trap. In the ensuing struggle, he kills his attacker and is arrested. During the court hearing, a man claiming to be Alex Pandian appears, revealing that he had been in Sri Lanka all along. This “Alex” is, in fact, John – unknowingly working with Egambaram, the man who murdered their father.

Later, Arun confesses to the police that he fabricated the story of reincarnation to lure the killers out. John eventually learns the truth about Alex Pandian and his brother Arun. Determined to save him, John confronts Egambaram but is mortally wounded. In his final act, John kills Egambaram and disposes of his body in the sea – the same way their father was murdered.

The film concludes with Arun and Rekha, now married, paying respects at John’s grave.

Cast

Production

Moondru Mugam was directed by A. Jagannathan and produced by V. Thamizhazhagan and G. Thyagarajan of Sathya Movies.[6] It is the first film where Rajinikanth played three distinct roles. For the role of Alex Pandian, he wore a wig and sported dentures.[7]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Shankar–Ganesh with lyrics written by Vaali, Muthulingam and Vairamuthu.[8][9]

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Devamrutham"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Vani Jairam5:23
2."Aasaiulla Roshakara"Vani Jairam3:53
3."Naan Seitha Kurumbu"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:26
4."Yethanaiyo"Malaysia Vasudevan, S. Janaki4:56
Total length:18:38

Release and reception

Moondru Mugam was released on 1 October 1982.[10] Kalki wrote that portraying the titular three characters differently was an achievement not only for Rajinikanth, but the director too.[11] Rajinikanth won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for Best Actor.[12][13]

Legacy

The character "Alex Pandian" became one of the memorable characters in the career of Rajinikanth.[14] The popularity of the character's name inspired the Tamil dubbed version of the Telugu film Mugguru Monagallu (1994) to take on its name, as well as a 2013 film of same name.[15][16] Chinni Jayanth's character Telex Pandian from Pattukottai Periyappa (1994) was named after Alex.[17] The title Moondru Mugam inspired two unrelated series: one on Polimer TV and another on Zee Tamil.[18][19]

References

  1. ^ "Superstar Rajinikanth as Minions". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  2. ^ "The Superstar in khakhi: When Rajinikanth dazzled the audience in police uniform". The New Indian Express. 9 April 2019. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  3. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash (3 November 2016). "Raghava Lawrence to remake Rajinikanth's Moondru Mugam". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  4. ^ Srivatsan (4 November 2016). "Billa to Moondru Mugam: Why remaking Rajinikanth's cult classic is a sin". India Today. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  5. ^ Ramachandran 2014, p. 122.
  6. ^ "மூன்று முகம்". Kalki (in Tamil). 10 October 1982. p. 57. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  7. ^ "மூன்று முகங்களில் மூவர்". Kalki (in Tamil). 17 October 1982. p. 49. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Moondru Muham Tamil Film EP Vinyl Record by Shankar Ganesh". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Moondru Mugam". Gaana. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  10. ^ "சூப்பர் ஸ்டார் ரஜினிகாந்த் – ஒரு சரித்திரம் | சூப்பர் ஸ்டாரின் திரைக்காவியங்களின் பட்டியல்கள்". Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 22 June 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  11. ^ "மூன்று முகம்". Kalki (in Tamil). 17 October 1982. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  12. ^ "ரஜினியின் சாதனை வரலாறு: அபூர்வ ராகங்கள் அறிமுகம் முதல் பால்கே விருது வரை". Dinamani (in Tamil). 1 April 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  13. ^ Ramachandran 2014, p. 286.
  14. ^ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (27 February 2015). "Khaki rule in Kollywood". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Nandamuri Kalyan Ram to Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao: 10 Telugu actors who have played Triple roles in films". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  16. ^ Raghavan, Nikhil (10 November 2012). "A win-win formula". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  17. ^ "Anecdotes of an auteur". The New Indian Express. 24 March 2020. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  18. ^ "air supply". The Hindu. 19 February 2012. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Moondru Mugam". The Hindu. 20 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.

Bibliography

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