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Mungaru Male

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Mungaru Male
Film Poster
Directed byYograj Bhat
Written by
Produced byE. Krishna
Starring
CinematographyS. Krishna
Edited byDeepu S. Kumar
Music byMano Murthy
Production
company
E. K. Entertainers
Distributed by
  • Jayanna
  • Bhogendra
Release date
  • 29 December 2006 (2006-12-29)
Running time
132 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageKannada
Budget₹70 Lakh[1]
Box officeest. ₹ 70.70 to 75 crore[1] [2][note 1][4][5][7][8]

Mungaru Male (transl. Pre-monsoon rain) is a 2006 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film co-written and directed by Yogaraj Bhat, and produced by E. Krishnappa. It stars Ganesh, Pooja Gandhi and Anant Nag. The film is believed to have shaped and strengthened the careers of Ganesh; Pooja Gandhi; director Yograj Bhat; lyricist Jayant Kaikini, choreographers A. Harsha and Imran Sardaria; composer Mano Murthy; and made Bollywood playback singers Sonu Nigam, Kunal Ganjawala and Udit Narayan popular in Karnataka.[8][9]

It was the first film in India (for any language) to be screened continuously for over one year in a multiplex,[10][11] and holds the record for the longest-running film at a multiplex in addition to having one of the highest recorded box-office collections in Kannada cinema.[10][12] According to the Bangalore Mirror, it was the first Kannada film to cross the ₹50 crore box office collection mark.[13] It was the first film to run for over 865 days in history of Karnataka.[14] and collected an estimated ₹ 75 Crore to become the first South Indian film.[2] The Income Tax department alleged that the movie had collected ₹67.5 crore (US$8.1 million) and demanded tax on that amount.[13] It ran for a record 460 days at the PVR Multiplex.[13] It also holds a national record in Indian Cinema for running more than one year in PVR.[15][1]

It was remade in 2008 in Telugu as Vaana,[16] in 2008 in Bengali as Premer Kahini,[17] in 2009 in Odia as Romeo - The Lover Boy [18] and in 2017 in Marathi as Premay Namaha. A spiritual sequel to the film, titled Mungaru Male 2, was released in 2016.[19]

Plot

[edit]

Preetham is on a visit to Eva Mall in Bangalore; amidst a heavy wind, he spots a pretty girl, Nandini. While staring at her, he inadvertently falls into a manhole. Nandini rescues him, but in the process she loses her heart-shaped watch which she had just bought.

While accompanying his mother to Madikeri in Coorg, Preetham confronts a man named Jaanu. Jaanu, who has been following Nandini, hits Preetham, thinking that he is in love with her. Preetham, unaware that Jaanu has vowed not to allow anyone near Nandini, fights Jaanu and his gang in revenge.

In Madikeri, Preetham unexpectedly meets Nandini. He identifies himself and expresses his love for her and offers to put her lost watch on her. Nandini, who is already engaged, rejects his request. Nonetheless, Preetham vows to marry Nandini if she meets him again. In the meantime, Preetham discovers that his nearly-deaf host in Madikeri, Col. Subbaiah, is Nandini's father and that her wedding is only a week away. Dejected, Preetham throws Nandini's watch away. But Nandini calls him and taunts him to return. Delighted, Preetham goes in search of her watch and spots a rabbit, which he names Devadas, and brings it along with the watch.

Since Nandini's friends are due to arrive from Mumbai for the wedding, Preetham takes Nandini to the railway station. The train is delayed by five hours, so Nandini and Preetham decide to visit a nearby hill-temple. While returning from the temple, Preetham and Nandini are caught in the rain. An old couple offers to give them shelter inside their hut. Preetham, still not sure about expressing his love to Nandini, grabs a couple of toddy bottles, goes out in the rain and starts drinking. However, when Nandini walks towards him, offering an umbrella, he drunkenly tells Nandini that he should stay away from Nandini to remain a decent boy, rather than to propose or elope with her. Nandini is now in love with Preetham and is in a dilemma as her wedding is in a few days. She asks him to take her to the top of a waterfall where she expresses her love for him while standing at the edge.

Preetam, intent on marrying Nandini, takes Col. Subbaiah for a morning jog to discuss the matter. But Col. Subbaiah, a heart patient, tells Preetham that he is expected to die anytime and his only desire is to get Nandini married to Gautam: an army officer who saved his life during a war. He also could feel Nandini's mother's worry when she realised that Nandini could be in love with someone else because the wedding was to happen the next day and all invitations were already sent out. Her mother also felt that it would be very unfair to a good person like Gautham. Hence, Preetham decides to obey Nandini's parents' wishes and let Gautham marry Nandini. The night before the wedding, an extremely depressed Preetham goes to a road-side bar to drink alcohol and sees Gautam arriving for his wedding ceremony. Gautam asks the bar-owner for directions to Col. Subbaiah's home because of the heavy rains and badly-maintained interior roads of Coorg. Jaanu arrives and tries to kill Gautam, Preetham saves him and convinces Jaanu that Gautam is the best person to marry Nandini.

The next day, Preetham brings Gautam to the wedding after Gautam's car broke down. They reach just in time for the ceremony, but Preetham declines to attend. Gautam asks for the heart-shaped watch as a memento but Preetham leaves, unwilling to part with it. They search for Preetham, but cannot find him. Only Preetham's mother knows the truth of his love for Nandini, and she tries to hide her fear.

Resignedly, Preetham watches the arch proclaiming "Gautham weds Nandini" and the marriage taking place in Kodava style. As he leaves, he spots Devadas and takes the rabbit with him. Driving towards Bangalore, Preetham confides in Devadas as to how much he loved Nandini, and how he wished he had a life with her. He then realises that Devadas has died. The film ends with Preetham burying Devadas.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

Development

[edit]

Director Yograj Bhat, who had earlier dabbled in advertising and corporate films, began working on the script of Mungaru Male.[21] He read the script to Puneeth Rajkumar and Ramya who rejected it.[22] Ganesh introduced Yograj Bhat to producer E. Krishnappa, who agreed to finance the film. Bhat cast a relatively unknown actress, Pooja Gandhi, for the lead female role in the film.[23]

Filming

[edit]

Approximately 80% of the scenes were filmed in the rain.[1][24] Shooting locations included major part in[24] Sakaleshpura, Madikeri,[24] Jog Falls Sagara,[24] and Gadag. Krishna, the cameraman, was a part-time photographer prior to the film. The song "Kunidu Kunidu" and the climax was shot at Jog Falls.[25][26]

Soundtrack

[edit]
See also: Anisutide
Mungaru Male
Soundtrack album by
Mano Murthy
Released6 November 2006 (2006-11-06)
Recorded2006
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length31:30
LabelAnand Audio
ProducerMano Murthy
Mano Murthy chronology
Amrithadhare
(2005) 		Mungaru Male
(2006) 		Cheluvina Chittara
(2007)
Anisutide song sung by Sonu Nigam

Mano Murthy scored the film's background music and its soundtrack, lyrics for which was penned by Jayant Kaikini, Yogaraj Bhat, Kaviraj and Hrudaya Shiva. The soundtrack album consists of seven tracks.[27] Anand Audio bought the distribution rights for ₹500,000.[28] It was released on 6 November 2006 in Bangalore.[29]

Upon the album's release, it topped the charts with the song "Anisuthide" receiving significant radio and TV air time.[30] It was reported that by mid-May 2007, over 200,000 copies were sold in compact discs alone.[31] Hindustan Times reported, "The film has just completed seven weeks, but audio sales have broken all earlier records. Composer Mano Murthy has once again created musical magic with songs like 'Anisuthidhe' and 'Onde Ondu Saari'."[32]

Track list
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Onde Ondu Saari"KavirajKunal Ganjawala, Priya Himesh4:32
2."Mungaru Maleye"Yogaraj BhatSonu Nigam4:49
3."Kunidu Kunidu Baare"Jayant KaikiniUdit Narayan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Stephen4:30
4."Anisuthide"Jayant KaikiniSonu Nigam4:36
5."Suvvi Suvvali"Hrudaya ShivaHemanth4:38
6."Ivanu Geleyanalla"Hrudaya ShivaShreya Ghoshal3:47
7."Araluthiru Jeevada Geleya"Jayant KaikiniShreya Ghoshal4:38
Total length:31:30

The success of the film's soundtrack, especially the track "Anisutide", further propelled Nigam's playback singing career in Kannada cinema.[30] With the song, lyricist and writer Jayant Kaikini's reputation as a writer of romantic songs further elevated, and is considered one of his best.[33]

Critical response

[edit]

Rediff.com's critic awarded it a three-star rating and praised its cinematography, technical values, and the acting of Ganesh and Anant Nag.[34]

Indicine.com's critic rated the film 4 out of 5, describing Ganesh as the "life and soul of the movie". Other praise was directed at Gandhi, "Sanjana makes a confident debut. Veteran actor Anant Nag with his brilliant comic timing provides able support".[35] S. Shiva Kumar of The Hindu wrote, "Anant Nag never ceases to amaze. Playing a deaf, trigger-happy ex-serviceman, his dialogue delivery and sense of timing are spot on. TV anchor turned actor Ganesh has a casual style, which audiences seem to be lapping up."[36]

Box office

[edit]
See also: List of highest-grossing Indian films

Made with a production budget of ₹70 lakh (US$84,000),[1] the film collected ₹50 crore (500 million) in 300 days.[37][38] Then film went on to gross ₹50[3][4]–75 crore[5] (₹500–750 million) by the end of its theatrical run of 865 days.[14][39] The film has also been released with 150 prints in Karnataka.[40] This was the first Indian film which ran over a year in a multiplex: PVR cinemas Bangalore.[41] Mungaaru Male was being screened at full theatres, one year after its release.[42] According to reports it was the first Kannada film to touch ₹50 crore club in history of Kannada film industry.[1][43][13]

Overseas

[edit]

Mungaru Male was released to 10 countries including the United States, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, UK, Hong Kong and Dubai. It was the highest-grossing Kannada film overseas.[citation needed] It had made ₹36 lakh (equivalent to ₹1.2 crore or US$140,000 in 2023) in the US alone.[44][45]

Home media

[edit]

The satellite rights were acquired by television channel Star Suvarna for ₹36 million.[46] The DVD of the film with 5.1 surround sound was distributed by Anand Video.[47]

Awards and nominations

[edit]

The film was awarded the Best Kannada Film award for the year 2006–07 by the Government of Karnataka (seven awards in total from the Government of Karnataka). It won three Filmfare awards: best music, best direction and best film. However, it did not win a single national award from the Government of India.[48]

Totals
Awards won 8
Nominations 13
Ceremony Category Nominee Result Ref.
Karnataka State Award Best Film Mungaru Male Won [49]
[50]
Best Director Yogaraj Bhat Won
Best Dialogue Writer Yogaraj Bhat Won
Best Cinematographer S. Krishna Won
Best Music Director Mano Murthy Won
Best Sound Recording Tukaram Won
Best Lyricist Jayanth Kaikini Won
54th Filmfare Awards South Best Director Yogaraj Bhat Nominated [51]
Best film Mungaru Male Won
Best Playback Singer – Male Sonu Nigam Nominated
Best Actor Ganesh Nominated
Best Debut Actress Pooja Gandhi Nominated
Best Playback Singer – Female Shreya Ghoshal Nominated

Legacy

[edit]

The success of Mungaru Male turned Ganesh and Pooja Gandhi into most sought-after actors in Kannada cinema.[52] Ganesh had back-to-back commercial successes in Cheluvina Chittara (2007), Hudugaata (2007) and Krishna (2007). Ganesh and Bhat delivered two consecutive films that emerged as commercial successes, the other being Gaalipata (2008).[53] The film also proved to be a launchpad for the career of actress Pooja Gandhi.[54] Gandhi also delivered back-to-back commercially superhit films such as Milana (2007), Krishna (2007), Taj Mahal (2008) and Budhivanta (2008).[55][56] Jog Falls attained popularity and became a tourist spot after the film's release.[25]

Producer E Krishnappa and distributor Jayanna were raided by the Income Tax department multiple times, who claimed that the film had collected ₹67.5 crore and demanded tax for that amount. After Mungaru Male, two of Ganesh's next films also became super hits.[13]

Book

[edit]

Bhat wrote about the making of Mungaru Male in the book Haage Summane, which was released on day of the silver jubilee celebration for the movie.[57]

Remakes

[edit]

The movie was remade in Telugu in 2008 as Vaana,[16] in Bengali in 2008 as Premer Kahini, in Odia in 2009 as Romeo - The Lover Boy [18] and in Marathi in 2017 as Premay Namaha.[58][59]

Sequel

[edit]

It was announced in July 2014 that Shashank would be directing the sequel of the film, titled Mungaru Male 2. Ganesh reprised his role in the film, produced by J. Gangadhar under the banner of E. K. Pictures.[19] The sequel was released in 2016.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Industry sources indicated an approximate gross of ₹50 crore for Mungaru Male,[3][4] whereas the higher ₹75 crore figure was attributed to the critic Prahlad Rao [5] Financial claims made by primary sources (directors, producers, distributors, actors) should be treated with circumspection, as primary sources often have conflicts of interest and incentives to inflate box office figures.[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Did you know? 'Mungaru Male' was the first film to cross Rs 50 crore at the box office as well as run for a year in a multiplex". M.timesofindia.com. 27 April 2020. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b [1]
  3. ^ a b "Stage set for Mungaru Male sequel". The Hindu. 24 November 2014. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
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  5. ^ a b c "Ganesh Bal: The outsider on the inside". Daily News & Analysis. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
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  9. ^ "Frequent twist and turns in Pooja's real life is grabbing more attention these days". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
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  38. ^ Khajane, Muralidhara (21 April 2016). "Man with the golden touch". The Hindu. m.thehindu.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
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  41. ^ When it rains, it pours - The Hindu
  42. ^ "Karnataka's heartthrob Ganesh secretly marries". Archived 14 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine IBN Movies. 12 February 2008. "...Mungaaru Male, which broke all records, totally grossed Rs 75 crores. and even completed 50 days at Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu"
  43. ^ "Mungaru Male Actor - Ganesh Shashank". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  44. ^ "FIRST HIT". bangaloremirror.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
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  48. ^ "State awards". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  49. ^ "Deccan Herald - State cine awards: Mungaru Male sweeps six awards". 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  50. ^ Karnataka State Film Awards – 2006-2007 Archived 2011-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
  51. ^ "Filmfare 54th South Indian Awards". Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
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  58. ^ Matkari, Ganesh (3 March 2017). "Film: Premay Namaha". Pune Mirror. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  59. ^ "From 'School Master' to 'U Turn': A look at Kannada films remade in other Indian languages". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
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