Pingami

Pingami (transl.The successor) is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Sathyan Anthikkad and written by Reghunath Paleri based on his own short story Kumarettan Parayaatha Kadha. It was produced by Mohanlal through the company Pranavam Arts, and stars himself along with Thilakan, Kanaka, and Jagathy Sreekumar. The music was composed by Johnson. The film follows Captain Vijay (Mohanlal), who forms a close bond with Kumaran (Thilakan), a severely injured man. However, when he dies, Vijay decides to investigate the cause of his death.[1]

Pingami
Directed bySathyan Anthikkad
Written byReghunath Paleri
Produced byMohanlal
StarringMohanlal
Thilakan
Kanaka
Jagathy Sreekumar
CinematographyVipin Mohan
Edited byK. Rajagopal
Music byJohnson
Production
company
Distributed byAnupama Films
Release date
27 May 1994
Running time
160 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

The film was release on 27 May 1994 and was a disaster at the box office. However, the film has over the years attained a cult following and is now considered to be one of the best thrillers in Malayalam cinema. In a retrospect review in 2019, Kerala Kaumudi described Pingami as the most underrated revenge drama ever in Malayalam cinema.[2][3][4]

Plot

Captain Vijay Menon is an orphaned army officer who returns on his annual leave to stay with his maternal aunt and uncle, who raised him and his younger sister after the untimely deaths of their parents and youngest sister. While out one day, Vijay sees a social worker named Kumaran who is lying on the road after an accident and is moaning for help. He takes Kumaran to a hospital, but is unable to save his life. From there develops a strong bond between Kumaran and Vijay, who later finds out that Kumaran's accident was really a pre-planned murder.

With the help of his friend Kutti Hassan, he starts on a trail to find out the mystery behind the murder and in the midst, he finds out the missing links of his own life. As the film proceeds, it is revealed that Kumaran was murdered by the same people who killed Vijay's father, an honest forest officer who caught smuggling of forest trees. Vijay's father's murder was witnessed by Kumaran, who then tried to find justice for Vijay's family.

This revelation prompts Vijay to take revenge on his father's killers in his own ways while simultaneously falling in love with Kumaran's daughter, Sridevi. Through Kumaran's diary and his own investigations, Vijay finds out that his mother and sister were never dead – Kumaran had rescued them and admitted his sister and his mother, who became mentally ill after witnessing his father's brutal murder, in a charity home where he regularly visited them. Vijay is able to reunite with his family and marry Sridevi, successfully finishing Kumaran's mission for justice.

Cast

Production

Pingami was based on Raghunath Paleri's short story Kumarettan Parayatha Katha. He also wrote the screenplay. Sathyan Anthikkad made a genre change with Pingami who was usually known for making comical family dramas.[2]

Soundtrack

Pingami
Soundtrack album by
GenreFilm
LanguageMalayalam

The film features songs composed by Johnson and written by Kaithapram.

TrackSong TitleSinger(s)
1"Themmaadikkaatte Ninnaatte"K. J. Yesudas, M. G. Sreekumar
2"Vennilavo"K. S. Chithra

Release

The film was released on 27 May 1994.

Box Office

It was a box office disaster at the time of release.[3]

Reception

Upon release the film received mixed reviews. However, modern reception has been more positive.[4]

References

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