''Mugam'' () is a 1999

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...

film directed by

Gnana Rajasekaran Gnana Rajasekaran (born 23 January 1953) is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, playwright and Retired Indian Administrative Service, IAS Officer. His directional debut was ''Mogamul'' (1994) won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of ...

. The film stars

Nassar Nassar ( ar, نصار, lit=helper, protector, supporter, victory-maker), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer ...

and

Roja Roja may refer to: * ''Roja'' (film), a 1992 Tamil-language film by director Mani Ratnam * ''Roja'' (soundtrack), a soundtrack album from the film * Roja Selvamani Roja Selvamani (born Sri Latha Reddy; 17 November 1972), also known as R. K. ...

whilst

Manivannan S. Manivannan Rajagopal (31 July 1953 – 15 June 2013), better known by his mononym Manivannan, was an Indian film director, actor and activist who worked mainly in Tamil cinema and also worked in a few Telugu & Malayalam films. In a care ...

Vivek Vivek (or Bibek/Bivek in some regions) (विवेक in Devanagari script) is a masculine given name that is popular in South Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. It is of Sanskrit origin and means "wisdom" and/or "conscience". Vivek may refe ...

and

Thalaivasal Vijay Thalaivasal Vijay is an Indian actor and dubbing artist. He was born on 4 August 1962 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India. He has acted predominantly in numerous Tamil and Malayalam films. Career Vijay's debut film was '' Thalaivaasal'' (1992), ...

play supporting roles. The film opened in October 1999 to negative reviews and it did poorly at the box office.

Plot

Ranganathan (

) is a very ugly man and therefore lives a tough life. He is kicked out of jobs, gets ill-treated constantly, and the girl he loves hates him. Then one day, Rangan goes to the house. With the Mask, Rangan generates followers, becomes a film star, and his new wife Malini (

) loves him solely for his handsome face. Nearing the end, Rangan takes off the Mask for a moment and expects that people would respect him for who he is on the inside. His wife walks in, sees his ugly face, and throws him out, mistaking him for a robber. Rangan's former followers throw him to the side. Deciding that only beauty can bring him respect, Rangan puts the mask back on and lives the life of an actor.

Cast

as Rangan *

as Malini *

as Muthannan *

Vennira Aadai Moorthy Vennira Aadai Moorthy (born 25 July 1936) is an Indian actor and comedian in Tamil cinema. He has starred in many Tamil films and television serials as a comedian and also played supporting roles. He is a lawyer by education, and holds a B.L. ...

Dhamu Dhamu is a retired Indian actor and comedian who mainly acts in Tamil films. He is known for his role as Otteri Nari in ''Ghilli'' (2004). He was a part of Gaana Galata Group, a popular touring and acting comedy troupe. Since then, he has appe ...

Mayilsamy Mayilsamy (born October 2, 1965) is an Indian actor and comedian who prominently plays supporting roles. Appearing in many Tamil films, he is also a regular guest judge on '' Asathapovathu Yaaru'' on Sun TV in Chennai. Career He is a popular ...

Fathima Babu Fathima Babu is a South Indian actress, former newsreader and socialite based out of Chennai who hails from Puducherry. Born in a Muslim family, Fathima began her public career as a newsreader for more than 25 years with DD Podhigai, the Tamil ...

Ajay Rathnam Ajay Rathnam is an Indian actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil language, Tamil films and serials. He is known for his supporting and negative roles and has acted in over 300 movies. Standing at 6 ft 4 in (193 cm), Rathnam is one of the t ...

*Raviraj *

Peeli Sivam P.L. Sivanappan known by his stage name credited as Peeli Sivam (5 July 1938 – 25 September 2017) was an Indian actor who featured around 400 Tamil-language films and plays from 1958–2017. He has featured in several films such as ''Muhamma ...

*Monica *Shobana

Release

A critic felt that "The storyline would be excellent to read in a novel, but the reality in film is incredibly slow-paced and implausible." and "that the actors do the best with what they have, but the result is still a very boring long drawn-out masterpiece gone horribly wrong." ''Kalki'' praised the cinematography, music and art direction but was critical of the film as it fails to connect. The film did poorly at the box office and was played on television within 2 weeks of release. Post-release, Nassar mentioned that the role had seemed interesting when it was first narrated to him, but as the project progressed he lost interest and just followed the director's instructions.

References

External links

* 1999 films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja 1990s Tamil-language films Films directed by Gnana Rajasekaran {{1990s-Tamil-film-stub