''Mukunda Murari'' is a 2016 Indian

Kannada-language Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native sp ...

devotional

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Nanda Kishore Nanda Kishore is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Kannada film industry. He is known for directing films like ''Victory'' (2013), ''Adyaksha'' (2014), and ''Ranna'' (2015). Family Nanda Kishore is the son of Kannada film a ...

. The film stars

Upendra Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born subs ...

in an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

role and

Sudeepa Sudeep Sanjeev (born 2 September 1971), also known as Sudeepa, is an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, television presenter and singer, who primarily works in Kannada films. He has also worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. He ...

playing the role of

Lord Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

, teaming up for the first time. The film, a remake of

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

film ''

OMG - Oh My God! OMG may refer to: * Oh my God (sometimes also Oh my Goodness or Oh my Gosh), a common abbreviation, often used in SMS messages and Internet communication Acronyms * OMG is the IATA code for Omega Airport, Omega, Namibia * Operational manoeuv ...

'' (2012), which in turn was based on a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

stage play ''Kanji Virrudh Kanji'', is produced by M.N. Kumar along with B. Jayashree Devi. The rest of the cast includes

Nikita Thukral Nikita Thukral is an Indian actress and model, who has acted in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. Early life Thukral was born into a Punjabi Hindu family and was raised in Mumbai. She completed her M.A in Economics from Kishinchand ...

Ishita Vyas Manju Vyas (born 18 March 1992) known by her stage name, Ishita Vyas is an Indian television and film actress. She placed in the top seven of the reality television show, '' Kingfisher Calendar Hunt 2013''. Career Vyas began her career as a mo ...

, Kaavya Shah,

P. Ravishankar Pudipeddi Ravi Shankar (born 28 November 1966), also known as Sai Ravi, is an Indian actor, dubbing artist, director and writer. He predominantly appears in Kannada films, in addition to Telugu and Tamil films. He dubbed for over 3500 films ...

Avinash Avinash Yelandur (born 22 December 1959) is an Indian actor who stars predominantly in South Indian language films, notably in the Kannada and Tamil film industries. He has been in the industry for two decades and has acted in over 200 films. Kn ...

among others. The film has cinematography by Sudhakar S. Raj. The soundtrack and film score are composed by

Arjun Janya Arjun Janya (born Lokesh Kumar) is an Indian Film composer, film score soundtrack composer and singer. Arjun made his film debut in the 2006 Kannada film ''Autograph Please''. Since then he has composed and scored music for successful films suc ...

. The film released in over 250 screens on 28 October 2016 and ran for 50 days in theatres.

Plot

The film follows the story of an atheist, Mukunda, who sues God after losing his shop in an earthquake. Religious organizations revolt against him and Murari visits him as his human guide. Atheist shopowner Mukunda (

) talks about selling bulk statues of

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

gods, and later tricks a devotee from

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

into buying a statue by claiming it is famous. The lack of respect, as his family sees it, makes his wife sad and she makes their son write the name of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

for at least ten pages. After that, he criticises the practices of his son and wife. On the night of

Krishna Janmashtami Krishna Janmashtami , also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. According to the Hindu lunisolar calendar, it is observed ...

, he openly mocks a guru named Siddeshwara Swami

who was encouraging his son and wife to walk on fire and pierce their tongues with a

Trishula The ''trishula'' () is a trident, a divine symbol, commonly used as one of the principal symbols in Hinduism. In Nepal and Thailand, the term also often refers to a short-handled weapon which may be mounted on a ''daṇḍa'' " staff". Unlik ...

. However, after a dangerous

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

in his market in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

, his antique shop was destroyed and had many financial liabilities. His in-law's family had separated his wife and son from him.

Cast

as Mukunda *

as Murari /

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

as Mukunda's wife *

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

as Leeladhara Swamy *

Devaraj Devaraj (born 20 September 1953) is an Indian actor and theatre actor who works in Indian film industry. He has largely featured in Kannada films performing various roles as a lead character, supporting character and villainous character. He ha ...

as a retired advocate *

Prakash Belawadi Prakash Belawadi is an Indian theatre artist, film director, television and media personality, who's also a teacher, activist and a journalist. He hails from Bangalore. He has participated in many seminars, conferences and festivals in India an ...

as advocate *

as Siddeshwara Swami *

Malavika Avinash Malavika Avinash (born 28 January 1976) is an Indian spokesperson, actress, television personality and politician who is the current State spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party of Karnataka. She is known for her work in Kannada and Tamil f ...

as TV interviewer *

as Gopika Mathe * Kaavya Shah as news reporter *

Tabla Nani Tabla Nani is an Indian theatre and film actor who works primarily in Kannada cinema. He began his career as a supporting actor in the 2006 Kannada film '' Mata''. His role in the 2009 film ''Eddelu Manjunatha'' won him critical praise. Career ...

as Mukunda's assistant *

Shivaram S. Shivaram (28 January 1938 – 4 December 2021), popularly known simply as Shivaram or Shivaramanna, was an Indian actor, producer and director whose Kannada cinema career has spanned six decades. He has played roles including lead hero p ...

as Swamiji *

Kuri Prathap Prathap (also known as ''Kuri Prathap'') is an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry. He made his debut in the movie Sixer (2007), and went on to cast in many commercial films. Some films Prathap worked as an actor include ''Mylari'' (2010 ...

as Insurance Company Official *

Dingri Nagaraj Dingri Nagaraj is an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry. He acted in ''Solillada Saradara'' (1992), '' Dore'' (1995) and ''Bangarada Kalasha'' (1995). Career Dingri Nagaraj has acted in more than 165 movies in Kannada. Selected filmograp ...

Bullet Prakash Bullet Prakash (2 April 1976 – 6 April 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Kannada cinema. Known for portraying comic roles, Prakash appeared in over 325 films. He earned the nickname "Bullet" because he used to ride the motorbike, Royal ...

* K. S. Shridhar as priest * Mohan Juneja *

Bhavana ''Bhāvanā'' (Pali;Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 503, entry for "Bhāvanā," retrieved 9 December 2008 from "U. Chicago" a Sanskrit: भावना, also ''bhāvanā''Monier-Williams (1899), p. 755, see "Bhāvana" and "Bhāvanā", retriev ...

in a cameo appearance *

Rachita Ram Bindhya Ram , known by her stage name Rachita Ram, is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Kannada films. Rachita made her film debut with the 2013 film ''Bulbul (2013 film), Bulbul'' as the lead opposite Darshan (actor), D ...

in a cameo appearance *

Sathish Ninasam Shiva, known by his screen name Sathish Ninasam, is an Indian actor who appears in Kannada films. Having made his film debut with ''Madesha'' (2008), Sathish appeared in small but significant roles in films like ''Manasaare'' (2009), ''Panchar ...

in a cameo appearance *

Mimicry Dayanand Mimicry Dayanand is an Indian Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist, Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, actor and television presenter from the Karnataka state of India. He is renowned for his impression of politicians and film actors of K ...

* Vasu * Swapna Raj * Kuri Sunil * Rockline Sudhakar

Production

Development

In January 2016, it was reported that director

was under the preparation to remake the hit Bollywood film ''

'' retaining the basic plot and giving it a native touch. Initially, the film was titled 'Kiccha!! Nee Begane Baaro', 'Brahma Vishnu', 'Sri Krishanrjuna Vijaya', 'Super Star Mattu Bigg Boss' and the makers roped in two of the biggest stars

and

to reprise the roles played by

Paresh Rawal Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works notably in Hindi films, and Telugu, and a few Gujarati and a few Tamil films. He has appeared in over 240 films and is the recipient ...

and

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

respectively in the original version. Later the title was altered as the makers sound the earlier one was quite a common name. To bring the uniqueness to the title, it was renamed to ''Mukunda Murari''.

Casting

After having roped in Upendra and Sudeepa to play the protagonist roles, the makers were on the search for the female lead and approached actress Prema hoping to bring her back to the screen after a long hiatus. Later

Priyanka Upendra Priyanka Upendra (née Trivedi) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Kannada Language films. Early life Priyanka was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Her mother is from West Bengal and father from Uttar Pradesh. She spent ten yea ...

's name was also considered for this role. However, actress

was finalized to play the wife role to Upendra. Further, actresses names such as

Ramya Krishnan Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna (in the Telugu and Kannada film industries) is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 260 films in five languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Ramy ...

Sadha Sadaf Mohammed Sayed, also known by her stage name Sadha, is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada films. She was introduced to the Telugu film industry by the director Teja along with Nithiin in the film '' Jayam'' ...

and

Nidhi Subbaiah Nidhi Subbaiah (born 16 February 1987) is an Indian actress and model, who has appeared in various television advertisements and films, she is known for her performance in successful Kannada movies such as ''Pancharangi'' (2010) and ''Krishnan ...

were reported to play key supporting roles. Since none of these actresses were available,

and Kaavya Shah were roped in to play those roles. The director went on to cast

P. Ravi Shankar Pudipeddi Ravi Shankar (born 28 November 1966), also known as Sai Ravi, is an Indian actor, dubbing artist, director and writer. He predominantly appears in Kannada films, in addition to Telugu language, Telugu and Tamil language, Tamil films. ...

and

to play other key roles.

Soundtrack

has scored the soundtrack and score for the film. A total of four songs and one instrumental track were composed by him. The audio was officially released on 16 October 2016 through D Beats Music label.

Release

The film released in over 250 screens on 28 October 2016.

Box office

The film was released on the occasion of

Deepavali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali (IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is on ...

. The film ran for 50 days in theaters.

Awards and nominations

IIFA Utsavam The annual IIFA Utsavam rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. The ceremony is organised by Wizcraft International, the team behind the IIFA Awards, and represents Tamil cinema, Telugu cinema, Malayalam ...

:- * ''Best Villain Kannada'' (2016) -

- Nominated * ''Best Lyricist Kannada'' (2016) -

V. Nagendra Prasad V. Nagendra Prasad is a lyricist, composer and director who predominantly works for Kannada Cinema. He has penned more than 3000 songs, particularly for Kannada cinema. Early life He was born on 3 December 1975. He is the elder son to Cou ...

for the song "Neene Raama Neene Shyama" - Nominated

64th Filmfare Awards South The 64th Filmfare Awards South ceremony honoring the winners and nominees of the best of South Indian cinema The Cinema of South India refers collectively to the six distinct film industries based in Southern region of India namely Tamil ...

:- * '' Best Lyrics - Kannada'' (2016) -

for the song "Neene Raama Neene Shyama" - Nominated * '' Best Male Playback Singer – Kannada'' (2016) -

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. Personal life and early career Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tami ...

for the song "Neene Raama Neene Shyama" - Nominated Filmfare Awards South 2016: * *

6th South Indian International Movie Awards The 6th South Indian International Movie Awards is an awards event held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi on 30 June and 1 July 2017. SIIMA 2017 will recognize the best films and performances from the past year, along with specia ...

:- * ''Best Actress In A Supporting Role - Kannada'' (2016) - Kaavya Sha - Nominated (result pending) * ''Best Actor In A Negative Role - Kannada'' (2016) -

- Nominated (result pending) * ''Best Lyricist - Kannada'' (2016) -

for the song "Neene Raama Neene Shyama" - Nominated (result pending) * ''Best Music Director - Kannada'' (2016) -

- Nominated (result pending)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mukunda Murari 2010s Kannada-language films 2010s fantasy comedy-drama films Indian satirical films Films about lawsuits against God Indian courtroom films Indian fantasy comedy-drama films Indian religious comedy films Kannada remakes of Hindi films Films scored by Arjun Janya Films directed by Nanda Kishore 2016 comedy films 2016 drama films Films about Krishna Hinduism in popular culture Films with atheism-related themes

Plot

Cast

Production

Development

Casting

Soundtrack

Release

Box office

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links