''Pingami'' () is a 1994 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

-language

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by

Sathyan Anthikkad Sathyan Anthikad is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and lyricist who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. In a career spanning five decades he has directed more than 50 films, been the lyricist for 12 films and been the scriptwriter f ...

and written by

Reghunath Paleri Raghunath Paleri (born 7 February 1954) is an Indian novelist, screenwriter, director and actor from Kerala. Career He has directed three films''Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare'' (1986), '' Vismayam'' (1998), and ''Kanneerinu Madhuram'' (unreleased); ...

based on his own short story ''Kumarettan Parayaatha Kadha''. It was produced by

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...

through the company

Pranavam Arts Pranavam Arts International (formerly Pranavam Arts or Pranavams International) was an Indian film production and distribution company based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, founded in 1990 by Indian actor Mohanlal. Since then the company has prod ...

, and stars himself along with

Puneet Issar Puneet Issar (born 6 November 1959) is an Indian actor, writer, director, producer and dialect coach best known for his works in Hindi films and television shows. Issar started his acting career as a villain in the Manmohan Desai's 1983 film ' ...

Jagathy Sreekumar Sreekumar P. K. (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decades ...

Thilakan Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearan ...

, Innocent, Kanaka,

Sukumaran Edappal Ponnamkuzhi Veettil Parameswaran Sukumaran Nair (10 June 1948 – 16 June 1997), known mononymously as Sukumaran, was an Indian actor and producer of Malayalam films. Sukumaran became a popular film star in Malayalam cinema during the ...

, Janardhanan and

Oduvil Unnikrishnan Oduvil Unnikrishnan (13 February 1943 – 27 May 2006) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He has portrayed supporting roles in both dramatic and comedic roles.The HindMalayalam film actor Oduvil Unnikrishnan dead He is a four- ...

in supporting roles. The film follows Captain Vijay, who forms a close bond with Kumaran, a severely injured man. However, when he dies, Vijay decides to investigate the cause of his death. The music was composed by

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

. The film was released on 27 May 1994 and was an average success at the box office. In a retrospect review in 2019, ''

Kerala Kaumudi ''Kerala Kaumudi'' is a Malayalam language daily newspaper published from Kerala, India. It was founded in 1911 by C. V. Kunhiraman as a periodical. His son K. Sukumaran later served as the newspaper's editor. Kerala Kaumudi Daily is among the ...

'' described ''Pingami'' as the most underrated film ever in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, '' Elippathaya ...

. and over the years, the film has attained a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

Plot

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Vijay Menon is an orphaned

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant off ...

, 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. One day, Vijay sees a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

named Kumaran lying on the road after an accident and moaning for help. He takes Kumaran to a hospital but is unable to save his life. Vijay finds out that Kumaran's accident was actually 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. It is revealed that Kumaran was murdered by the same people who had killed Vijay's father, an honest IFS officer who apprehended smuggling of timber. Vijay's father's murder was witnessed by Kumaran, who tried to find justice for Vijay's family. This revelation prompts Vijay to seek vengeance 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 aren't dead, as Kumaran had rescued them and admitted his sister and mother in a charity home where he regularly visited them. Vijay is able to reunite with his family and successfully finishes Kumaran's and his mission for justice.

Cast

Vijay Menon, a military officer *

as Edwin Thomas / Achayan (

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...

by Prof. Aliyar) *

as Kutti Hassan * Innocent as Advocate Iyengar *

as Illipanath Narayanan Kumaran / Kumarettan * Kanaka as Sridevi, Kumaran's daughter *

as George Mathews / George Achayan, an influential politician * Janardhanan as Retd SP Koshy Varghese * Devan as Vijay's father, a government officer *

Shanthi Krishna Shanthi Krishna is an Indian actress known for her leading roles in Malayalam and Tamil films. As a star in the 1980s and 1990s, she won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for her performance as Sharadammini in ''Chakoram'' (1994), t ...

as Subhadra, Menon's younger sister and Vijay's mother *

Seetha Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

as Parvathi, Vijay's younger sister * Vinduja Menon as Ganga / Mary / Chinnumol, Vijay's youngest sister *

as Menon, Vijay's maternal uncle *

Meena Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the st ...

as Menon's wife and Vijay's aunt *

Kuthiravattam Pappu Padmadalakshan, better known by his stage name Kuthiravattam Pappu (24 December 1936 – 25 February 2000), was a popular Indian stage and film actor. His repertoire of acting was based on his unique style and use of the '' Kozhikodan'' dialect, ...

as Achuthan *

Sankaradi Chandrashekaran Menon, better known by his screen name Sankaradi (14 July 1924 – 8 October 2001), was an Indian actor. He was a veteran Malayalam comedian and character artist, who had over 700 Malayalam films to his credit. He dominated the ...

as Muthappan *

Mala Aravindan Mala Aravindan (15 January 1939 – 28 January 2015) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his work as a comedian and character artist in Malayalam films. He has acted in over 500 films. Early life He was born in Vadavucode, Ernakulam d ...

as Velichappadu *

Kunchan Kunchan is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Kunchan Nambiar Kunchan Nambiar was a prominent Malayalam poet of the 18th century (1705-1770). Apart from being a prolific poet, Nambiar is also famous as the originator of the da ...

as Auto driver Khader Kutty *

Paravoor Bharathan Vadakkekarayil Koran Bharathan (16 January 1929- 19 August 2015), better known as Paravoor Bharatan was an Indian actor who acted in Malayalam films. He started his career in movies during the 1950s. Bharathan is known as a versatile actor and h ...

as Advocate *

T. P. Madhavan T. P. Madhavan (born 7 November 1935) is an Indian actor who appeared in Malayalam films. He started acting at the age of 40. He has acted in more than 600 films. He came into the film industry playing villain roles; later he started doing com ...

as Newspaper editor * V. K. Sreeraman as Police officer *

Poornam Viswanathan Poornam Viswanathan (15 November 1921 – 1 October 2008) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil films. He started performing on stage at age 18. He worked as a reader for All India Radio and went on to act in films such as ''C ...

as Varma, Revenue Intelligence officer *

Sadiq Sadiq is a male name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Ja'far al-Sadiq, the 8th-century Muslim scholar and scientist, considered as an Imam and founder of the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence by Twelver and Isma'ili Shi’as, and a major f ...

as Studio owner *

Ottapalam Pappan Ottapalam Pappan (15 June 1945 - 25 July 2013) was an Indian theatre, television and film actor in Malayalam movies during the 1990s and 2000s. Pappan started as a theatre artist and later debuted in film with the 1991 movie ''Valsalyam''. He ac ...

Santhakumari Santha Kumari (born Vellaala Subbamma; 17 May 1920 – 16 January 2006) was an Indian musical artist and actress. She was married to the Telugu film director and producer P. Pullayya. Early years Vellaala Subbamma was born in Proddatur town, ...

as Kumarettan's wife and Sridevi's mother *

Meena Ganesh Meena Ganesh is an Indian actress who acts mostly in Malayalam movies.http://www.thirtysixmm.com/36mm/celebrity/meena-ganesh Filmography Malayalam TV Serials * Geethanjali * Devaragam * Snehatheeram * Velankani Mathavu * Ramayanam * Calc ...

as Kuttyhasan's mother *

Santha Devi Damayanthi (1927 – 20 November 2010), better known by her stage name Kozhikode Santha Devi, was an Indian Malayalam film and stage actress. In a career spanning about sixty years, she acted in more than 1000 plays and about 480 films. Biog ...

as Mother Superior * Abu Salim as Muthu *Bindu Varappuzha as Rukhiya *

Antony Perumbavoor Malekudy Joseph Antony, better known as Antony Perumbavoor is an Indian film producer, distributor, cinema exhibitor and actor, who works in Malayalam film industry. He began his career as a chauffeur to Mohanlal in 1987 and started appearing ...

as Car driver Devasikutty

Production

''Pingami'' was based on

Raghunath Paleri Raghunath Paleri (born 7 February 1954) is an Indian novelist, screenwriter, director and actor from Kerala. Career He has directed three films''Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare'' (1986), '' Vismayam'' (1998), and ''Kanneerinu Madhuram'' (unreleased); ...

's short story ''Kumarettan Parayatha Katha''. He also wrote the screenplay.

made a genre change with ''Pingami'' who was usually known for making comical family dramas.

Music

The film features songs composed by

and written by

Kaithapram Padma Shri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum K ...

Release

The film was released on 27 May 1994.

Reception

Box office

It was an average success at the box office.

Critical response

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

References

External links

* {{Mohanlal 1994 films 1990s Malayalam-language films Films directed by Sathyan Anthikad Pranavam Arts International films Indian action thriller films Films shot in Kozhikode Indian films about revenge Films scored by Johnson