Magamuni
Magamuni (transl. The Great Sage) is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller drama film written and directed by Santhakumar.[1] The film stars Arya in dual roles along with Indhuja Ravichandran and Mahima Nambiar. Kaali Venkat, Rohini, Jayaprakash, Ilavarasu, and Aruldoss play supporting roles. S. Thaman scores music for the film, and editing is handled by V. J. Sabu Joseph.[2] Principal photography of the film commenced during November 2018.[3] It was theatrically released by Tarun Pictures on 6 September 2019[4] to highly positive reviews from both critics and audience.[5][6]
| Magamuni | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Santhakumar |
| Produced by | K. E. Gnanavel Raja |
| Written by | Santhakumar |
| Story by | Santhakumar |
| Starring | |
| Music by | S. Thaman |
| Cinematography | Arun Bathmanaban |
| Edited by | V. J. Sabu Joseph |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Tarun Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 156 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
The film travels back and forth between two characters. Magadevan (Arya) is a cab driver in Chennai and also works as a thug for a corrupt politician named Muthuraj (Ilavarasu). Muniraj (Arya) is a Good Samaritan and organic farmer who believes in Swami Vivekananda's teachings, thinks the world of Tamil literature, and lives in a village near Erode. It is made clear that Maga is an atheist while Muni practices yoga and spreads the word of Hinduism.
Maga thinks the world of his wife Viji (Indhuja Ravichandran) and five-year-old son. He is also trying to turn a new life and leave the world of crime. Muni, on the other hand, is happy living with his loving mother (Rohini). He wants to be a "Nitya Brahmachari" (bachelor), and at the same time, impart knowledge to students. Deepa (Mahima Nambiar) is a journalism student and the daughter of a local landlord named Jayaraman (Jayaprakash), who is in awe of the soft-spoken Muni. Trouble erupts for Maga when one of Muthuraj's rivals, Guru Narayanan (Aruldoss), tries to fix him in an earlier murder case, which was planned by him for Muthuraj. Muthuraj, in order to save himself and his nephew, enters into connivance with the police and makes Maga the bad guy. At the same time, Jayaraman does not like his daughter moving around with Muni, a lower caste man, and wants to eliminate him.
Jayaraman plans to kill Muni through a snakebite in his farm; however, Muni is saved and admitted in the hospital by Deepa. Meanwhile, Maga is framed for the murder of Guru Narayanan's brother Surya Narayanan (Krishnamurthy) and is wanted by the police. Maga plans to escape to Vizag with his family and lead a normal life. He requests Muthuraj to pay him his balance money so that he can start a new life without knowing that Muthuraj has betrayed Maga by disclosing his whereabouts to the police and Guru Narayanan. While Maga is on the way to meet Muthuraj, he is chased and shot by the police. Maga, despite being severely wounded, escapes the place by boarding a goods train.
Policemen track Maga's location using his mobile phone signal and find that he is somewhere near Erode. Maga contacts Muthuraj again requesting for help. Muthuraj asks Maga to meet Jayaraman in Erode, who also happens to be Muthuraj's friend, so that he could get some money. In the meantime, policemen search all the hospitals around Erode, suspecting Maga to be treated for his injury. Finally, the police finds Muni in a hospital (as he was admitted for his snakebite) and arrests him, mistaking him as Maga. Meanwhile, Maga goes to Jayaraman's house seeking help. There, a drunk Jayaraman gets shocked upon seeing Maga and mistakes him as Muni, who has come for revenge. Jayaraman tries to attack Maga, but Maga kills Jayaraman to safeguard himself.
Maga's friends find out the true identity of Muthuraj and inform Maga. Maga feels bad for being betrayed by Muthuraj. On the other hand, Muni is handed over to Guru Narayanan by a corrupt police inspector (G. M. Sundar). Guru Narayanan's henchmen attack Muni as a means of revenge, believing him to be Maga. Muni is critically injured and is admitted in the hospital. The police also arrests Viji and her son. Viji thinks that Maga is dead and commits suicide by jumping into a well. Maga comes to know about Muni from his friends, and he rushes to see him in the hospital. Maga understands that Muni is his twin brother. A small flashback is shown where Maga and Muni's mother (unknown person) was mentally ill, and she left the two children alone and went away. Maga and Muni are separated when they were kids. Maga was grown in an orphanage, while Muni was adopted by his mother.
Maga gets furious knowing about Viji's death and decides to kill the baddies. He goes to Muthuraj's place and kills everyone including Muthuraj, the police inspector, and Guru Narayanan. As Maga was also shot by police before, he also gets admitted in the same hospital where Muni is present. Unfortunately, Muni passes away. After a few months, it is shown that Maga comes to Muni's village as he feels guilty of Muni's death and decides to follow Muni's path of literature and peace of mind. Maga's son is rescued and is raised by Muni's adoptive mother. When Maga is asked what his name is, he says, "Magamuni."
Cast
- Arya as Magadevan and Muniraj
- Indhuja Ravichandran as Viji
- Mahima Nambiar as Deepa
- Kaali Venkat as Dr. Raghu
- Rohini as Muni's mother
- Jayaprakash as Jayaraman
- Ilavarasu as Muthuraj
- Aruldoss as Guru Narayanan
- Madhan Kumar as Aadhi Narayanan
- Bala Singh as Politician
- G. M. Sundar as Corrupt Police Officer
- Krishnamurthy as Surya Narayanan
- Deepa Shankar as Gomathy, Muthuraj's wife
- Yogi as Gopal, Muthuraj's assistant
- Supergood Subramani as Therumunai Thirumurthy
- Sembaruthi Sanjay as Deepa's brother
- Nakkalites Chella
- Thangamani Prabhu
Production
The film was announced by Santhakumar, who is known for his critically acclaimed Mouna Guru, which was released in 2011.[7] The filming commenced on 14 November 2018, marking the director's second film in his career.[2] The shooting held at a brisk pace and predominantly shot in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Erode.[3] Filmmakers roped in actor Arya to play the male lead who was signed to portray dual roles, one an assassin and another a farmer and vallalar follower.[8]
Release
It was theatrically released by Tarun Pictures on 6 September 2019.[4]
Box office
In the opening weekend, Magamuni collected ₹100 lakh (US$140,000) at the Chennai box office.[9]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack of the film is composed by S. S. Thaman, continuing his collaboration with the director after Mouna Guru. The lyrics written by Kavignar Muthulingam and Krishnamoorthy Dhanushkodi.
| Magamuni | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 2019 | |||
| Genre | Soundtrack | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Label | Divo | |||
| Producer | S. S. Thaman | |||
| S. S. Thaman chronology | ||||
| ||||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Odum Neeril Odam Pola" | Kavingnar Muthulingam | 4:16 |
| 2. | "Kazhaga Kodi Parakkuthadaa" | Krishnamoorthy Dhanushkodi | 5:14 |
| 3. | "Eppadi Eppadi" | Kavingnar Muthulingam | 3:16 |
References
- "Arya's next will be with 'Mounaguru' director - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- "Arya's next titled 'Magamuni', to be directed by Shanthakumar". Sify. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- "Arya's film Magamuni nears completion, here's some exciting details!". in.com. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- Subramanian, Anupama (30 August 2019). "Magamuni gets a release date". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- "Magamuni Movie Review: A worthy follow-up to Santhakumar's debut film, Mouna Guru". Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- "Magamuni movie review: Arya impresses in a double role in Santhakumar's story with well-crafted characters- Entertainment News, Firstpost". Firstpost. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- Subramanian, Anupama (15 November 2018). "Arya is a 'Magamuni' now". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- "'Mouna Guru'- fame Santhakumar ropes in Arya to star in his next film 'Magamuni' | Entertainment News". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- "Arya's Magamuni gets a good start; Prabhas' Saaho slips to 7th place at Chennai box office". =International Business Times. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.