Mugam (film)

Mugam (transl. Face) is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by Gnana Rajasekaran. The film stars Nassar and Roja, while Manivannan, Vivek and Thalaivasal Vijay play supporting roles. It was released on 1 October 1999 and did poorly at the box office.

Mugam
Directed by	Gnana Rajasekaran
Written by	Gnana Rajasekaran
Produced by	Kalaipuli S. Thanu
Starring	Nassar Roja
Cinematography	P. C. Sreeram
Edited by	B. Lenin V. T. Vijayan
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Production company	Kalaipuli International
Release date	1 October 1999 (1999-10-01)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Ranganathan aka Rangan is a deformed 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 back home and decides to put on a mask on his face. 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

• Nassar as Rangan
• Roja as Malini
• Manivannan as Muthannan
• Vivek
• Jon Dough as Jon, an American tourist
• Thalaivasal Vijay
• Dave Cummings
• Vennira Aadai Moorthy
• Dhamu
• Mayilsamy
• Fathima Babu
• Ajay Rathnam
• Raviraj
• Peeli Sivam
• Monica
• Shobana

Production

Nassar's appearance in the film was achieved through computer graphics supervised by Trotsky Marudu.^[1]

Release and reception

Mugam was released on 1 October 1999.^[2] S. R. Ashok Kumar of The Hindu appreciated the lack of fight sequences, song and dance sequences and an antagonist. He also appreciated Sreeram's cinematography and Lenin-Vijayan's editing, Nassar's performance and concluded, "A different film not only for the masses but also for the classes".^[3] Aurangzeb of Kalki praised the cinematography, music and art direction but was critical of the film as it fails to connect.^[4]

The film did poorly at the box office and was played on television within a month of release.^[5] 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.^[6]

References

1. Rajitha (26 July 1999). "Handsome is..." Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
2. "mugam ( 1999 )". Cinesouth. Archived from the original on 29 October 2006. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
3. Kumar, S. R. Ashok (15 October 1999). "Film Reviews: Mugam / F.I.R". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 June 2001. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
4. ஒளரங்கசீப் (24 October 1999). "முகம்". Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 92–93. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2022 – via Internet Archive.
5. Santhanam, Gokul. "Gokul's Tamil Cinema News". oocities.org. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
6. "Interview with Actor Naser". Tamil Movie Cafe. Archived from the original on 2 July 2001. Retrieved 12 January 2022.

External links

• Mugam at IMDb