Mungaru male is a tribute to all those lovers, who have sacrificed their love owing to parental-pressure, Traditions and Tutelage.
Directed by Yogaraja Bhat, it has achieved a cult-status, within a short time of 5 months.
Story:
The Hero Preetam(Ganesh), is a rich, aimless spoilt
brat.
His marks in PUC are like a telephone No, 2, 4, 5, . but still needs benz car to roam around the streets.
On a visit to M G Road amidst a heavy wind, he spots a pretty
girl, Nandini(Sanjana Gandhi). Whilst staring at her, he inadvertently
falls into a drainage pit. Nandini rescues him from the pit and in the
process looses her heart-shaped watch she had just purchased.
Even before Preetam could get acquainted with Nandini, she leaves
the place with her friend. Desperate to meet her, he calls up the local
Radio Mirchi and requests the RJ to notify his lady-love to reach the
pit.
In the meantime Preetam’s mother requests him to accompany her to
Madikeri to attend a function. Along the way, the tire of Preetam’s car
is punctured. While fixing the tire, a lorry spatters water on
Preetam’s face. He again spots Nandini, travelling in a car, who throws
him a handkerchief and indicating him to wipe his dirty face. Preetham
follows the flying hand kerchief, which lands with Jaanu.
Jaanu[Neenaasam Ashwath], whose been following Nandini, beats
Preetham thinking that he’s loving Nandini. Preetham, unaware that
Jaanu has vowed to not allow any one to Nandini gives a good beating to
Jaanu and gang, all the while his mother is waiting for him in the
mungaru male.
In Madikeri, Preetam meets Nandini and expresses his love towards
her. Nandini, who is already engaged rejects his request. Still,
Preetam vows to marry Nandini if she meets him again.
In the meantime, Preetam discovers that his host in Madikeri, Col.
Subbayya(Anant Nag) is Nandini’s father and Nandini’s marriage is a
just a week away. Dejected, Preetham throws Nandini’s heart-shaped
watch and is on his way to Bangalore. But Nandini calls him over the
phone and taunts him to return. Delighted, Preetham goes in search of
her watch and brings it back. While searching it, he spots a rabbit,
which he calls as Devadas and brings it along with him.
Nandini’s friends from Mumbai are arriving for marriage and Preetham
takes Nandini to the railway station. The train is 5 delayed by five
hours and suddenly Devadas is lost. Preetham finds him on a speeding train;s track and saves devadas, without caring for his own life. Nandini is spell-bound to find some one who is loves to the extent of giving up his life for a beloved one.
Subbayya had mentioned to Nandini to visit the hill-temple, near the railway station. Nandini and Preetham drive to it.There’s a unique tradition on the temple, that the
wives/daughters should be carried by father/husband. Preetham, [unaware
that Subbayya had promised Nandini that anytime she visits the temple,
her husband would carry her] lifts her like a kid and climbs the steps
of temple.
This comes as a shock to Nandini.
Once back from the temple, they go near a river, when the mungaru
male[pre-monsoon shower] starts. An old couple near-by takes both
Preetham-Nandini inside their hut and offer them warm-clothes and
warm-drinks.
Preetham rejects the old-man’s offer to drink and elope from the
cold-weather. However, when Nandini changes into minimal dressing and
gives him a cool-drink, Preetham is caught by emotions.
He grabs the whole bag of wine and starts drinking. In the pure
cinematic moment, he dreams of singing and pleading to Nandini.
However, when Nandini walks towards him, offering an umbrella, He is
under a state of intoxication and says to Nandini that he’d better stay
away from Nandini to remain a’Decent Boy", rather than to
propose-elope away with her.
He’s stupified and can’t drive. Nandini drives back with Preetham in the car and shown thinking deeply about Preetham.
Nandini is now in-love with Preetham. He lures Nandini and prepares
to elope with her. Nandini, after learning his love towards her
requests him to take her to the top of Jog Falls. She expresses her
love towards Preetam, standing at the edge of the waterfall. Preetham
then ties her the heart-shaped watch and vows that he’ll never leave
her hand.
Preetham mentions to his mother that he is in love with Nandini. His
mother slaps him, advices not to create problems in Nandini’s life.
Preetham, still hell-bent on marrying Nandini, takes her father,
Subbu for a morning jog. But, Subbayya has a heart-ache, reveals to
Preetham that he’s expected to die anytime and his only aim in life is
to get Nandini married off to Gautam. Preetham learns that Subbayya’s
life was saved by Gautam(Digant) and Subbayya had promised Gautam
Nandini’s hand in marriage.
Ganesh stays aloof from Nandini, provoking a shocked nandini to
question him. In an effort to ensure Nandini hates him, he answers her
that he’s not enthusiastic to marr a girl, whose ready to run away with
some one, when her marriage is within a week. Feeling cheated, Nandini
slaps him hard and rushes back to her room.
On the previous night of marriage, Preetham sensing trouble[If he
stays with the marriage party, Nandini may still reach out to him]
drives away and drinks the whole night in a road-side bar.
He finds a man, who is asking the bar-owner for directions to Subbayya’s
home, introducing himself as Gautham. Dejected Preetham ignores the
conversation.
Jaanu comes from no-where, tries to murder Gautham, Preetham saves
Gautham and takes Gautham to Subbayya’s home.
He convinces Jaanu that Only Gautham is destined to marry Nandini.
He drops Gautham, the groom to the marriage house, just in time for
the marriage. Declining both
1) to attend Gautham’s marriage and
2) tolend the
Heart-shaped watch to him(Gautham),
Preetham takes leave of Gautham.
With a sigh in his eyes, he watches the arch proclaiming "Gautham
weds Nandini", he drives towards Bangalore, all the while expressing
his disappointment to Devadas, only to find that Devadas is no more.
In a cinematic finish, Preetham buries Devadas on top of Jog-Falls, while Gautham is shown marrying Nandini per kodava customs.
The film ends with proclaiming Love is sweet, but Sacrifice is
enduring. Preetham, who has sacrified his love is shown wrenched in
mungaru male.
Review, without mentioning the music and photography is actually belittling the movie.
Though Comedy Time Ganesh is the hero, with too-many memorable dialogues, Mano Murthy and S Krishna are the real stars, whose excellent work has struck a chord with the audience.
Yogaraja Bhat, with his trade mark dailogues, See this one, "ree manshange bad time shuru aadre thale kerkondu, tale li gaaya aagi,
gaaya cancer aagi doctor thale ne tegibeku anthare. anthadralli nanu
ee dill. hrudaya… heart antharalla .alli ge kai haaki para para antha
kerkond bittidini kanri, Nim nagu, nim beauty, nim voice, nim koodlu, nim nota, ee biknaasi male, nim
gejje saddu, aa watchu, aa rascal devdaas gante saddu ella mix aagi nan
life alle repairy maadakkaagde iro astu gaaya maadide kanri."
Some great lyrics lifts the script to a new level,