''Pingami'' () is a 1994 Indian

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

-language

action thriller film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

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 ...

and written by Reghunath Paleri 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 and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

through the company Pranavam Arts, and stars himself along with Puneet Issar,

Jagathy Sreekumar Sreekumar Achary (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 deca ...

Thilakan Palappurathu Keshavan 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 appeara ...

, Innocent, Kanaka,

Sukumaran E. P. P. 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 1970s. He was considered one o ...

, Janardhanan Oduvil Unnikrishnan and Shanthi Krishna in supporting roles. The film follows the story of Captain Vijay, an army officer 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 may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

. The film was released on 27 May 1994 and was an average success at the box office. In a retrospective review in 2019, '' Kerala Kaumudi'' described ''Pingami'' as the most underrated film ever in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

. and over the years, the film has attained a

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

Plot

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

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 (NCO), or a warra ...

, 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 younger 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 forest range 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, an

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

officer * Puneet Issar as Edwin Thomas / Achayan (

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

by Prof. Aliyar) (The Main Antagonist) *

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 Shekharankutty Menon, Vijay's father, a government officer * Shanthi Krishna as Subhadra, Shekharankutty Menon's wife and Vijay's mother * Seetha as Parvathi, Vijay's younger sister * Vinduja Menon as Ganga / Mary / Chinnumol, Vijay's youngest sister * Oduvil Unnikrishnan as Krishnankutty, Vijay's maternal uncle *

Meena Meena () is a tribe from northern and western India which is sometimes considered a sub-group of the Bhil community. It used to be claimed they speak Mina language, a Spurious languages, spurious language. Its name is also transliterated as ' ...

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 Paravoor memana Kanakku Chembakaraman Parameswaran Chandrashekara 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 70 ...

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 Aravindan was born at Vadavucode in th ...

as Velichappadu * Kunchan 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 ...

as Advocate Bhargavan *

T. P. Madhavan T. P. Madhavan (7 November 1935 – 9 October 2024) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He began acting at age 40 and appeared in over 600 films. Initially known for playing antagonistic roles, he transitioned t ...

as Sukumaran Thampi, Newspaper editor * V. K. Sreeraman as SI Babu, Station in charge officer *

Poornam Viswanathan Poornam Viswanathan (14 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, He was the first person in India to a ...

as Varma, a retired Revenue Intelligence officer *

Sadiq Sadiq may refer to: Places * Sadiq (town), Faridkot district, Punjab, India Punjab () is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the ...

as Sudheer Kumar, Studio owner * Ottapalam Pappan *

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 tow ...

as Ramani, Kumarettan's wife and Sridevi's mother * Meena Ganesh as Raziya, 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, George Achayan's right hand *Bindu Varappuzha as Rukhiya * Antony Perumbavoor as Car driver Alexi

Production

''Pingami'' was based on Raghunath Paleri'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.

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