Durga (1990 film)
Durga is a 1990 Tamil-language children's film, directed and written by Rama Narayanan, with dialogue written by Pugazhmani. Music was by Shankar–Ganesh. The film stars Baby Shamili (Dual role) playing the title role, with Nizhalgal Ravi, Kanaka and Kitty playing lead with Sathyapriya, Vagai Chandrasekhar, Senthil and Vennira Aadai Moorthy playing a pivotal role. The movie fared well at the box office. The film was dubbed into Telugu as Lakshmi Durga in 1990 and dubbed into Hindi as Devi Aur Durga in 1992. Also, the film was remade in Kannada as Bhairavi in 1991.
| Durga | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Directed by | Rama Narayanan |
| Written by | Pugazhmani (dialogue) |
| Screenplay by | Rama Narayanan |
| Story by | Rama Narayanan |
| Produced by | N. Radha |
| Starring | Baby Shamili Nizhalgal Ravi Kanaka Kitty |
| Cinematography | N. K. Viswanathan |
| Edited by | Raja |
| Music by | Shankar–Ganesh |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 Mins |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
Durga, the only daughter of a wealthy couple, is faced with tragedy when her father passes away and her uncle attempts to take over their wealth. Matters take a turn for the worse when her mother is killed by her uncle. Kitty, an accomplice of her uncle, also plans to kill Durga to secure the fortune for himself. However, Durga manages to escape with the help of her loyal pets - Ramu the monkey and Raja the dog.
As Durga flees, she comes across Muthu, a kind-hearted man who befriends her. Meanwhile, Kannamma, a talented karakattam dancer, falls for Muthu and they both join forces to protect Durga from Kitty's clutches.
Despite their efforts, Kitty continues his hunt for Durga in order to eliminate her and take over the family's wealth. Durga returns to her home with the support of Muthu and Kannamma, which catches Kitty off guard. To complicate matters further, Kitty discovers Malliga, a girl who looks identical to Durga and is the daughter of a poor and disabled man. Kitty forces Malliga to act as Durga, threatening to harm her father if she refuses. The plan is to create chaos and in the process, he can kill the real Durga.
As the tension between the two girls builds up, a situation arises where they both have to walk over the fire in a temple to prove their true identity. Durga manages to do so successfully, but before Malliga can begin, her father appears and rescues her. He also reveals Kitty's sinister plans to everyone, and in a twist of fate, Kitty accidentally jumps into the fire and dies.
In the end, Durga accepts Malliga into her home along with Muthu and Kannamma. They all live together as a happy family, with the memories of the past safely behind them.
Cast
- Baby Shamili as Durga/Mallika
- Nizhalgal Ravi as Muthu
- Kanaka as Kannamma
- Kitty as Durga's Uncle
- Sathyapriya as Durga's mother
- Chandrasekhar as Mallika's father
- P. R. Varalakshmi as Muthu's mother
- Senthil as Vellaiyan
- Vennira Aadai Moorthy as Dr. Marcosa
- Bayilvan Ranganathan as Ranga
Soundtrack
Tamil Version
Music was by Shankar–Ganesh and lyrics were written by Vaali.
| No | Song | Singer | Lyrics | Length(m:ss) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pappa Paadum Paattu" | M. S. Rajeswari | Vaali | 03:33 |
| 2 | "Aadi Varum Paadi Varum" | K. S. Chithra | 02:16 | |
| 3 | "Pappa Paadum Paattu" – Reprise | M. S. Rajeswari | 01:43 | |
| 4 | "Papa Paadum Paattu" – reprise 2 | M. S. Rajeswari | 02:27 | |
| 5 | "Maari Muthu Maari" | S. P. Sailaja | 05:02 |
Telugu Version (Dubbed)
| No. | Song | Singer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pappa Paade Paata" | M. S. Rajeswari |
| 2 | "Aadinadhi Paadinadhi" | S. P. Sailaja |
| 3 | "ABCD Le" | K. S. Chithra |
| 4 | "Pappa Paade" (Reprise) | M. S. Rajeswari |
| 5 | "Pappa Paade" (Version lll) | M. S. Rajeswari |
| 6 | "Amma Maa Durgamma" | S. P. Sailaja |
Releases
Durga Tamil was released on 10 August 1990.[1] Later, the film was dubbed into Telugu as Lakshmi Durga (1990) and dubbed into Hindi as Devi Aur Durga (1992). The film was remade in Kannada as Bhairavi in 1991. In Kannada, Baby Shamili enacted in the same role.
References
- Lakshmi, V. (10 August 2020). "Shamlee on #30YearsOfDurga: My family would play Durga to wake me up from naps". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 August 2020.