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Valarthu Mrugangal

aka Performing Beasts 1981 148’(125’) col Malayalam d T. Hariharan pc Priyadarshini Movies s/lyr M.T. Vasudevan Nair c Mehli Irani m M.B. Srinivasan lp Balan K. Nair, Sukumaran, Madhavi, Nagesh

A bleak melodrama involving murder among circus performers. The members of a financially ailing circus troupe join a bigger circus, and find the employees exploited. Trapeze performer Janu falls for a stuntman who is also the employees’ representative in their fight for better work conditions. The stuntman is killed in a simulated accident, and his girlfriend tries to commit suicide. The plot was originally written as a short story by scenarist Vasudevan Nair. Director Hariharan was one of the most prolific in the 70s Malayalam cinema, with over 60 features since his debut, Ladies’ Hostel (1973).

Film