Quick Gun Murugun

The dosa crusader is back. And, mind it, you will not have tasted a chutney mix like this before

The confrontation between Quick Gun Murugun and Rice Plate Reddy reflects the Catch 22 of the Tamil soul. Should the humble dosa submit to a metamorphosis and turn non-vegetarian? Or should temptation and filthy lucre be damned in favour of the traditional dosa made by ‘aama’.

Rice Plate Reddy (Nasser) and Quick Gun Murugun (Dr Rajendra Prasad) go back a long way to their good old days at the Coconut Tree Climbing Institute in rural Tamil Nadu. Even back then, they sparred over Tamil cuisine. Years later, they made their respective ways to big bad Mumbai and set up shop—Reddy as the owner of McDosa, the global non-vegetarian brand, and Murugun as a caped crusader for original Tamil values, culture and cuisine, in Matunga, where you get Mumbai’s only authentic dosa.

Matters come to a head when Reddy, frustrated by his inability to get the right flavour at McDosa, kidnaps several ‘aamas’ to get the perfect recipe. Murugun hits back by starting a hugely popular ‘dabba’ of authentic Tamil food from his sister-in-law’s Matunga residence.

But food is not the only subject of conversation here. There is sex. Shapely Mango Dolly (Rambha) is Reddy’s moll, but she seduces Murugun. Once in bed, she asks him if it was good for him too. He takes a spoonful of her ‘payasam’ and makes a face.

Ghosh has taken a popular Channel V concept from the 1990s, blown it up on the big screen and expected the same good humour and affection from his audience. But the film works best only if you are familiar with the original reference points. Otherwise, the antics could be read as an inane spoof on obscure issues relevant to English speakers of Tamil.

But for the initiated, Quick Gun Murugun is the perfect antidote to heavy-handed melodrama in Hindi and Tamil movies. Light as a sada dosa, the film takes all the cliches of these films and turns them into metaphors in English. Mind it!

About The Author

Ajit Duara