Durga (1990 film)

Durga
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	Sri Thenandal Films
Release date	10 August 1990;
Running time	116 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Durga is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language children's film, directed and written by Rama Narayanan, with dialogue written by Pugazhmani. It stars Baby Shamili (dual role) playing the title role, with Nizhalgal Ravi, Kanaka and Kitty playing lead while Sathyapriya, Vagai Chandrasekhar, Senthil and Vennira Aadai Moorthy play pivotal roles. The film was released on 10 August 1990 and fared well at the box office.^[1]^[2]^[3] The film was remade in Kannada as Bhairavi in 1991, with Shamili playing the same role.

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 Lakshmi
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

Music was by Shankar–Ganesh and lyrics were written by Vaali.^{[citation needed]} Harris Jayaraj was the keyboardist.^[4]

Song	Singer	Length
"Pappa Paadum Paattu"	M. S. Rajeswari	03:33
"Aadi Varum Paadi Varum"	K. S. Chithra	02:16
"Pappa Paadum Paattu" – Reprise	M. S. Rajeswari	01:43
"Papa Paadum Paattu" – reprise 2	M. S. Rajeswari	02:27
"Maari Muthu Maari"	S. P. Sailaja	05:02