{ "id": "eppqrhmhc4", "slug": "quick-gun-murugun", "title": "Quick Gun Murugun (क्विक गन मुरुगुन)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": 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"India · 2001 to 2020: Comedy films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-2000s.comedy-films", "path": [ { "id": "geo.ind", "label": "India", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001", "label": "India · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "label": "Indian films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-2000s", "label": "Hindi films of the 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-2000s" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-2000s.comedy-films", "label": "Comedy films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-2000s.comedy-films" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Quick Gun Murugun (क्विक गन मुरुगुन), full title Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy, is a 2009 Indian comedy Western spoof by Shashanka Ghosh starring Rajendra Prasad, from a Channel V character, fighting villain Rice Plate Reddy over beef dosas.", "snippet": "Quick Gun Murugun (क्विक गन मुरुगुन), full title Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy, is a 2009 Indian comedy Western spoof by Shashanka Ghosh starring Rajendra Prasad, from a Channel V character, fighting villain Rice Plate Reddy over beef dosas.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-2000s.comedy-films", "markdown": "# Quick Gun Murugun (क्विक गन मुरुगुन)\n\n**Quick Gun Murugun** (क्विक गन मुरुगुन), released in full as *Quick Gun Murugun: Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy*, is a 2009 Indian comedy Western spoof directed by Shashanka Ghosh, starring the Telugu actor Dr. [Rajendra Prasad](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajendra-prasad) as a vegetarian South Indian cowboy who battles the restaurateur villain Rice Plate Reddy, played by Nasser, over a plan to serve beef dosas.[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/quick-gun-murugun/) • [2](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/6878/bollywood.hindi/quick-gun-murugan/index.htm) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176911/plotsummary/) The film was released in India on 28 August 2009 in four languages: Hindi, English, Tamil, and Telugu.[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/quick-gun-murugun/) • [4](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/2009/Aug/28/quick-gun-doesnt-make-fun-of-rajnikant-81420.html)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | 28 August 2009 (India), in Hindi, English, Tamil, and Telugu versions[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/quick-gun-murugun/) • [4](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/2009/Aug/28/quick-gun-doesnt-make-fun-of-rajnikant-81420.html) |\n| Director / writer | Shashanka Ghosh; screenplay and dialogues by Rajesh Devraj[5](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/quick-gun-murugun) |\n| Lead cast | Dr. Rajendra Prasad (Quick Gun Murugun), Nasser (Rice Plate Reddy), Rambha (Mango Dolly), Anu Menon (Locket Lover)[2](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/6878/bollywood.hindi/quick-gun-murugan/index.htm) |\n| Origin | Character created for Channel V promotional spots shot in 1993/94; the original voice was the dubbing artist Sivakumar[6](https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2009/aug/26/mind-this-murugan-80695.html) |\n| Production | Produced by Phat Phish Motion Pictures, distributed by Fox Star Studios[4](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/2009/Aug/28/quick-gun-doesnt-make-fun-of-rajnikant-81420.html) |\n| Running time | 1 hr 37 min per Box Office Mojo; Google Play lists 87 minutes[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1176911/) • [8](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Quick_Gun_Murugun?hl=en_US&id=L652Lw-R1iI) |\n| Reported box office | $2,070 worldwide, from a South Africa release on April 9, 2010[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1176911/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and style\n\nMurugun is a strict vegetarian cowboy who considers it his duty to protect cows and women.[4](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/2009/Aug/28/quick-gun-doesnt-make-fun-of-rajnikant-81420.html) In the film's story, set in motion in 1982 [South India](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-india), he is shot dead by the beef-eating Rice Plate Reddy, reaches a comic version of the Hindu afterlife, and persuades [Chitragupta](https://www.edgepedia.org/chitragupta) to send him back to life to fight Reddy, who in the meantime has built the McDosa restaurant empire and plans beef dosas.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176911/plotsummary/) • [11](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/quick-gun-murugun-movie-review/articleshow/4945331.cms?from=mdr) The battle spans a South Indian village, an Indian heaven, and Mumbai, and Murugun is torn between Mango Dolly (Rambha), Reddy's cabaret-dancer mistress who loves him, and his first love Locket Lover (Anu Menon).[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176911/plotsummary/) • [12](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Preview-Quick-Gun-Murugun/articleshow/4932398.cms)\n\nThe film's humor comes from treating every convention of popular Indian cinema, and [Tamil cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-cinema) in particular, as caricature: Spaghetti Westerns, Rajinikanth-style heroism, the tearful mother, and the bald villain all appear in exaggerated form.[13](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-quick-gun-murugan/20090828.htm) Reviewers noted action set pieces including a duel in a traffic jam, a faceoff at a Coconut Tree Climbing Institute, and tender-coconut bombs, along with a Carnatic flute version of *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* signature tune in Sagar Desai's score.[13](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-quick-gun-murugan/20090828.htm) The Tamil dialogue was presented with subtitles, which several critics flagged as a limit on the film's reach outside southern India.[14](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/quick-gun-murugun/critic-review/quick-gun-murugun-movie-review/)\n\n## The character's origin on Channel V\n\nThe character predates the film by more than a decade. In the mid-1990s, the music channel [Channel V](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-v) ran a series of promotional gags featuring a South Indian cowboy called Murugun, and the spots found a wide audience.[9](https://www.behindwoods.com/bollywood/hindi-movie-reviews/reviews-1/quick-gun-murugun.html) Ghosh, then the channel's creative director, and writer Rajesh Devraj shot the promos in 1993/94 and wrote a feature script soon afterward; they spent the late 1990s approaching about 20 producers, including [Ram Gopal Varma](https://www.edgepedia.org/ram-gopal-varma), without success, until Ghosh met Anand Surapur of Phat Phish, who agreed to back the film.[6](https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2009/aug/26/mind-this-murugan-80695.html) The original voice of the character was [Sivakumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/sivakumar), a dubbing artist Ghosh spotted in a studio five hours before a shoot.[6](https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2009/aug/26/mind-this-murugan-80695.html)\n\nThe character stayed in public view between the promos and the film. [Shah Rukh Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/shah-rukh-khan)'s 2007 film *[Om Shanti Om](https://www.edgepedia.org/om-shanti-om)* included a five-minute Quick Gun Murugun segment, and the character's \"enda rascala, mind it!\" mannerisms later appeared in a Dhoni-Pepsi advertisement.[9](https://www.behindwoods.com/bollywood/hindi-movie-reviews/reviews-1/quick-gun-murugun.html) A scholarly account describes the figure as a Channel [V] promo character that became the subject of a full-length spoof of Westerns and South Indian action films.[10](https://www.filmandmedia.ucsb.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Metafiguring-Bollywood-pdf.pdf)\n\n## Casting and production choices\n\nGhosh had [Arshad Warsi](https://www.edgepedia.org/arshad-warsi) in mind for the lead, but producer Anand Surapur wanted a middle-aged South Indian man and suggested Dr. Rajendra Prasad, a veteran Telugu comedian whose career began in 1977 with the film *Sneham*.[6](https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2009/aug/26/mind-this-murugan-80695.html) • [4](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/2009/Aug/28/quick-gun-doesnt-make-fun-of-rajnikant-81420.html) Prasad said he initially took the offer for a hoax, having never seen the Channel V character, and accepted after being shown the old footage; he described the film as a cultural mix of South Indian characters rather than a mockery of [Rajinikanth](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajinikanth) or Hollywood.[4](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/2009/Aug/28/quick-gun-doesnt-make-fun-of-rajnikant-81420.html) The crew included Sagar Desai (music), Sham Kaushal (action), and R.A. Krishna (cinematography).[5](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/quick-gun-murugun)\n\n## Reception\n\nCritical response was mixed. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3 out of 5, called it an innovative experience whose characters were straight out of the 1970s, and credited Ghosh's choice of subject and execution, while predicting its Tamil-heavy dialogue would restrict its appeal in non-Tamil areas.[14](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/quick-gun-murugun/critic-review/quick-gun-murugun-movie-review/) A Rediff review praised the art direction, the action sequences, and the performances of Prasad and Nasser, calling the film a tribute to the archetypal over-the-top Indian hero.[13](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-quick-gun-murugan/20090828.htm) [The Economic Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-economic-times) review was negative, judging the execution lame and repetitive and finding the two-minute *Om Shanti Om* parody more entertaining than the feature.[11](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/quick-gun-murugun-movie-review/articleshow/4945331.cms?from=mdr) A Nowrunning critic wrote that the film is purposefully silly and works better in company than alone.[15](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/6878/bollywood.hindi/quick-gun-murugan/2301/review.htm)\n\nCommercially, the film's recorded theatrical footprint was small: [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) lists $2,070 in worldwide gross, all from a South Africa release on April 9, 2010.[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1176911/) The Behindwoods review reported that the film had already broken even before release through dubbing, music, and satellite rights.[9](https://www.behindwoods.com/bollywood/hindi-movie-reviews/reviews-1/quick-gun-murugun.html)\n\n## Legacy\n\nIn a 2025 interview marking sixteen years since release, Ghosh said the film was meant to have a sequel titled *The Good, The Bad, The Idli*, and expressed gratitude that the original got made at all.[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/quick-gun-murugun/) The film is also cited in academic discussions of international reworkings of the Western genre, alongside films such as *Sholay* (1975) and *[Sukiyaki Western Django](https://www.edgepedia.org/sukiyaki-western-django)* (2007).[16](https://ucn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/The-Quint-v13.3.pdf)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Quick Gun Murugun, Bollywood Hungama movie page](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/quick-gun-murugun/)\n2. [Quick Gun Murugan (Hindi), Nowrunning](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/6878/bollywood.hindi/quick-gun-murugan/index.htm)\n3. [Quick Gun Murugun: Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy (2009) - Plot, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176911/plotsummary/)\n4. ['Quick Gun...' doesn't make fun of Rajnikant, New Indian Express](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/2009/Aug/28/quick-gun-doesnt-make-fun-of-rajnikant-81420.html)\n5. [Quick Gun Murugun, Indian Film History](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/quick-gun-murugun)\n6. [Mind this Murugan, New Indian Express](https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2009/aug/26/mind-this-murugan-80695.html)\n7. [Quick Gun Murugun: Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1176911/)\n8. [Quick Gun Murugun, Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Quick_Gun_Murugun?hl=en_US&id=L652Lw-R1iI)\n9. [Quick Gun Murugun movie review, Behindwoods](https://www.behindwoods.com/bollywood/hindi-movie-reviews/reviews-1/quick-gun-murugun.html)\n10. [Figurations in Indian Film (Sen & Basu, eds., Palgrave Macmillan)](https://www.filmandmedia.ucsb.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Metafiguring-Bollywood-pdf.pdf)\n11. [Quick Gun Murugun: Movie Review, The Economic Times](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/quick-gun-murugun-movie-review/articleshow/4945331.cms?from=mdr)\n12. [Preview: Quick Gun Murugun, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Preview-Quick-Gun-Murugun/articleshow/4932398.cms)\n13. [Quick Gun Murugan: As good as Mrs Murugan's dosas, Rediff.com](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-quick-gun-murugan/20090828.htm)\n14. [Quick Gun Murugun Movie Review by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/quick-gun-murugun/critic-review/quick-gun-murugun-movie-review/)\n15. [Quick Gun Murugan Movie Review by Joginder Tuteja, Nowrunning](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/6878/bollywood.hindi/quick-gun-murugan/2301/review.htm)\n16. [The Quint v13.3 (Westerns in international cinema)](https://ucn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/The-Quint-v13.3.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2000s › Comedy films*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/quick-gun-murugun", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/quick-gun-murugun.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Quick Gun Murugun (क्विक गन मुरुगुन)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/quick-gun-murugun. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Quick Gun Murugun (क्विक गन मुरुगुन)](https://www.edgepedia.org/quick-gun-murugun)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/quick-gun-murugun](https://www.edgepedia.org/quick-gun-murugun). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Quick Gun Murugun (क्विक गन मुरुगुन)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/quick-gun-murugun. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Quick Gun Murugun, full title Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy, is a 2009 Indian comedy Western spoof by Shashanka Ghosh starring Rajendra Prasad, from a Channel V character, fighting villain Rice Plate Reddy over beef dosas." }