Moonnam Mura
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	K. Madhu
Screenplay by	S. N. Swamy
Produced by	G. P. Vijayakumar
Starring	Mohanlal Suresh Gopi Lalu Alex Revathi Mukesh Babu Antony
Cinematography	Vipindas
Edited by	V. P. Krishnan
Music by	Shyam (Score)
Production company	Vandana
Distributed by	Seven Arts Release
Release date	10 November 1988 (1988-11-10)
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Moonnam Mura (transl. The Third Degree) is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by K. Madhu and written by S. N. Swamy. It stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Lalu Alex, Revathi, and Mukesh. The plot deals with a terrorist group kidnapping a group of political individuals who were vacationing, and the followed up rescue operation of the police led by Ali Imran.

The film was one of the highest-grossing films of 1988, and had a record opening day collection. It also did good business in the neighboring states Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, running for over 150 and 100 days respectively. Moonnam Mura was remade in Telugu as Magadu (1990), starring Rajasekhar.

Plot

A group of high-ranking political officials are on a trip when their bus is hijacked by a group of terrorists headed by Charles. They demand the release of their old colleagues languishing in prison in exchange for safe release of the politicians. DIG Menon is handling the negotiations. Soon things start getting out of control and couple of hostages are killed.

That's when Menon decides to enlist the help of Ali Imran in rescuing the hostages. Ali is an ex cop who quit the police force out of disgust due to the unfair treatment meted out to him while he was in the force. This decision is met with some opposition from the Chief of police and his son in law as their politics and attitude prompted Ali to leave the force.

Though unwilling at first, Ali is persuaded by DIG Menon and decides to go ahead with the rescue mission. After careful surveillance Ali along with a couple of his friends is able to sneak into the palace where the hostages are bundled up and manages to rescue them and finish off Charles in the end.

Cast

• Mohanlal as Ali Imran
• Suresh Gopi as Vaishakhan
• Lalu Alex as Charles
• Sukumaran as D.I.G. Menon
• Revathi as Mini Johnson
• Mukesh as Vinod
• Murali as Jayan
• Janardhanan as I. G. Mathews
• Sreenath as DySP Raju
• Prathapachandran as Bharathan Menon
• Vijayaraghavan as Karunan
• Babu Antony as Antony
• Innocent as Jacob Pothen
• C. I. Paul as Home Minister Sukumaran Pillai
• Babu Namboothiri as Mohan
• Paravoor Bharathan as Balakrishnan
• Mala Aravindan as Chandrappan, Driver
• Kollam Thulasi as Home Secretary Chandrashekharan NAir
• Jose as Doctor
• M. S. Thripunithura as Namboothiri
• T. P. Madhavan as Panicker
• Ponnambalam as Peter
• Mohan Raj as Goonda
• V. K. Sreeraman as Simon
• Priya as Ali Imran's Sister
• Shyama as Bharathan Menon's Daughter
• Valsala Menon as Bharathan Menon's Wife
• Lalithasree as Panicker's Wife
• Suma Jayaram as Bharathan Menon's Daughter
• K. Madhu as Ship Roomboy (Cameo Appearance)
• Mafia Sasi as Sasi (Goonda)

Reception

Moonnam Mura was one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year. The film had a large pre-release hype, that resulted in a large crowd on the opening day. On the release day at Jose theatre, Thrissur, 15 people were injured and one died due to mass rush for the film.^[1]

Remakes