Valarthu Mrugangal (1981)

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).