''Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol'' (''When the River Kabani Turned Red'') is a 1975

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

directed by

P. A. Backer P. A. Backer ( ml, പി.എ. ബക്കർ; 1940 – 22 November 1993) was one of the new-wave Malayalam film directors of the 1970s and 1980s. Life sketch Backer was born in 1940 to Ahamed Musliar and Fathima of Kanippayyoor near Kunnamkul ...

, produced by Pavithran, and starring T. V. Chandran, Shalini, Raveendran and J. Siddiqui. This leftist

political drama A political drama can describe a play, film or TV program that has a political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. Dramatists who have written political dramas in ...

film came out during the Emergency period. It was the directorial debut of P. A. Backer, who won that year's awards for

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

and Second Best Film at the

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

. Pavithran, who later directed many critically acclaimed Malayalam films produced the film. T. V. Chandran, who also later went on to direct a bevy of award-winning films in Malayalam and Tamil, played the lead role. After certain post-production controversies, the film debuted in theatres on 16 July 1976.

Plot

The film is a love story between a young woman (Shalini) and a radical political activist ( T. V. Chandran), who is declared to be Naxalite. The film ends with the police killing him and the woman learning about his death through the newspaper.

Cast

TV Chandran T. V. Chandran (born 23 November 1950) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor, predominantly working in Malayalam cinema. Born in a Malayali family in Telicherry, Chandran worked as a Reserve Bank of India employee before enterin ...

*Salam Karassery *J Sidhiq *Laila *Miss Don *Pailunni *Salini *K. Ravindran

Production and release

The principal production started in June 1975. The day when shoot of the film commenced in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

was declared in India. Strict warnings by the Government against any act that supported extremist activity left P. A. Backer, in two minds for the film had a Naxalite as its hero. Both Backer and Chandran sought Pavithran's opinion who had said, "Let's go ahead.". The film was screened at several film festivals in 1975. It was not given the censor certificate for the theme it dealt with for more than a year. It released in theatres during the Emergency period itself, on 16 July 1976. The English title of the film is ''When the River Kabani Turned Red''.

Awards

;

"Kerala State Film Awards 1969 - 2008"
. Government of Kerala Public Relations Department. Retrieved 16 March 2011. * Second Best Film - P. A. Backer (director), Pavithran (producer) *

- P. A. Backer

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0154699
''Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol''
at the Malayalam Movie Database 1970s Malayalam-language films 1976 drama films 1976 films 1976 directorial debut films Films directed by P. A. Backer