''Kenjira'' is a 2019 Indian film in the

Paniya language Paniya is one of the Malayalam languages spoken in India. It is spoken by the Paniya people, a scheduled tribe with a majority of its speakers in the state of Kerala. The language is also known as ''Pania'', ''Paniyan'' and ''Panyah''. It belongs ...

, a language spoken by members of the

Paniya Paniya is one of the Malayalam languages spoken in India. It is spoken by the Paniya people, a scheduled tribe with a majority of its speakers in the state of Kerala. The language is also known as ''Pania'', ''Paniyan'' and ''Panyah''. It belongs ...

tribe, a secluded tribe most of whose members are mainly found in the

Wayanad District Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

Kerala State Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Cana ...

and the neighboring areas of

Karnataka State Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. The film was directed by Manoj Kana. Kenjira and stars Vinusha Ravi as a girl belonging to the Paniya community. All other characters in the film are played by members of the tribal community except for

Joy Mathew Joy Mathew (born 20 September 1961) is an Indian film and theatre actor.He is also a film director, playwright and screenwriter.He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Career Joy Mathew is best known for playing the lead role in John Abra ...

. The film portrays the highly deplorable social conditions in which the Paniya community live: the humiliations, the exploitation and the helplessness. The film premiered at the 2019

International Film Festival of Kerala The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy ...

. The film was awarded the

Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Film The Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Film is an award presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to the second best film in Malayalam cinema. The awards are managed directly by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy under ...

at the

50th Kerala State Film Awards The 51st Kerala State Film Awards, presented by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy were announced by the Minister for Cultural Affairs, A. K. Balan in Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandru ...

. It also won the 2019

John Abraham Award for Best Malayalam Film The John Abraham Award for Best Malayalam Film is an Indian film award instituted by the Kerala Chapter of the Federation of Film Societies of India in memory of filmmaker John Abraham. The award is given annually since 1998 for the best film in Ma ...

References

External links

* 2019 films 2010s Malayalam-language films {{India-film-stub