''Odayil Ninnu'' () is a 1965 Indian

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 ...

-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and written by

P. Kesavadev P. Kesava Pillai (20 July 1904 – 1 July 1983), better known by his pen-name P. Kesavadev, was a novelist and social reformer of Kerala, India. He is remembered for his speeches, autobiographies, novels, dramas, short stories, and films. ''Oday ...

based on his novel of the same name. The film deals with the life and struggles of a proud and hardworking rickshaw puller, Pappu. It stars Sathyan,

Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the histo ...

K. R. Vijaya Deivanayaki better known by her stage name K. R. Vijaya is an Indian actress who has featured in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films. She started her career in 1963 and has been acting for more than five decades in South Indian cinema. ...

and

Kaviyoor Ponnamma Kaviyoor Ponnamma is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She has also acted in TV serials and commercials and has playback singing cred ...

. Master Dasarath plays the young Pappu.

Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi (born 26 June 1958) is an Indian actor, politician, playback singer and television presenter. He works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and has also appeared in some Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bollywood films. Suresh made his acti ...

made his acting debut with the film, who was then six years old. He appeared as the feudal lord's timid son, who also becomes the root cause for Pappu running away from home. The film was a commercial success and also received critical acclaim for its raw energy and Sathyan's performance in the lead role. It received a certificate of merit at the

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

. It was remade in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

as '' Babu'' (1971), in Telugu as ''

Marapurani Manishi ''Marapurani Manishi'' () is a 1973 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by T. Rama Rao. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Manjula, with music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. It is a remake of the Malayalam film ''Odayil Ninnu'' (1 ...

'' (1973) and in Hindi as '' Babu'' (1985).

Plot

Pappu is a relentless fighter for justice and equality from early childhood. He organises protest against his teacher who discriminates between the landlord's son and other children. The landlord is provoked to wrath, and Pappu is obliged to leave home. From now on, he has to lead a hard, tough life, fighting at every step to uphold his ideals. He takes odd jobs but had to give them up as he cannot stand the iniquity meted out by his employers. Ultimately, he settles down as a

rickshaw A rickshaw originally denoted a two- or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also ...

-puller. One day he meets a child who fell into the gutter by accident. Pappu apologises and buys her some food. He decides to take care of this child. Her name is Lakshmi. That child became so arrogant and proud when she grew up. She did not even want Pappu's presence. Pappu suffers ill health due to his hard work. The subsequent developments reveal him as an extremely affectionate human being, seeking pleasure in doing good to others and demanding nothing for himself. The film ends with the girl realising her mistakes.

Cast

* Sathyan as Pappu, rickshaw puller as the protagonist *

as Gopinadhan / Gopi, rich and educated scholar *

as young Lakshmi, Pappu taken her from gutter and raise to a graduate *

as Kalyani, a widow and Lakshmi's Mother *

Adoor Bhasi K. Bhaskaran Nair (1 March 1929 – 29 March 1990), known by his stage name Adoor Bhasi, was an Indian actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and role ...

as palisha vizhungi Velu mothalaly *

Adoor Pankajam Adoor Pankajam (1929 – 26 June 2010) was an Indian actress, in Malayalam movies. She hailed from Adoor in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala state. Mainly, she was a supporting actress and a comedian. Her sister Adoor Bhavani was also a Mala ...

as Saramma *

Adoor Bhavani Adoor Bhavani (1927 – 25 October 2009) was an Indian actress in Malayalam cinema, best known for her appearance in the National Award-winning film ''Chemmeen'' (1965), directed by Ramu Kariat. She had acted in about 450 films, including ''Mudi ...

as Mother of Pappu *

Manavalan Joseph Manavalan Joseph was a Malayalam film actor. He is an actor who worked in many movies during the 1950s and 1960s. He died in 1986 Background Manavalan Joseph was born at Fort Kochi then in the Malabar District of the Madras Presidency of Britis ...

as Mesthiri *

S. P. Pillai S. P. Pillai (28 November 1913 – 12 June 1985) was an Indian film and stage actor, best known for his comic roles in Malayalam films. Biography S. Pankajakshan Pillai alias S. P. Pillai was born in 1913 in the temple town of Ettumanoor in ...

as Thomachan *

Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair (16 October 191611 March 1997) was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri from t ...

as chayakadakkaran Kurup * Master Dasarath as Young Pappu *

Kutty Padmini Kutty Padmini is an Indian actress who mainly works in Tamil cinema. She was a child star in her debut movie ''Ambala Anjulam'' (1959). She has also acted in Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi movies. She made her debut in Tamil cinema at t ...

as Young Lakshmi *

Kottayam Chellappan Kottayam Chellappan (10 November 1923 – 26 December 1971) was an Indian actor in Malayalam movies. He was also a renowned stage actor and film actor who was very active in Malayalam films during the 1960s and '70s. He died on 26 December 1971 ...

as Land Lord *

as Feudal lord's son *

Kalaikkal Kumaran Kalaikkal Kumaran (1919 - 8 August 1998) was a noted Malayalam film and very popular drama actor. He was well known for his comedy roles in dramas by Kalidasa Kalakendram. He acted in 65 films and more than 150 dramas. He appeared more than 15000 ...

* Cheriya Udeswaram * Kumari Vimala * Muthukulam Raghavan Pilla * C. O. Anto * Gopinathan Pilla * T.T Joseph * Varghees Thittel * Shobha

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

G. Devarajan Paravoor Govindan Devarajan (1927–2006), popularly known as G. Devarajan or Devarajan master, was an Indian music composer and Carnatic singer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Indian film music. He sco ...

with lyrics by

Vayalar Ramavarma Vayalar Ramavarma (March 25, 1928 – October 27, 1975), also known as Vayalar, was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam language. He was known for his poems which include ''Sargasangeetham'', ''Mulankaadu'', ''Padamudrakal'', ''Aayisha'' a ...

. There were seven songs by the famous Vayalar-Devarajan team in the film. Songs like ‘Ambalakulangare kulikkaan…'(P. Leela), ‘Kaattil ilamkaattil…' (P. Susheela), ‘Ammey ammey ammey nammude…' (Renuka), ‘Muttathe mullayil…' (S. Janaki), ‘ O! Rickshawala…' (Mehaboob), ‘Vandikkara vandikkara…' (K. J. Yesudas), ‘Maanathu deivamilla….' (A. M. Raja), were super-hits and still remembered.

Guruvayur Dorai Guruvayur Dorai (born 2 July 1935) is an Indian percussionist. He is one of the most senior exponents of the South Indian classical percussion instrument, the mridangam. He had his initial training under Palghat Subba Iyer and E.P. Narayana P ...

played mridangam in the song "Ambalakkulangare".

References

External links

*
''Odayil Ninnu''
at the Malayalam Movie Database
''Suresh Gopi in Odayil Ninnu''
at the Old Malayalam Cinema Blog {{K. S. Sethumadhavan 1960s Malayalam-language films Films based on Indian novels Malayalam films remade in other languages Films shot in Kollam Indian drama films Films directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan