''Oka Oori Katha'' (English title: The Marginal Ones;

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

: ఒక ఊరి కథ) is a 1977 Indian Telugu-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

Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen (''Beng.'' মৃণাল সেন; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Bengali, and few Hindi and Telugu language films. Regarded as one of the finest Ind ...

. The Pan-Indian film is based on the story ''Kafan'' by

Munshi Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known by his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu social fiction. He was one of ...

. The film was one of the Indian entries at the 4th

Hong Kong International Film Festival The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), is one of Asia’s oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies, filmmakers from different countries in Hong Kong. HKIFF screens around 230 films ...

. The film won Special Awards at the

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become ...

, and Carthage Film Festival. It was showcased in the ''Indian Panorama'' section of the 1978

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...

. The film won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several ...

at the

25th National Film Awards The 25th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1977. Ceremony took place on 27 ...

, "for successfully transforming Premchand's story "Kafan" into a scathing commentary on rural destitution and social injustice; for projecting through powerful performances of its leading characters, the degradation and brutalisation of human beings, for its sincere commitment to the cause of the downtrodden; for its fervent impassioned appeal to the conscience of humanity" as cited by the Jury.

The plot

Venkaiah (Vasudeva Rao) and his son Kistaiah (Narayana Rao) live in a village. Venkaiah lives in a queer world of his own. They have learnt to conquer hunger and are mentally strong. They consider that the poor farmers are fools to work for the rich and suffer. Kistaiah wants to marry Nilamma (Mamata Shankar). The father does not like the marriage. Kistaiah refuses and marries Nilamma. Nilamma tries to control the family. Venkaiah does not change. Kistaiah stands between them. There is bitterness in the family. In course of time, Nilamma conceives. One day, they find Nilamma in acute pain. The father refuses to call a midwife and Nilamma dies. They decide to conduct funeral rites for Nilamma. They go begging around the village and gather some money and decide to spend it on drinks.

Credits

Cast

* A. R. Krishna *

Pradeep Kumar Pradeep Kumar (born Sital Batabyal; 4 January 1925 – 3 November 2001) was an Indian actor who is recognized for his work in Hindi, Bengali and English-language films. Career When Kumar was 17 years old, he decided to take up acting. He sta ...

G. V. Narayana Rao G. V. Narayana Rao (born 9 Sept 1953) is a Telugu actor, producer. He started his acting career with 1976 film Anthuleni Katha directed by K. Balachander. He received Nandi Award as a best supporting actor for this film. He also received specia ...

as Kistaiah * M. V. Vasudeva Rao as Venkaiah *

Mamata Shankar Mamata Shankar (born 7 January 1955) is an Indian actress and dancer. She is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has acted in films by directors including Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh. I ...

as Nilamma * Chintapally Bhadra Reddy as Zamindar

Crew

* Director:

* Story:

* Screenplay:

Mohit Chattopadhyay Mohit Chattopadhyaya (also spelled Mohit Chattopadhyay) (1 June 1934 – 12 April 2012) was a Bengali Indian playwright, screenwriter, dramatist and poet. He was a leading figure in modern Indian drama. Mohit Chottopadhya died on 12 April 2012. ...

* Writer:

Yandamoori Veerendranath Yandamuri Veerendranath is an Indian novelist and screenwriter known for his works in the Telugu language. He influences younger generations with his socially relevant writings and youtube videos. In his writings he addresses many of social prob ...

(dialogues) * Producer: A. Parandhama Reddy * Original Music: Vijay Raghav Rao * Cinematography: K. K. Mahajan * Assistant Cameraman:

Nadeem Khan Mohammad Nadeem Khan ( ur, محمد ندیم خان; born 10 December 1969 in Rawalpindi, Punjab) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 2 Tests and 2 ODIs from 1993 to 1999. Nadeem was an effective spinner who currently plays for Sheffie ...

* Film Editing: Gangadhar Naskar * Art Direction: B. Kalyan

Awards

;

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 ...

- Mrinal Sen and A. Parandhama Reddy ;

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

* Third Best Feature Film - Bronze - A. Parandhama Reddy ;International Honors *

- Special Jury Award * Carthage Film Festival - Special Award

References

External links

* {{Mrinal Sen 1977 films 1970s Telugu-language films Films about labour Films directed by Mrinal Sen Adaptations of works by Premchand Best Telugu Feature Film National Film Award winners Films about social issues in India Films about women in India Indian avant-garde and experimental films Indian nonlinear narrative films Social realism in film Indian feminist films Films about poverty in India Works about dysfunctional families Midlife crisis films Indian family films Indian drama films Films based on works by Premchand