''The Guard'' is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language film directed and written by debutante
Hakim Rawther
Hakim Rawther, known mononymously as Hakim, was an Indian actor and film maker in Malayalam cinema. He was known for his directional debut ''The Guard'' (2001), which is the world's first film with only a single actor in the cast. He had also acte ...
. It was jointly produced by Sabitha Jayaraj (Green Dragon Movies) and
Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC). The film has
Kalabhavan Mani
Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ove ...
, the only actor on screen, playing the role of a forest guard in an isolated dense forest.
''
Yaadein'' (Hindi, 1964), which featured two actors, previously held the
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
in the category Fewest actors in a narrative film. The crew of ''The Guard '' made an attempt to replace the former record but failed.
The film features cinematography by Saloo George, editing by Venugopal and artwork by Nathan Mannoor. The background score has been provided by Biju and songs featured in the film are composed by Shyam Sharman and Rajesh with lyrics written by Arumughan Vengidang. All the songs are sung by Kalabhavan Mani himself. An experimental film in all aspects, it released to critical acclaim and did a moderate business at the box office.
Plot
The story in a nutshell is how a poor man, Appukuttan Nair (
Kalabhavan Mani
Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ove ...
) gets a job as a forest guard. His first appointment is in a lonely, isolated dense forest. His predecessor there was one Thomachan, who was supposedly trampled to death by a tusker. Anyhow, Appukuttan takes charge and in the dense forest he is left all alone, save the innumerable animals and birds around him and the frightening sounds of the jungle. But life in the jungle teaches him many things about men and human society and he gets a new perspective to look at things.
Cast
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Kalabhavan Mani
Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ove ...
as Appukkuttan Nair
Soundtrack
The film features 7 songs composed by Shyam Dharman and Rajesh with lyrics penned by Arumughan Vengidang. All the songs are based on
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
and are sung by
Kalabhavan Mani
Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ove ...
himself.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Guard
2000s Malayalam-language films
One-character films