''Mannu'' ( en, The Soil) is a 1978

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

film directed by K. G. George with

Soman Soman (or GD, EA 1210, Zoman, PFMP, A-255, systematic name: ''O''-pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate) is an extremely toxic chemical substance. It is a nerve agent, interfering with normal functioning of the mammalian nervous system by inhibiti ...

, P. K. Abraham, Sharada and

Sukumaran Edappal Ponnamkuzhi Veettil Parameswaran Sukumaran Nair (10 June 1948 – 16 June 1997), known mononymously as Sukumaran, was an Indian actor and producer of Malayalam films. Sukumaran became a popular film star in Malayalam cinema during the ...

in the lead roles. The feudal melodrama about greed & superstition narrates a tale of the struggle of the poor Damu (

) & his wife ( Sharada) against the powerful landlord ( P. K. Abraham) over tenancy rights.

Plot

''Mannu'' is about the struggle between Damu, a tenant whose legal right to his land is obscure, and Krishnan Nair, a rapacious landlord. The local leader of the party, comrade Mulamkadan, supports the tenant. and the landlord's political strategy to evict the tenant fails. When the landlord goes to a

Nambudiri The Nambudiri (), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Nampoothiri, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of the traditional feudal el ...

priest, the priest advises recourse to the Lord. One morning a ''Devi Vigraha'' (an idol) is discovered on Damu's land. The villagers are awed; the landlord promptly declares his intention to build a temple on the land. Damu tries to fight both landlord and superstition from within the village and fails. Krishnan Nair is killed and Damu is forced to go underground. His wife continues to fight to regain land that is rightfully hers. Krishnan Nair's son, Rajan returns from the front and searches for Damu, eventually tracking him down.

Cast

as Damu * P. K. Abraham as Krishnan Nair * Sharada as Paru, Damu's wife *

as Rajan, Krishnan Nair's son *

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 Supran Thirumeni *

Nellikkodu Bhaskaran Nellikode Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 11 August 1988) was an Indian actor in Malayalam movies. His real name was Bhaskara Menon. He mostly played character roles and supporting roles. Awards Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala St ...

as Mulankadan *

Kuthiravattom Pappu Padmadalakshan, better known by his stage name Kuthiravattam Pappu (24 December 1936 – 25 February 2000), was a popular Indian stage and film actor. His repertoire of acting was based on his unique style and use of the '' Kozhikodan'' dialect, ...

as Keshavan * Mallika Sukumaran as Naani *Kunjandi as Kakka *

Santha Devi Damayanthi (1927 – 20 November 2010), better known by her stage name Kozhikode Santha Devi, was an Indian Malayalam film and stage actress. In a career spanning about sixty years, she acted in more than 1000 plays and about 480 films. Biog ...

as Krishnan's mother *Nilambur Balan as Velappan *

Sreenivasan Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as ...

as Mathai *R. K. Nair as Raghavan

Soundtrack

The music was composed by A. T. Ummer and the lyrics were written by Dr Pavithran.

References

External links

*
''Mannu''
at Cinemaofmalayalam.net 1970s Malayalam-language films Films directed by K. G. George {{1970s-Malayalam-film-stub