''Oru Indhiya Kanavu'' () is a 1983 Indian

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, na ...

-language film written and directed by

Komal Swaminathan Komal Swaminathan (born 27 January 1935 in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India, died 1995) was a congressional activist in his early years, a Tamil theater personality, film director and journalist. Early life Swaminathan joined the school of S. V. ...

. It is based on his play of the same name. The film stars Rajeev,

Suhasini Suhasini Maniratnam (born 15 August 1961) known mononymously as Suhasini, is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her ...

and Lalitha, with

Poornam Viswanathan Poornam Viswanathan (15 November 1921 – 1 October 2008) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil films. He started performing on stage at age 18. He worked as a reader for All India Radio and went on to act in films such as ''C ...

in a supporting role. It was released on 30 September 1983 to widespread critical acclaim and won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil The Indian Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil 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 aw ...

at the 31st National Film Awards in 1984.

Plot

Anamika, a postgraduate student, along with her friends visit the Javadi Hills to make a study on the tribals who live there. During her stay, she befriends a tribal girl named Gangamma. Upon returning home, she wishes to do something for uplifting the lives of the people. She is encouraged in this regard by her father, and Agni, a journalist. After a while, Anamika goes to Javadi Hills and gets to know that Gangamma is dead. She learns that Gangamma killed herself after being raped. A frustrated Anamika sets out to inquire the local people. In the process, she is accompanied by a police officer named Muthuvel. Further inquiry reveals Gangamma was raped by Dhanapal, son of an influential minister Malaiyappar. Anamika gathers some evidence against Dhanapal and goes to the city and approaches Agni and other journalists to publish the news. When the news get published, Malaiyappar is asked to step down by the chief minister. However, Malaiayappar refuses to resign and further blackmails the chief minister of another issue. The case against Dhanapal becomes weak and Muthuvel is transferred to another city. Anamika and father are arrested under the National Protection Act for disturbing peace and security in the locality. Muthivel resigns his job and joins Anamika in her struggle to seek justice for Gangamma.

Cast

* Rajeev as Muthuvel *

as Anamika *Lalitha as Gangamma *

as Agni *Vathiyar Raman as U. K. Gangatharan, also Anamika's father *Santhanam P as Malaiyappar *Murali C. Acharya as Dhanapal

Production

''Oru Indhiya Kanavu'' was based on the play of the same name by

himself. The communist parties screened the play in almost all parts of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. At one time, it was reported to have been witnessed by over 7,000 people.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack was composed by

M. S. Viswanathan Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan (24 June 1928 – 14 July 2015), also known as M.S.V., was an Indian music director, singer and actor who predominantly worked in Tamil film industry. He was popularly known as ''Mellisai Mannar''. He compose ...

Release and reception

''Oru Indhiya Kanavu'' was released on 30 September 1983 to widespread critical acclaim. At the 31st National Film Awards, it won the

. The film was also screened at the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

where a reviewer "attributed the reformist nature of the film to the progressive strivings of its filmmaker". ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

'' said Swaminathan took a problematic story and directed it with clarity.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{NationalFilmAwardBestFeatureFilmTamil 1980s Tamil-language films 1983 films Best Tamil Feature Film National Film Award winners Films scored by M. S. Viswanathan Indian films based on plays