| Paava Mannippu | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | A. Bhimsingh |
| Screenplay by | A. Bhimsingh |
| Story by | J. P. Chandrababu (uncredited) |
| Produced by | A. Bhimsingh A. V. Meiyappan |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | G. Vittal Rao |
| Edited by | A. Bhimsingh |
| Music by | Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | AVM Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 196 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹ 1.05 million[2] |
Paava Mannippu (transl. Forgiveness of sins)[3] is a 1961 IndianTamil-languagedrama film directed and edited byA. Bhimsingh, who co-produced it under his banner Buddha Pictures, withAVM Productions. The film features anensemble cast ofSivaji Ganesan,Gemini Ganesan,Savitri,Devika andM. R. Radha.M. V. Rajamma,V. Nagayya,S. V. Subbaiah andT. S. Balaiah play supporting roles. It revolves around four children who are separated from their parents in childhood, then found and raised by foster parents of different religious backgrounds.
Bhimsingh initially began work on a film titledAbdullah, starringJ. P. Chandrababu who narrated the story to him. Though some scenes were filmed, Bhimsingh was unconvinced with the results; after AVM volunteered to co-produce the film, Bhimsingh redeveloped the script asPaava Mannippu, with Chandrababu replaced by Sivaji Ganesan. The soundtrack and score were composed byViswanathan–Ramamoorthy whileKannadasan was the lyricist.
Paava Mannippu was released on 16 March 1961. The film became a commercial success and asilver jubilee film. It received theNational Film Award for Second Best Feature Film, becoming the first South Indian film to do so. The film achievedcult status inTamil cinema and was remade intoTelugu asOke Kutumbham (1970) by Bhimsingh.
Aalavandhar is a jeweller who lives with his wife Maragatham and two sons Ramu and Rajan. Out of greed, Aalavandhar kills a fellow jeweller who comes to sell him diamonds. When the police interrogate him, he smartly puts the blame on one of his workers named Manickam Pillai. Manickam lives with his wife and daughter Thangam. His wife, on learning that he is implicated in the murder, dies of shock immediately after delivering a baby girl. A sympathetic neighbour leaves the baby in Maragatham's custody and takes the elder daughter with her. Maragatham hands over the child to their family friend, James.
On learning of his wife's death, and before being arrested by the police, Manickam kidnaps Ramu in revenge and leaves him on a railway track to be killed. Before Manickam changes his mind and decides to rescue him, a local Muslim doctor saves the child and takes him away. All four children grow up: Aalavandhar's son Rajan, Ramu as Raheem in the doctor's house, Manickam's first daughter as Thangam in the neighbour's house, and his second daughter as Mary in James' house. Rajan falls in love with Thangam while Raheem likes Mary. The two women reciprocate their feelings.
Aalavandhar continues to indulge in illegal activities. Raheem, who has taken up his foster father's profession, protects the people living in a nearby slum area and fights for their rights. Though the slum does not belong to Aalavandhar, he claims it is his property, and plans to sell it for his own personal gain. Raheem and Aalavandhar often argue over this issue. Aalavandhar is also keen to get Mary married to Rajan so that he can inherit James' property. On learning of Raheem's love for Mary, Aalavandhar pours acid on his face while he is asleep to get rid of him. Though Raheem survives, his face is disfigured. Nevertheless, Mary continues to love him. On hearing of this, Aalavandhar implicates Raheem in a false charge of theft and an attempt to murder him; Raheem is arrested. While he is in jail, Aalavandhar has the slum vacated.
In the meantime, Manickam—who has served time in prison for the murder Aalavandhar committed—is released from jail for good behaviour and joins James as a driver to be with Mary. Rajan becomes a police officer and soon learns of his father's illegal activities. After having a frustrating argument with Aalavandhar, Rajan resigns his job as he does not wish to take action against his father. Raheem is soon released on bail and plans to get Rajan and Thangam married. Aalavandhar learns of this and, in a fit of rage, locks Raheem in a hut and sets it on fire. When Manickam learns of the conflict between Aalavandhar and Raheem, he reveals to Maragatham that Raheem is her son Ramu, whom he kidnapped. All of them rush to save Raheem. When Aalavandhar learns the truth about Raheem, he immediately realises his mistakes and saves him. Aalavandhar then confesses his wrongdoings to the police and is arrested. All the family members unite and propagate religious harmony.
The idea forPaava Mannippu came toA. Bhimsingh based on a story narrated to him byJ. P. Chandrababu involving a man who was born a Hindu, raised as a Muslim, and marries a Christian woman. Bhimsingh was impressed with Chandrababu's story and decided to direct a film based on it, in addition to producing it under his banner Buddha Pictures. The project was titledAbdullah.[6]
Bhimsingh initially filmed 2,000 feet (610 m) of test footage with scenes featuring Chandrababu as the protagonist.[7] Not convinced with the results, Bhimsingh soughtM. Saravanan's opinion by screening the film footage for him. Saravanan liked the story and related it to his fatherA. V. Meiyappan, who volunteered to co-produce the film with Bhimsingh underAVM Productions; Bhimsingh agreed and began to redevelop the script with the titlePaava Mannippu.[6][8] Chandrababu was not credited for the original story.[9] M. S. Solaimalai wrote the dialogues.[10]
While attending the marriage ceremony ofSivaji Ganesan's brother V. C. Shanmugam, Bhimsingh approached Ganesan himself about taking on the lead role of Ramu / Raheem as he felt that the film would not work with Chandrababu as the protagonist.[7] Chandrababu concurred and agreed with Bhimsingh's choice of Ganesan for the lead role. Ganesan agreed to take the role after being impressed with the script.[2][11]
Devika was chosen to play Raheem's love interest Mary,[4] for which she accepted a salary of ₹4,500.[12] The role of the diamond merchant Aalavandhar's (M. R. Radha) wife Maragatham was initially offered toP. Kannamba, but because of her poor health at the time, Bhimsingh castM. V. Rajamma instead.[13][14]Kothamangalam Subbu was cast as anayurvedic doctor, andPaava Mannippu was his final film as an actor.[15]
Principal photography began with apuja ceremony held atAVM Studios on 20 January 1960.[7][16] The initial budget for the film was ₹4.5 lakh. After the inclusion of Ganesan in the cast instead of Chandrababu, as well as making appropriate changes to the original script, the budget spiralled to ₹10.5 lakh (worth ₹44 crore in 2021 prices).[2][a] The scene whereGemini Ganesan's character playsmixed doubles was shot atLoyola College's courts.[18] The final length of the film was 17,676 feet (5,388 m).[19]
In the film [Paava Mannipu], we spoke against the feudal caste system and the righteousness of religious unity in our country. Through my character, they communicated the importance of brotherhood among Indians of various religions be they Christian, Hindu or Muslim.
Paava Mannippu revolves around the subject of religious tolerance and communal harmony.[10][21] Film historiansAshish Rajadhyaksha andPaul Willemen believe that through the songs, the film attempts "to advocate a nationalist secularism."[1] Tamil film historian and writerS. Theodore Baskaran notes that the liberal depiction of Muslims and Hindus living together in the slum area shows the "harmonious intermingling of the two communities." The central characters deliver what Baskaran describes as "pedagogic lines on the unity of all religions and on the equality of all human beings." The inclusion of religious symbols such as thecrucifix and the figurine ofGautama Buddha further stresses the importance of communal harmony.[22]
All three writers opine that three of the main characters – a Hindu diamond merchant (M. R. Radha), a Muslim village doctor (Sivaji Ganesan), and a Christian do-gooder (Devika) – symbolise the three major religions of Tamil Nadu. They further elaborate that sinceKannadasan, the film's lyricist, was affiliated with the erstwhileDravida Munnetra Kazhagam, he exhibited the political party's rationalist notions through his songs. While Baskaran says Kannadasan wrote "quite a few lines lampooning religion", Rajadhyaksha and Willemen state he "included ironic lines which redeem the didacticism of the script."[21]
According to French film historian Yves Thoraval,Paava Mannippu questions religion; in the song "Vantha Naal Muthal" the hero wonders why religions were created.[23] In his bookPopular Cinema and Politics in South India: The Films of MGR and Rajinikanth, S. Rajanayagam comparedPaava Mannippu to two other Sivaji Ganesan-Bhimsingh films:Pasamalar (1961) andParthal Pasi Theerum (1962) as the three films "sentimentalised the family-based fraternal, filial and paternal love."[24] Writing forHindu Tamil Thisai, S. S. Vasan made a thematic comparison of "Vantha Naal Muthal" toHemant Kumar's song "Din Raat Badalte Hain" fromNaya Sansaar (1959). Rajanayagam mentions how the personality of humans keeps changing despite natural elements around them remaining intact, while Vasan notes that everything is prone to change, including humans and natural elements, and nothing ever remains intact.[24][25]
The soundtrack and score were composed by the duoViswanathan–Ramamoorthy (M. S. Viswanathan andT. K. Ramamoorthy) while the lyrics for the songs were written by Kannadasan.[26] The songs were recorded on 45 RPM records made byThe Gramophone Company of India Ltd, under whose label the soundtrack was also released.[27][28] The violin parts for the song "Vantha Naal Muthal", which is based on theMohanamraga,[29] were played by Ramamoorthy himself. Mukul Bose, brother of film directorNitin Bose, was the film'ssound designer. For the recording of "Vantha Naal Muthal", Bose had to make use of an area that was allocated for filming as the recording theatre could not accommodate all the musicians. The song was recorded usingelectrical cable wires that ran to the film studio from the recording theatre.[30] Kannadasan acknowledged Jeyaraj, an artist inChennai, as the inspiration behind the lyrics "Kalaigalile aval ovyiam" in the song "Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham".[31]
The soundtrack received critical acclaim, with "Aththan Ennaththan", "Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham", "Paal Irukkum Pazham Irukkum" and "Vantha Naal Muthal" becoming hits.[10][32] The soundtrack was particularly popular inSri Lanka, where the songs were frequently broadcast onRadio Ceylon.[33] Film historianRandor Guy believed that Kannadasan's lyrics and Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy's music contributed significantly to the film's success.[10] Film criticBaradwaj Rangan found "Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham" to be a "joyous list song."[34][b] SingerCharulatha Mani named "Vantha Naal Muthal" her "personal favourite" inMohanam and thatT. M. Soundararajan's voice "expresses thegamakas with precision."[29] According to film music historianVamanan,Paava Mannippu "set the stage for a new musical phase that crowned Susheela as the queen of Tamil film songs." He also labelled "Aththan Ennaththan" as an "entrancing melody".[35][36]
"Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham" provided a much-needed breakthrough forP. B. Sreenivas as a playback singer. Bhimsingh and Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy convinced Meiyappan to let Sreenivas render the song instead of Gemini Ganesan's usual playback singerA. M. Rajah.[37][38] The news organisationFirstpost included "Aththan Ennaththan" as one of "five great Tamil songs from 'Mellisai Mannar' MSV".[39] A remix version of "Vantha Naal Muthal" is featured on music artist M. Rafi's albumAasaiyae Alaipolae.[40] The song "Ellorum Kondaduvom", sung by Soundararajan andNagore E. M. Hanifa, is aired onDD Chennai everyEid al-Fitr to commemorate the Islamic festival.[41] It also established Hanifa as a singer of devotional Muslim songs.[42]
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Aththan Ennaththan" | P. Susheela | 04:38 |
| 2. | "Ellorum Kondaduvom" | T. M. Soundararajan,Nagore E. M. Hanifa | 04:44 |
| 3. | "Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham" | P. B. Sreenivas | 03:10 |
| 4. | "Paal Irukkum Pazham Irukkum" | P. Susheela | 03:27 |
| 5. | "Saaya Veeti" | T. M. Soundararajan,K. Jamuna Rani,L. R. Eswari | 03:57 |
| 6. | "Silar Siripar Silar Azhuvar" | T. M. Soundararajan | 05:24 |
| 7. | "Vantha Naal Muthal" | T. M. Soundararajan | 04:57 |
| 8. | "Vantha Naal Muthal" (Pathos) | T. M. Soundararajan,G. K. Venkatesh | 04:54 |
| Total length: | 35:11 | ||
To promote the film, a giant-sizedHydrogen-filled balloon, imported from Japan, was hoisted above the Shanthi theatre.[7] On the balloon's head was written "AVM" in English signifying the production company's involvement. The tail end of the balloon had the name of the film written in Tamil ("பாவ மன்னிப்பு"). This was considered the first time a balloon was used to promote a Tamil film. It was a source of attraction for all who passed by the Shanthi theatre.[43][44] However, AVM Productions faced legal issues regarding the use of the balloon. It received separate notices – one directly from theChennai International Airport authorities and the other from its explosives division – to procure permission to use hydrogen cylinders to fly the balloon. Meiyappan managed to resolve the issue by obtaining permission from the authorities.[44][45]
AVM decided to use the popularity of the soundtrack album as another means to publicise the film. The production company conducted a contest using the film's songs onradio stations. To enter the contest, listeners wrote down the songs from the soundtrack starting with the one they liked most.[45] The winner was determined based on whether their list tallied with that prepared by AVM, who announced their list after receiving the contest participants' entries. The winner would receive a cash prize of₹ 10,000.[a] The contest was considered a first of its kind promoting Tamil cinema and received a positive response.[46][47] A total of 400,000 people participated in the contest and the winner was a girl named Bhanumati.[48]
After originally being scheduled for a February 1961 release,[49]Paava Mannippu was released on 16 March 1961.[50] The film's premiere was initially scheduled to be held at Chitra theatre inPudhupet as most films starring Sivaji Ganesan were released there,[51] but Meiyappan wanted the film to be released at the newer and much biggerShanti Theatre inAnna Salai.[7] TheTamil film industry had a superstitious belief that Shanthi theatre was jinxed as the films that had their premiere there failed commercially. Meiyappan wanted to prove that the theatre was not jinxed by premieringPaava Mannippu there.[7] The film was successful and helped to break the streak of flops for the theatre.[52] As a result,Paava Mannippu became the first of Ganesan's films, to be released at the Shanthi theatre.[50] The film achieved a theatrical run of 175 days, becoming asilver jubilee film.[10][50][c] According to Baskaran, "The galaxy of stars, the eight songs, a riotous performance by M. R. Radha and the theme of communal harmony madePavamannippu [sic] a successful and memorable film of the sixties."[54] The film received aNational Film Award for Second Best Feature Film, the first South Indian film to do so.[55][56] Despite being dubbed intoTelugu asPaapa Pariharam, released in the same year,[57] it was remade by Bhimsingh in the same language asOke Kutumbham (1970).[58]
Paava Mannippu was praised for Bhimsingh's screenplay and direction, and the performances of the lead cast, especially that of M. R. Radha.[1][10] On 24 March 1961, the reviewer fromThe Indian Express called it a "beautifully mounted film" while highly appreciating the way Bhimsingh handled the film's theme of religious toleration.[59] Kanthan ofKalki wrote that though there was nothing special about the story, the performances of the cast made the film worth watching.[60]Paava Mannippu was the first Tamil film that singers/sistersLata Mangeshkar andAsha Bhosle saw. The two watched it at the Aurora theatre in Mumbai. The sisters were so impressed by Ganesan's performance as Raheem that they found themselves crying during theintermission stage even though neither of them understood Tamil. After the show, they called on Ganesan and each tied aRakhi around his right wrist, thereby embracing him as their brother. The sisters then asked Ganesan and Meiyappan for a 16 mm print ofPaava Mannippu for themselves to keep as a memento; Ganesan and Meiyappan agreed.[61][62]
Paava Mannippu was one of Bhimsingh's many successful films in thePa series and achievedcult status inTamil cinema.[d] Sivaji Ganesan mentioned in his autobiography that Bhimsingh hardly imagined that he would make a series of films that began with the letterPa, implying that he "might have thought about it at first because his name starts with the same letter in Tamil. Later he might have decided to stay on with this letter for sentimental reasons."[64] Rajadhyaksha and Willemen claimed that with this film, Bhimsingh established himself "as the main purveyor of moralising all-star movies in the 60s."[1] Historian Kumuthan Maderya noted thatShankar Salim Simon (1978) adopted elements fromPaava Mannippu, namely "lost-and-found family members, inter-religious romance, and communal harmony".[65]
Paava Mannippu was referenced and parodied in various other films. InMoodu Pani (1980), Chandru (Pratap Pothen) and Rekha (Shoba) attend a screening of the film.[66] WhenGoundamani andSenthil try to teach music to a Muslim butcher inThemmangu Paattukaaran (1997), the butcher sings the song "Paal Irukkum Pazham Irukkum" in a discordant manner, much to the duo's chagrin.[67] In bothKakkai Siraginilae (2000), andArul (2004),Vadivelu sings the song "Vantha Naal Muthal" while riding a bicycle.[68][69] Vadivelu andNassar sing the beginning portion of "Paal Irukkum Pazhamirukkum" inKoodi Vazhnthal Kodi Nanmai (2000).[70] InPanchatanthiram (2002) Ramachandramurthy (Kamal Haasan) mentions the words "Silar Siripar Silar Azhuvar" when his friend's father-in-law, Parthasarathy (Nagesh) enquires about Ramachandramurthy's wife, Mythili (Simran).[71] InKing (2002), Vadivelu, who plays an aspiring film director, makes fun of Raja (Vikram) by saying "Pasi Irukkum. Pazham Irukkum. Paal Irukkadho?" (There will be hunger. There will be a fruit. Won't there be milk?) when the latter does not have milk to drink. Raja then takes an empty cup and miraculously drinks Vadivelu's cup of milk from his own empty cup. In retaliation for Vadivelu'scouplet, he says "Paal Irukkum. Pazham Irukkum. Kudikka Mudiyadhu." (There will be milk. There will be a fruit. They can't be drunk).[72] "Vantha Naal Muthal" is also played right before Kaali's (Rajinikanth) introduction scene inPetta (2019).[73]
