Manusangada

Manusangada
Tamilமனுசங்கடா
Directed byAmshan Kumar
Screenplay byAmshan Kumar
Produced by
  • S.Thara
  • Gana.Natkunan
Starring
  • Rajeev Anand
  • Manimegalai
  • A.S.Sasikumar
  • Sheela Rajkumar
  • Vidhur Rajarajan
  • Sethu Darwin
  • Anand Sampath
CinematographyP.S. Dharan
Edited byDhanasekar
Music byAravind–Shankar
Production
company
A K FILMS
Release dates
  • 13 October 2017 (2017-10-13) (Jio MAMI)
  • 12 October 2018 (2018-10-12)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Manusangada (English title: We are Humans) is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language indie drama film directed by Amshan Kumar.[1] The film is based on a true story about the signaling of the rise of Dalit struggles in contemporary India against long standing human rights violations. The title 'Manusangada' is from Inquilab's poem of the same name and literally means 'We are humans too.'

The film had its world priemere in Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival[2] and its International Premiere at the Cairo International Film Festival.[3][4] It was also selected in the Indian Panorama section of International Film Festival of India, Goa and was the only Tamil film to be selected that year.[5] The film has also won the Best Feature Film award from the Puducherry Government in its 35th Indian Panorama Festival.[6][7]

Synopsis

When Kolappan's father dies, Kolappan is not allowed to carry his father's body through the common pathway because he is a Dalit. He seeks help from official powers, only to find that they are equally casteist. Refusing to be cowed down, Kolappan begins a protest and finds his village standing by him. Based on an actual incident, Kolappan's story is a look at the deeply-embedded prejudice that Dalits have endured and against which they are rising.[8]

Cast

  • Rajeev Anand as Kolappan
  • Manimegalai
  • A.S.Sasikumar
  • Sheela Rajkumar as Revathy
  • Vidhur Rajarajan
  • Sethu Darwin
  • Anand Sampath

Development and production

Amshan Kumar chanced upon a news clipping of the incident in 2016, he set aside a screenplay of a William Shakespeare adaptation that he had been working on.[1] Manusangada was shot with a handheld camera in a series of shots with the aesthetic that reflects the reality at hand. Kumar wanted to film it in a docu-drama style with a tragic narrative.[9] The filming was completed in 22 days and was shot on location.[1]

Film crew, IFFI (2017)

Awards and film festivals

  • Best Feature Film Award, Government of Puducherry, Indian Panorama[6][7]

The film was screened at the following Film festivals:

References

  1. ^ a b c "Caste atrocities, the long road to justice and raw tension in Tamil film 'Manusangada'". Scroll. Mumbai, India. 16 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Mumbai Academy of Moving Image - ProgrammeDetail Site". Mumbai Film Fest.
  3. ^ "மனுசங்கடா (Manusangada) is going to Egypt!". Tamil Information Centre. 11 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Cairo Film Festival: Tamil Film Manusangada Highlights a Grave Social Injustice - News18". News18. Cairo,Egypt. 29 November 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Manusangada screened at IFFI". The Hindu. Goa, India. 27 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Puducherry govt selects Tamil movie Manusangada as best film". The Times of India. Puducherry. 6 September 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Indian Panorama begins; Manusangada is best film". The Hindu. Puducherry. 8 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Manusangada by Amshan Kumar". Habitat Film Club. Delhi, India. 25 May 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Good people are voiceless: Filmmaker Amshan Kumar on Manusangada". Cinestaan.com. 10 June 2018. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018.
  10. ^ "CIFF 2017: Arvind Swamy expresses concern over 'violent responses' to art". Archived from the original on 15 December 2017.
  11. ^ "tamil-movies-and-indian-panorama-movies-list-of-15th-chennai-international-film-festival-2017". Flickstatus.com.
  12. ^ "IFFI 2017: 5 Indian films nominated for ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal". The Financial Express. 24 November 2017.
  13. ^ a b "Manusangada Tamil Movie". Moviean.com.
  14. ^ "Pune International Film Festival". www.piffindia.com.
  15. ^ "Manusangada – 13th IFFT 2018". www.ifft.in.
  16. ^ "SOLAPUR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - SIFF". cineplo.com. 13 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Chinta BAR film festival 2K18". allevents.in. Retrieved 20 August 2018.