1961 film by A. Bhimsingh
Paava Mannippu (transl. Forgiveness of sins) is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed and edited by A. Bhimsingh, who co-produced it under his banner Buddha Pictures, with AVM Productions. The film features an ensemble cast of Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, Devika and M. R. Radha. M. V. Rajamma, V. Nagayya, S. V. Subbaiah and T. 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 titled "Abdullah", starring J. 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 as "Paava Mannippu", with Chandrababu replaced by Sivaji Ganesan. The soundtrack and score were composed by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy while Kannadasan was the lyricist.
"Paava Mannippu" was released on 16 March 1961. The film became a commercial success and a silver jubilee film. It received the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film, becoming the first South Indian film to do so. The film achieved cult status in Tamil cinema and was remade into Telugu as "Oke Kutumbham" (1970) by Bhimsingh.
Plot.
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.
Production.
Development.
The idea for "Paava Mannippu" came to A. Bhimsingh based on a story narrated to him by J. 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 titled "Abdullah".
Bhimsingh initially filmed of test footage with scenes featuring Chandrababu as the protagonist. Not convinced with the results, Bhimsingh sought M. Saravanan's opinion by screening the film footage for him. Saravanan liked the story and related it to his father A. V. Meiyappan, who volunteered to co-produce the film with Bhimsingh under AVM Productions; Bhimsingh agreed and began to redevelop the script with the title "Paava Mannippu". Chandrababu was not credited for the original story. M. S. Solaimalai wrote the dialogues.
Casting and filming.
While attending the marriage ceremony of Sivaji 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. 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.
Devika was chosen to play Raheem's love interest Mary, for which she accepted a salary of ₹4,500. The role of the diamond merchant Aalavandhar's (M. R. Radha) wife Maragatham was initially offered to P. Kannamba, but because of her poor health at the time, Bhimsingh cast M. V. Rajamma instead. Kothamangalam Subbu was cast as an ayurvedic doctor, and "Paava Mannippu" was his final film as an actor.
Principal photography began with a puja ceremony held at AVM Studios on 20 January 1960. 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). The scene where Gemini Ganesan's character plays mixed doubles was shot at Loyola College's courts. The final length of the film was .
Themes.
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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.
 – Sivaji Ganesan on the concept of the film
"Paava Mannippu" revolves around the subject of religious tolerance and communal harmony. Film historians Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen believe that through the songs, the film attempts "to advocate a nationalist secularism." Tamil film historian and writer S. 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 the crucifix and the figurine of Gautama Buddha further stresses the importance of communal harmony.
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 since Kannadasan, the film's lyricist, was affiliated with the erstwhile Dravida 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."
According to French film historian Yves Thoraval, "Paava Mannippu" questions religion; in the song "Vantha Naal Muthal" the hero wonders why religions were created. In his book "Popular Cinema and Politics in South India: The Films of MGR and Rajinikanth", S. Rajanayagam compared "Paava Mannippu" to two other Sivaji Ganesan-Bhimsingh films: "Pasamalar" (1961) and "Parthal Pasi Theerum" (1962) as the three films "sentimentalised the family-based fraternal, filial and paternal love." Writing for "Hindu Tamil Thisai", S. S. Vasan made a thematic comparison of "Vantha Naal Muthal" to Hemant Kumar's song "Din Raat Badalte Hain" from "Naya 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.
Music.
The soundtrack and score were composed by the duo Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy (M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy) while the lyrics for the songs were written by Kannadasan. The songs were recorded on 45 RPM records made by The Gramophone Company of India Ltd, under whose label the soundtrack was also released. The violin parts for the song "Vantha Naal Muthal", which is based on the "Mohanam" raga, were played by Ramamoorthy himself. Mukul Bose, brother of film director Nitin Bose, was the film's sound 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 using electrical cable wires that ran to the film studio from the recording theatre. Kannadasan acknowledged Jeyaraj, an artist in Chennai, as the inspiration behind the lyrics "Kalaigalile aval ovyiam" in the song "Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham".
The soundtrack received critical acclaim, with "Aththan Ennaththan", "Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham", "Paal Irukkum Pazham Irukkum" and "Vantha Naal Muthal" becoming hits. The soundtrack was particularly popular in Sri Lanka, where the songs were frequently broadcast on Radio Ceylon. Film historian Randor Guy believed that Kannadasan's lyrics and Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy's music contributed significantly to the film's success. Film critic Baradwaj Rangan found "Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham" to be a "joyous list song." Singer Charulatha Mani named "Vantha Naal Muthal" her "personal favourite" in "Mohanam" and that T. M. Soundararajan's voice "expresses the "gamakas" with precision." According to film music historian Vamanan, "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".
"Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham" provided a much-needed breakthrough for P. 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 singer A. M. Rajah. The news organisation "Firstpost" included "Aththan Ennaththan" as one of "five great Tamil songs from 'Mellisai Mannar' MSV". A remix version of "Vantha Naal Muthal" is featured on music artist M. Rafi's album "Aasaiyae Alaipolae". The song "Ellorum Kondaduvom", sung by Soundararajan and Nagore E. M. Hanifa, is aired on DD Chennai every Eid al-Fitr to commemorate the Islamic festival. It also established Hanifa as a singer of devotional Muslim songs.
Marketing.
To promote the film, a giant-sized Hydrogen-filled balloon, imported from Japan, was hoisted above the Shanthi theatre. 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. However, AVM Productions faced legal issues regarding the use of the balloon. It received separate notices – one directly from the Chennai 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.
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 on radio stations. To enter the contest, listeners wrote down the songs from the soundtrack starting with the one they liked most. 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