Manhole (2016 film)

Manhole is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Vidhu Vincent, depicting the life and struggles of a manual scavenger's daughter.[1] The film was adjudged the Best Film of the year 2016 by the jury for the Kerala State Film Awards 2016 and the Director of the film was selected as the Best Director of the year 2016. This made Vidhu Vincent the first woman to win the Best Director Award in the history of Kerala State Film Awards since its inception in 1969.[2] According to jury chairman Apurba Kishore Bir, Manhole was the unanimous choice among the jury members for convincingly bringing the plight of the marginalised on screen.[3]

Manhole
Directed byVidhu Vincent
Produced byM. P. Vincent
Written byUmesh Omanakuttan
StarringMunshi Baiju
Renu Sounder
Music bySidhartha Pradeep
CinematographySaji Kumar
Edited byAppu Bhattathiri
Release date
  • 11 December 2016 (2016-12-11) (International Film Festival of Kerala)
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

The film was also chosen as one of the only two Malayalam films in the competition category of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) 2016. This has made Vidhu Vincent the first woman director to enter the competition section in the twenty-year history of IFFK. Manhole is the first feature film directed by Vidhu Vincent. The film also grabbed the FIPRESCI : Best Malayalam Film Award during the IFFK 2016. The film was selected for the award "for the raw reality with which the film sheds light on the persistent inhumanity of manual scavengers in India, despite its being legally banned, in a cinematically eloquent manner."[4]

Synopsis

Shalini (played by Renu Soundar) is the daughter of Ayya Swami (played by Ravi Kumar), a manual scavenger, and Pappathi (played by Shaylaja J) who is a housemaid. She tries to hide her caste identity to avoid social exclusion among her friends in the school. She tries to pressure her father to give up the work he is doing, but fails as his vocational options are circumscribed by his caste background. Her father’s death in an accident while he was working in the manhole reveals her identity to her friends. She finds it hard to face social antipathy and stigma towards her because of her family’s social and caste background. After the death of her father, the burden of running the family falls on her mother. Shalini also starts to work in the local super market as a shop floor assistant. She manages to pass the entrance exam to do a graduate course in Law. Her friend Marimuth, also engaged in manual scavenging to support his studies, faces the same fate as her father while doing his final year. It shakes her faith in the course she has followed in life and she decides to fight against the no exit situation in which those engaged in scavenging are caught in.[5]

Crew

The story and screenplay of the film was by Umesh Omanakuttan. The cinematographer was Saji Kumar, the editor Appu Bhattathiri, Sound Designer Faizal Ahamed. The film was produced by Vincent MP. The Art Director was Ajith Plakkadu and the Music Director was Sidhartha Pradeep.

Cast
Sl. No.CharacterPlayed by
1MuruganMunshi Baiju
2Government LawyerSaji T S
3PappathiShylaja J
4Activist LawyerSunnykutty Abraham
5AyyanRavi Kumar
6Government OfficerI R Prasad
7ShaliniRenu Sounder
8CommissionGouri Dasan
9Witness in the CommissionSunder Raj
10MiniMini M R Kanavu
11MarimuthuSuni R S

See also

Further reading

References
  1. "Manhole (2016)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  2. Staff Reporter. "Vidhu Vincent bags best director award for 'Manhole'". www.thehindu.com. The Hindu. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  3. Staff Reporter. "Vidhu Vincent bags best director award for 'Manhole'". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  4. "FIPRESCI : BEST MALAYALAM FILM MANHOLE". 21 st IFFK. IFFK. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  5. "Manhole". 21st International Film Festival of Kerala. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
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