''Uppu'' ( ml, ഉപ്പ്, en, Salt, french: Le Sel) is a 1987

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

film, directed by V. K. Pavithran and written by K. M. A. Rahim. The film is about the atavistic Muslim practice of male

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

. The film is entirely on the side of the wronged wives, mounting a strong criticism of this aspect of the Muslim religion. It stars P. T. Kunju Muhammed, Jayalalitha, Vijayan Kottarathil and Madhavan. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam.

Plot

The story begins when old patriarch, Moosa Meleri arrives in a quiet Kerala village with his daughter Amina and adopted son-in-law Abu. He has lost all his money in litigation. Despite their hardships, they are happy until their rich landlord covets Amina. Heartbroken, Amina is forced to divorce Abu and become the landlord's second wife. Twenty years later, Amina is alone while her father still indulges in litigation, her son leads a dissolute life and her daughter elopes with the chauffeur.

Cast

* P. T. Kunju Muhammed as Abu * Jayalalita as Amina * Bharathi as Khadeeja * Vijayan Kottarathil as Meleri Moosa * Madhavan as Moidutty Mudalali *

Sadiq Sadiq is a male name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Ja'far al-Sadiq, the 8th-century Muslim scholar and scientist, considered as an Imam and founder of the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence by Twelver and Isma'ili Shi’as, and a major f ...

as Saleem *

Mullanezhi Mullanezhi Neelakandan Namboothiri (1948–2011), popularly known as Mullanezhi, was a Malayalam poet, playwright, lyricist and actor from Thrissur in Kerala state of India. He was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award twice: in 1995 for ...

as Nanu Nair *

Valsala Menon Valsala Menon (born 1945) is an Indian actress who works in Malayalam films. She has acted in over 200+ films. Currently she is active in Malayalam television serials. Early life Valsala Menon was born in 1945 to Raman Menon and Devakiyamma in ...

as Mariyambi * V. K. Sreeraman as Abdul Rahman Musaliyar * C. V. Sreeraman as Khazi (religious leader) * Preetha A as Abu's daughter

Controversies

The film was controversial as it dealt with a sensitive content. Pavithran's comments on the film are revealing: "Salt is a trifle better—the truth always is. The religious laws are almost unknowingly misused by people, leading to the exploitation of those who succumb or resign themselves to religious and social pressures. Our intention was not to victimise or ridicule the Muslim community. Why, in the second half of the film, we also expose a

Nair The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histo ...

family who run a prostitution den—but are particular about their prayers." Producer and writer K. M. A. Rahim stated, "The villain in the film is the distorted perception of Muslim personal law. When I wrote the script, I kept it in mimd that I must do my best to translate the reality I know on to the screen. That is why the film does not sound didactic. We did not intend to teach—the reality itself is thought provoking."

References

External links

''Uppu''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

Movie Database * 1980s Malayalam-language films Films about polygamy Polygamy in fiction Best Malayalam Feature Film National Film Award winners {{1980s-Malayalam-film-stub