''Ponni'' is a 1976 Indian

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 ...

-language film produced by M. O. Joseph under the banner of Manjilas, scripted and directed by

Thoppil Bhasi Thoppil Bhaskara Pillai, known as Thoppil Bhasi (8 April 1924 – 8 December 1992) was an Indian Malayalam-language playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He was associated with the communist movement in Kerala and his play ''Ningalenne C ...

, based on

Malayattoor Ramakrishnan K. V. Ramakrishna Iyer, better known by his pen name, Malayattoor Ramakrishnan (27 May 1927 – 27 December 1997), was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, cartoonist, lawyer, Magistrate, judicial magistrate, and Indian Administrative Servi ...

's novel of the same name. The film stars

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

and

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

, while

M. G. Soman M. G. Soman (28 October 1941 – 12 December 1997) was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s and ...

Adoor Bhasi K. Bhaskaran Nair (1 March 1929 – 29 March 1990), professionally credited by his stage name Adoor Bhasi, was an Indian actor and film director. He was mostly cast as a sidekick to protagonists, particularly Prem Nazir. His comedic roles were w ...

Sankaradi Paravoor memana Kanakku Chembakaraman Parameswaran Chandrashekara Menon, better known by his screen name Sankaradi (14 July 1924 – 8 October 2001), was an Indian actor. He was a veteran Malayalam comedian and character artist, who had over 70 ...

, Janardhanan and Rajakumari play supporting roles. The film features original songs composed by G. Devarajan, while the cinematography was handled by

Balu Mahendra Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (20 May 1939 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan Tamil cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked in various Indian film industries, primarily in Tamil ...

and editing by M. S. Mani. The film was dubbed into Tamil as ''Kollimalai Maaveeran'' and Telugu as ''Kondaraju Koyapilla''.

Plot

An Independence Day celebrations organized by the Sub-Collector of the

Attappadi Attappadi (, HQ:Agali) is a one and only tribal taluk in Kerala state covering an area of . It was carved out of Mannarkkad taluk in Palakkad district in February 2021. Attappadi Reserve Forest is a Protected areas of Kerala, protected area comp ...

area and the participation of various tribal groups of the region. Ponni belonging to the Mudhuga tribe and Maran belonging to the Irula tribe who danced on the day are introduced to each other by the Sub-Collector. Ponni and Maran fall in love at the first sight even as they willingly pose for the media. These two tribes are rivals, who follow separate faiths and traditions. The Independence Day photograph of Ponni and Maran are published in the newspapers next day. Chellan is in love with Ponni, but she dislikes him. Ponni's friend Maashi loves Chellan. Tension and strained relations in the Mudhuga tribes is cleverly exploited by the landlords of the area. The tribals practice the

Slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...

cultivation method, which is resented by the landlords who needed the tribals as cheap labour. Ponni revolts against the attempts of the landlords to hamper their traditional agricultural activities. Maran also stands by Ponni. Ponni and Maran love affair is met with widespread animosity and opposition. News is spread that the mountain god and the powers of nature will not be pleased with the inter tribe relationship. Hanuman is a tool in the hands of the landlords. He works for them against the tribals. The tribal chief (Mooppan) warns the Mudhugas that their settlement will be destroyed by natural calamities if Ponni marries Maran and she is banned from meeting Maran. Meanwhile, Ponni's father Nanjan decides to marry her to Chellan. The police arrest Maran on false charges of holding firearms without a licence. Ponni meets the Sub-Collector and pleads with him to save Maran and manages to get him freed. The Mudhuga priest Bomman through the influence of the landlords and Hanuman set a trap to kill Ponni. Bomman makes a prediction that the tribal settlement will soon be destroyed by the anger of 'Jakkamma' (the mountain goddess). Pretending to be possessed by the goddess, Bomman demands human sacrifice to appease the powers and save the tribe. Ponni is chosen for the sacrifice and arrangements are made for the ritual. Maran and Chellan reach the spot in time and save Ponni. In the end Maran and Chellan marrying Ponni and Maashi respectively.

Cast

as Maran *

as Ponni *

as Chellan *

as Bomman *

as Nanjan *

Bahadoor Padiyath Kochumoideen Kunjalu (1930 22 May 2000), better known by his stage name Bahadoor, was an Indian actor who appeared in Malayalam films, primarily in comedic roles. He, along with Adoor Bhasi, were the two major comedians in Malayalam ...

as Adhikari (Village officer) * Kunjan as Village officer's assistant * Janardhanan as sub-collector *

Paravoor Bharathan Vadakkekarayil Koran Bharathan (16 January 1929- 19 August 2015), better known as Paravoor Bharatan was an Indian actor who acted in Malayalam films. He started his career in movies during the 1950s. Bharathan is known as a versatile actor and ...

as Hanuman *

Manavalan Joseph Manavalan Joseph was a Malayalam film actor. He is an actor who worked in many movies during the 1950s and 1960s. He died in 1986 Background Manavalan Joseph was born at Fort Kochi then in the Malabar District of the Madras Presidency of Britis ...

as Sankaran * Sam(A.T.Samuel) as Aandhi *

Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai Shivanandakumar (22 February 1924)He was an Telugu Superstar and Violnist and who was well known in the role of Ashaan in Kavyamela. Early life He was born on 22 February 1924 in Visakhapatnam, a small village near Peddapalli in Visakh ...

as Mooppan * J. A. R. Anand as Mooppan's assistant * Rajakumari as Maashi *

K. P. A. C. Lalitha Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha (10 March 1947 – 22 February 2022), was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. Considered one of the greatest ...

as Chikki *

Pala Thankam Pala Thankam (1941 – 10 January 2021) was an Indian actress in Malayalam movies. She was one of the prominent supporting actresses, singers and dubbing artists in the late 1960s and 1970s in Malayalam and Tamil movies. She acted in more than ...

as Chelli *

Prathapachandran Prathapachandran (1941–2004) was an Indian actor, who worked predominantly in Malayalam film industry, though he acted in a few Tamil and Telugu movies as well. He is known for the portrayal of villainous and character roles in over 300 mov ...

as Chinnan * Punjabi as tea-shop keeper * C. A. Balan as Bhandari * E. Madhavan as Muthalali

Production

The film is based on

's famous novel titled ''Ponni''. The novel was written in 1966-67 and was inspired by true stories that Malayattoor heard when he worked as

Ottappalam Ottapalam (also spelled Ottappalam) is a town, taluk, and municipality in the Palakkad District of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ottapalam taluk and is located approximately 34 km (21 mi) from the Palakkad (district ...

sub-collector during 1959 - 1961. The film was written and directed by

, produced by M. O. Joseph under the banner of Manjilas Cine enterprises. Cinematography was handled by

, editing by M. S. Mani, and choreographed by E. Madhavan. The film was shot in forest area of

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

. Shooting locations included

Satya (Sanskrit: ; IAST: ) is a Sanskrit word that can be translated as "truth" or "essence.“ In Indian religions, it refers to a kind of virtue found across them. This virtue most commonly refers to being truthful in one's thoughts, speech and act ...

Gemini Gemini most often refers to: * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Gemini (astrology), an astrological sign Gemini may also refer to: Science and technology Space * Gemini in Chinese astronomy, the Gemini constellat ...

, AVM and Karpakam Studios in Madras (now

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

). The final length of the film was .

Soundtrack

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 ...
Version

The music was composed by G. Devarajan with lyrics by

P. Bhaskaran Pulloottupadathu Bhaskaran alias as P. Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 25 February 2007), was an Indian Malayalam language poet, lyricist of Malayalam film songs, and filmmaker. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
Version

Tamil lyrics were written by Deva Narayanan. The playback singers are Sherin Peter, Sasirekha, T. R. Sarojarani and Harimathavan.

Release

''Ponni'' was released on 3 September 1976. The film was dubbed into

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

under the title ''Kollimalai Maaveeran'' and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

as ''Kondaraju Koyapilla''.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0155961, title=Ponni 1970s Malayalam-language films 1970s Indian films Films about social issues in India Films based on Indian novels Films directed by Thoppil Bhasi Films scored by G. Devarajan Films shot in Palakkad Indigenous films Works by Malayattoor Ramakrishnan