{{Short description|2017 Indian film by Amshan Kumar}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}} {{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}} {{Infobox film | name = Manusangada | image = Manusangada_poster.jpg | caption = | director = Amshan Kumar | producer = {{plainlist| * S.Thara * Gana.Natkunan }} | screenplay = Amshan Kumar | based_on = | starring = {{plainlist| * Rajeev Anand * Manimegalai * A.S.Sasikumar * Sheela Rajkumar * Vidhur Rajarajan * Sethu Darwin * Anand Sampath }} | narrator = | music = Aravind–Shankar | cinematography = P.S. Dharan | editing = Dhanasekar | studio = A K FILMS | distributor = | released = {{Film date|df=yes|2017|10|13|Jio MAMI|2018|10|12}} | runtime = 93 minutes | country = India | language = Tamil | budget = | gross = }}
'''''Manusangada''''' (English title: We are Humans) is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language indie drama film directed by Amshan Kumar.<ref name="Scroll">{{Cite news |date=16 October 2017 |title=Caste atrocities, the long road to justice and raw tension in Tamil film 'Manusangada' |url=https://scroll.in/reel/854100/caste-atrocities-the-long-road-to-justice-and-raw-tension-in-tamil-film-manusangada |work=Scroll |location=Mumbai, India}}</ref> 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<ref>{{Cite news |title=Mumbai Academy of Moving Image - ProgrammeDetail Site |url=https://www.mumbaifilmfestival.com/programmeDetail/242 |work=Mumbai Film Fest}}</ref> and its International Premiere at the Cairo International Film Festival.<ref name="Tamil Information Centre">{{Cite news |date=11 November 2017 |title=மனுசங்கடா (Manusangada) is going to Egypt! |url=http://www.ticonline.org/newsdetails.php?id=1743 |work=Tamil Information Centre}}</ref><ref name="News18.com">{{Cite news |date=29 November 2017 |title=Cairo Film Festival: Tamil Film Manusangada Highlights a Grave Social Injustice - News18 |url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/cairo-film-festival-tamil-film-manusangada-highlights-a-grave-social-injustice-1590329.html |work=News18 |location=Cairo, Egypt}}</ref> 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.<ref name="The Hindu">{{Cite news |date=27 November 2017 |title=Manusangada screened at IFFI |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/manusangada-screened-at-iffi/article20946948.ece |work=The Hindu |location=Goa, India}}</ref> The film has also won the Best Feature Film award from the Puducherry Government in its 35th Indian Panorama Festival.<ref name="TimesofIndia">{{Cite news |date=6 September 2018 |title=Puducherry govt selects Tamil movie Manusangada as best film |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/puducherry/puducherry-govt-selects-tamil-movie-manusangada-as-best-film-of-2017/articleshow/65705479.cms |work=The Times of India |location=Puducherry}}</ref><ref name="TheHindu">{{Cite news |date=8 September 2018 |title=Indian Panorama begins; Manusangada is best film |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/indian-panorama-begins-manusangada-is-best-film/article24898043.ece |work=The Hindu |location=Puducherry}}</ref>
==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.<ref name="Habitat Film Club">{{Cite news |date=25 May 2018 |title=Manusangada by Amshan Kumar |url=http://www.habitatfilmclub.com/booknow-may2018.php?ID=365 |work=Habitat Film Club |location=Delhi, India}}</ref>
==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.<ref name="Scroll" /> 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.<ref name="Cinestaan">{{Cite news |date=10 June 2018 |title=Good people are voiceless: Filmmaker Amshan Kumar on Manusangada |url=https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2018/jun/10/13746/good-people-are-voiceless-filmmaker-amshan-kumar-on-manusangada |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821095241/https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2018/jun/10/13746/good-people-are-voiceless-filmmaker-amshan-kumar-on-manusangada |archive-date=21 August 2018 |work=Cinestaan.com}}</ref> The filming was completed in 22 days and was shot on location.<ref name="Scroll" />
[[File:The Director Amshan Kumar, Producer S. Thara, Lead Actor Rajeev Anand at the presentation of film MANUSANGADA, during the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2017), in Panaji, Goa on November 22, 2017.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Film crew, IFFI (2017) ]]
==Awards and film festivals== *Best Feature Film Award, Government of Puducherry, Indian Panorama<ref name="TimesofIndia" /><ref name="TheHindu" />
The film was screened at the following Film festivals: *19th Jio Mami Film Festival *Cairo International Film Festival *Indian Panorama section of International Film Festival of India<ref name="The Hindu" /> *Chennai International Film Festival<ref name="Cinestaan.com">{{Cite news |title=CIFF 2017: Arvind Swamy expresses concern over 'violent responses' to art |url=https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2017/dec/15/9929/arvind-swamy-inaugurates-15th-chennai-international-film-festival-ciff-expresses-concern-over-the-violent-responses-to-art |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215075420/https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2017/dec/15/9929/arvind-swamy-inaugurates-15th-chennai-international-film-festival-ciff-expresses-concern-over-the-violent-responses-to-art |archive-date=15 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="Flickstatus">{{Cite news |title=tamil-movies-and-indian-panorama-movies-list-of-15th-chennai-international-film-festival-2017 |url=http://flickstatus.com/tamil/tamil-movies-and-indian-panorama-movies-list-of-15th-chennai-international-film-festival-2017.html |work=Flickstatus.com}}</ref> *ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal<ref name="Financial Express">{{Cite news |date=24 November 2017 |title=IFFI 2017: 5 Indian films nominated for ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/iffi-2017-5-indian-films-nominated-for-icft-unesco-gandhi-medal/945627/ |work=The Financial Express}}</ref> *Pune International Film Festival<ref name="Moviean">{{Cite news |title=Manusangada Tamil Movie |url=https://themoviean.com/manusangada-tamil-trailer/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821223128/https://themoviean.com/manusangada-tamil-trailer/ |archive-date=21 August 2018 |work=Moviean.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pune International Film Festival |url=http://www.piffindia.com/CryHumanity.php |website=www.piffindia.com}}</ref> *Thrissur International Film Festival<ref name="Moviean" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Manusangada – 13th IFFT 2018 |url=http://www.ifft.in/portfolio/manusangada/ |website=www.ifft.in}}</ref> *13th Habitat Film Festival<ref name="Cinestaan" /> *Solapur International film festival<ref name="Cineplo">{{Cite news |date=13 February 2018 |title=SOLAPUR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - SIFF |url=https://www.cineplo.com/IN/Solapur/1768914536762002/Solapur-International-Film-Festival---SIFF |work=cineplo.com}}</ref> *Orange City Film Festival *ChintaBar 2K18 Film Festival<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chinta BAR film festival 2K18 |url=https://allevents.in/chennai/chinta-bar-film-festival-2k18/1717748478246550 |access-date=20 August 2018 |website=allevents.in |language=en}}</ref> *Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film (Special Prize)<ref>{{Cite news |date=2026-01-30|title=Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for 2016-2022 announced; see full list|url=https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/regional-indian-cinema-news/article/tamil-nadu-state-film-awards-for-2016-2022-announced-see-full-list-23614375|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260130060303/https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/regional-indian-cinema-news/article/tamil-nadu-state-film-awards-for-2016-2022-announced-see-full-list-23614375|archive-date=2026-01-30|access-date=2026-01-30|work=Mid-Day|language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|7475710|Manusangada}}
Category:2017 films Category:Indian drama films Category:Films about the caste system in India Category:2017 Indian films Category:Tamil-language Indian films Category:2017 Tamil-language films