Randidangazhi (1958)

Seminal political movie by a director better known for mythologicals. Set among the conditions of bonded labour in the Kuttanad province, it tells the story of the peasant Koran, who fights the oppression of the landlord Yusuf along with his wife Chirutha and friend Chatthan. He eventually organises the first peasant union in his area, leading the labourers to freedom. The film was dominated by its script, written by the major novelist Pillai, and prefigures the later achievement of Kariat’s Chemmeen (1965). The genre was akin to many of the stage productions of the radical KPAC (cf. IPTA), as was some of the music.