Munnudi
| Munnudi | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | P. Sheshadri |
| Produced by | M/S Navachitra |
| Written by | Bolwar Mahammad Kunhi |
| Screenplay by | P. Sheshadri Bolwar Mahammad Kunhi |
| Based on |
Muthechchera by Bolwar Mahammad Kunhi |
| Starring |
Tara H. G. Dattatreya Shashikumar Chaya Singh |
| Music by | V. Manohar |
| Cinematography | B. S. Shastri |
|
Release date
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| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
| Budget | ₹17 lakh (US$25,000) |
| Box office | ₹28 lakh (US$42,000) |
Munnudi (Kannada: ಮುನ್ನುಡಿ, English: The Preface) is a 2000 Indian Kannada language film directed by P. Sheshadri, based on Bolwar Mahammad Kunhi's short story Muthucchera, and starring Tara, H. G. Dattatreya, Shashikumar and Chaya Singh in pivotal roles.
The film is about the misuse of Shariat by opportunistic men and the manipulation of the testaments on "Nikah" and "Talaaq".
Day-to-day practice of any religion goes as per the customs evolved through i find instances of "intelligent" interpretations of these very tenets by unscrupulous people to serve their own interests. One such instance is the exploitation of woman for the sheer thrill of man in a male dominated society taking advantage of the ‘custom’ of ‘marriage’ particularly when the woman is struck by ignorance, fear and poverty.
"Munnudi" is a preface written by the waves of Arabian Sea on the plank of the sand. An untold pain of a woman in a pictorial parody, a mirror to an open mind.
In Sheriah (Islamic Law) prostitution is deliberated as the worst crime on earth, which solicits heavy punishment to culprit’s life after death. "Munnudi" makes an attempt to discuss the misuse of ‘Sheriah’ by certain canny men, who maintain that they could elude both ‘Crime’ and ‘Punishment’ for transgression on woman by sheltering themselves beneath the testaments on ‘Nikha’ and ‘Talaaq’.
Munnudi is the story of a mother of a teenaged girl who lived in a small village on the coast of Arabian Sea, who raised the first dissident cry against the barbarian act of man, the act that every folk was made to believe, that cherished the sanctity of the Holy Book. ‘Munnudi’ is the story of the first woman who burnt her silence against this ritual, wherein every woman of the village was to go to bed as temporary wife with a new alien annually, decorating herself in trousseau.
Munnudi deals with this kind of gender discrimination – a crime perpetrated by man against woman in the guise of ‘marriage’. The story goes like this. Mutthuchera, a tiny seaside village, has a special attraction to Arabian traders who have been regularly coming to this village. They come in a particular ‘season’ and stay on for about three months during which they settle contracts for buying wood, spices etc. Local traders vie with each other to woo the Arabians to their side by providing them all comforts including ‘temporary wives’. For this, they have evolved an ingenious method. They induce poor local women to agree to a ‘system’ in which they marry the Arabians and live with them as their wives in nearby posh hotels. After about three months, it is time for the Arabians to go back. They give divorce (Talaaq) before leaving. These women return to their huts and wait in silence for the next ‘season’ to become ‘new wife’ for some ‘new’ Arabian husband.
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