Sivandha Mann

Sivandha Mann
Promotional poster
Directed by	C. V. Sridhar
Produced by	C. V. Sridhar
Written by	C. V. Sridhar
Starring	Sivaji Ganesan Kanchana M. N. Nambiar R. Muthuraman Nagesh
Music by	M. S. Viswanathan
Cinematography	N. Balakrishnan
Edited by	M. N. Shankar
Production company	Chithralaya Films
Distributed by	Chithralaya Films
Release date	9 November 1969
Running time	179 mins
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Sivandha Mann (Red Soil), also spelt as Sivantha Mann, is a 1969 Indian Tamil language film directed by C.V. Sridhar that stars Sivaji Ganesan, Kanchana and M. N. Nambiar in the lead roles, while other actors like R. Muthuraman, Nagesh and S. V. Ranga Rao play supporting roles. It is notably the first Tamil film to be shot extensively in locations outside India, and later Tamil and Telugu films "fell to the French charm" after this. The film was a success, but the producers incurred heavy losses. A Hindi remake titled Dharti starred Rajendra Kumar and Waheeda Rehman in the lead, along with Sivaji Ganesan in a cameo role.

The Portuguese want to set up an army base in Vasanthapuri, a zameen in Tamil Nadu, India. They approach Diwan (M.N. Nambiar), a corrupt citizen of the area and decide to make him the king if he agrees to carry out the plan. He subsequently agrees, but none of the local people are happy and protest against this. Hence he starts killing them in large numbers. One of the civilians Anand (R. Muthuraman), who lost his father in the shootout, swears that he will have revenge for the outrage when his close friend Bharath (Sivaji Ganesan), son of a General (S. V. Ranga Rao) returns from abroad. Meanwhile, Chitralekha (Kanchana), the princess of Vasanthapuri is living in Zurich, and is completely unaware that her zameen is in danger. She sees Bharath's photo in a local daily, and finds out that he is also from Vasanthapuri. She reads that he came first in the University of Bern, and develops interest in meeting him. That night, Chitralekha meets him at a club and congratulates him for his performance, while introducing herself as "Vasanthi" to hide her true identity. Quickly, they both fall for each other.