Matti Manushulu

Matti Manushulu
Directed by	B. Narsing Rao
Written by	B. Narsing Rao
Screenplay by	B. Narsing Rao
Story by	B. Narsing Rao
Produced by	K. Mukherjee Veda Kumar
Starring	Archana Moin Ali Beg
Cinematography	Apurba Kishore Bir
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Release date	1990 (1990)
Running time	1hr 27 min
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Matti Manushulu (transl. The Mud People) is a 1990 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed by B. Narsing Rao and starring Archana and Moin Ali Beg. The film won the Best Feature Film in Telugu at the 38th National Film Awards, "For portraying the stark reality of pain which has been underlined with the warm hues of life" as cited by the Jury.

Plot

The film explores the lives of woman labourers and construction workers of urban India.

Pochamma and her husband are employed in a construction project. The women labourers in the project are sexually exploited by the contractor and the engineer. Pochamma is a dark , attractive lady and many eye her lustfully; she somehow survives the exploitation.

One day her husband develops an affair with a co labourer and elopes with her, leaving Pochamma and a baby in the arms, in lurch.

The contractor openly makes an offer , "come to my bed or you won't be able to survive. I will see how long you can resist me!"

In the meantime Pochamma falls ill. Another contractor takes her to a doctor for treatment, buys her food and then place assaults her sexually in a secluded place.

In the closing scene they show Pochamma lying dead on the sidewalk and the child helplessly crying!

International honors

The film won Diploma of Merit award at the 17th Moscow International Film Festival in 1991. It was subsequently screened at the 1990 International Film Festival of India.