Mani Osai

<p>An egotistical rich man ( ) abandons his elder son ( ) because of his physical imperfections. He tells his wife ( ) that the baby was born dead. The man has another son ( ) who leads a lazy life, often getting into trouble. He falls in love with his cousin ( ), who is very close to the hunchback, treating him like a brother. The hunchback becomes a hero who sacrifices everything, taking the blame for others’ wrongdoing. He finally restores sight to the hero and dies. Only after the hunchback’s death does the father tell the world that he was his firstborn. is the directorial debut of , and was inspired by French writer ‘s 1831 novel, . It was produced by A. L. Srinivasan under his company A. L. Productions. The film received critical acclaim, but did not perform well at the box office; according to film historian , this was due to its lack of a handsome hero. The music was composed by , with lyrics by . Some of the film’s songs, such as “Payuthu Paayuthu”, “Devan Kovil Mani Osai” and “Aattukkutti Aattukkutti Mammavai” became popular.</p>