Paava Mannippu

Paava Mannippu
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	A. Bhimsingh
Screenplay by	A. Bhimsingh
Story by	J. P. Chandrababu (uncredited)
Produced by	A. Bhimsingh A. V. Meiyappan
Starring	Sivaji Ganesan Devika Gemini Ganesan Savitri M. R. Radha
Cinematography	G. Vittal Rao
Edited by	A. Bhimsingh
Music by	Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Production companies	AVM Productions Buddha Pictures
Distributed by	AVM Productions
Release date	16 March 1961 (1961-03-16)
Running time	196 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Budget	₹ 1.05 million[2]

Paava Mannippu (transl. Forgiveness of sins)^[3] is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed and edited by A. Bhimsingh, who co-produced it under his banner Buddha Pictures, with AVM Productions. The film features an ensemble cast of Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, Devika and M. R. Radha. M. V. Rajamma, V. Nagayya, S. V. Subbaiah and T. S. Balaiah play supporting roles. It revolves around four children who are separated from their parents in childhood, then found and raised by foster parents of different religious backgrounds.

Bhimsingh initially began work on a film titled Abdullah, starring J. P. Chandrababu who narrated the story to him. Though some scenes were filmed, Bhimsingh was unconvinced with the results; after AVM volunteered to co-produce the film, Bhimsingh redeveloped the script as Paava Mannippu, with Chandrababu replaced by Sivaji Ganesan. The soundtrack and score were composed by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy while Kannadasan was the lyricist.

Paava Mannippu was released on 16 March 1961. The film became a commercial success and a silver jubilee film. It received the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film, becoming the first South Indian film to do so. The film achieved cult status in Tamil cinema and was remade into Telugu as Oke Kutumbham (1970) by Bhimsingh.