Mannina Maga (transl. Son of the soil) is a 1968 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by Geethapriya marking his debut as a solo in film-direction. The film stars Rajkumar, Kalpana and Jayakumari.[1] Produced by Sudarshan Movies banner and written by Geethapriya, the film received rave reviews and went on to win National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada[2] and ran for more than 100 days in cinema halls.
Bangalore Mirror had reported that the attitude of the heroine of rejecting the city for a village life was rare, an affirmation of the possibility or, the difficulty, of sustaining community life in a city is more common.[3]
Geetapriya finalised the script for his first directorial venture Mannina Maga. A house in Sadashivnagar was used for shooting. The film was also shot in a village Bijjawara and had booked accommodation in the Nandi Hills.[4]
The film's soundtrack tuned by Vijaya Bhaskar found immense popularity with "Bhagavanta Kaikotta" and "Idena Sabhyate" songs reaching the cult status with philosophical lyrics by Geethapriya.[4][5] The album has five soundtracks.[6]