Madras to Pondicherry is a 1966 Indian Tamil-language road comedy thriller film, directed by Thirumalai–Mahalingam and written by Usilai Somanathan. The film stars Ravichandran and Kalpana. It was released on 16 December 1966, became a commercial success, and was remade in Hindi as Bombay to Goa (1972).[2]
| Madras to Pondicherry | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Thirumalai–Mahalingam |
| Written by | Usilai Somanathan |
| Produced by | T. S. Adhinarayanan P. M. Nachchimuthu S. Sivaraman G. K. Selvaraj |
| Starring | Ravichandran Kalpana |
| Cinematography | G. Vittal Rao[1] |
| Edited by | A. Paul Duraisingam[1] |
| Music by | T. K. Ramamoorthy |
Production company | Sri Venkateswara Cinetone |
Release date |
|
Running time | 121 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editThis article needs an improved plot summary. (August 2021) |
Mala, an aspiring film actress, leaves home because of her interest in this which is kindled by a group of thugs. One of them shoots a member of his gang, which she witnesses. To escape them, she jumps onto a running bus going from Madras to Pondicherry. The thugs hire an assassin to board the bus Mala is in to kill her. However, a man named Baskar also gets into the bus. Realising that Mala is in danger, he voluntarily saves her and ends up falling in love with her. Ultimately, it is revealed that Baskar is Mala's prospective bridegroom whom she tried to avoid by leaving her home.
Cast
edit- Ravichandran as Ravi
- Kalpana as Mala
- Nagesh as Gajakarnam the bus conductor
- Manorama as a Brahmin woman
- A. Karunanidhi as Naidu the bus driver
- Pakoda Kadhar as Gopu / the Brahmin couple's son
- A. Veerappan as a Brahmin man
- V. K. Ramasamy as street magician
- V. S. Raghavan as Thanikasalam Mala's father
- P. K. Saraswathi as Meenakshi Mala's mother
- O. A. K. Thevar as Hotel owner
- Karikol Raju as Bhagavathar
- K. K. Soundar as Mad mother's son
- A. K. Veerasami as Ravi's father
- Thayir Vadai Desikan as Bus passenger
- Kallapart Natarajan as Mala's love interest
- K.S. Angamuthu as Poongodi Bus passenger
- Gundu Karuppaiah as Bus passenger
Production
editMadras to Pondicherry was directed by the duo Thirumalai–Mahalingam, written by Usilai Somanathan,[2] and produced under the banner Sri Venkateswara Cinetone by four people: T. S. Adhinarayanan, P. M. Nachimuthu, S. Sivaraman and G. K. Selvaraj.[1] It was among the earliest road films in Tamil cinema.[3]
Soundtrack
editThe music was composed by T. K. Ramamoorthy.[2][4]
| Song | Singer | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Enna Enthan" | T. M. Soundararajan P. Susheela | Namakkal Varadarajan | 4:05 |
| "Engey Payanam" | Alangudi Somu | 4:07 | |
| "Malar Ponndra Paruvame" | T. M. Soundararajan | Panchu Arunachalam | 3:18 |
| "Hello My Friend Nenjathil Enna" | P. Susheela | Thanjai Vaanan | 3:26 |
Release and reception
editMadras to Pondicherry was released on 16 December 1966.[5] Kalki appreciated Nagesh and Karunanidhi's performances, but felt the saloon comedy sequence was unnecessary, and criticised the film's story.[6] Despite this, it became a commercial success.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c Madras To Pondicherry (motion picture) (in Tamil). Sri Venkateswara Cinetone. 1966. Opening credits, from 0:00 to 3:24.
- ^ a b c d Guy, Randor (29 September 2012). "Madras To Pondicherry 1966". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ Anantharam, Chitradeepa (2 December 2017). "The French film city". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ "Madras to Pondichery". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ "1966 – மெட்ராஸ் டூ பாண்டிசேரி – விவிதபாரதி" [1966 – Madras to Pondicherry – Vidyabharathi]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ^ "மதராஸ் டு பாண்டிச்சேரி". Kalki (in Tamil). 1 January 1967. p. 21. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
