Neelagiri Express (transl. Blue Mountain Express) is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language thriller film directed by Thirumalai–Mahalingam and written by Cho Ramaswamy. The music was composed by T. K. Ramamoorthy. The film stars Jaishankar, Cho, Vijaya Nirmala and Vijaya Lalitha. It is a remake of a 1967 Malayalam film Cochin Express (1967).[1] The film was released on 23 March 1968 and was a commercial success.[2]
| Neelagiri Express | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Thirumalai–Mahalingam |
| Screenplay by | Cho Ramaswamy |
| Produced by | V. Arunachalam |
| Starring | Jaishankar |
| Cinematography | G. Vittal Rao |
| Edited by | A. Paulduraisingam |
| Music by | T. K. Ramamoorthy |
Production company | A. L. S. Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editThis article needs an improved plot summary. (August 2022) |
A murder takes place aboard Neelagiri Express, bound to Coimbatore from Madras. Ravanan is the only passenger who is travelling with a deceased. One of Ravanan's co-passengers is a mysterious woman named Kalavathy. She takes him off the train to have food at Arakkonam Station and deliberately makes him miss the train, and then she disappears. In the meantime, a wealthy man named Sabapathy is murdered, and Ravanan becomes a prime suspect in that murder. CID Inspector Shankar is assigned the task of nabbing the murderer. He realises that Ravanan is innocent and commences the investigation. So, he sets out of solving the case with the help of Ravanan and eventually tracks down the murderer.
Cast
edit- Jaishankar as CID Inspector Shankar[1]
- S. A. Ashokan as the villain with eye-patch[1]
- Cho Ramaswamy as Ravanan[1]
- Vijaya Nirmala as Geetha[1]
- Vijaya Lalitha as Kalavathy[1]
- V. S. Raghavan as Sabapathy[1]
- S. V. Ramadas as Boopathy[1]
- K. Vijayan as Kumar
- S. Parvathi as Mahalakshmi
- Tambaram Lalitha as Geetha's mother
- Kallapart Natarajan[1]
- Srividya (special appearance in the song "Thiruthani Muruga Thennava Thalaiva")
- M. Bhanumathi (special appearance in the song "Thiruthani Muruga Thennava Thalaiva")
Soundtrack
editThe music was composed by T. K. Ramamoorthy and the lyrics were written by Kannadasan.[citation needed]
| Song | Singers | Length |
|---|---|---|
| "Vallibam Oru Velli Thattu" | T. M. Soundararajan, L. R. Eswari | 5:11 |
| "Naan Kalaingan Alla" | 3:56 | |
| "Thiruthani Muruga Thennava Thalaiva" | P. Susheela, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi | 4:20 |
| "Kalyana Pennai Konjam" | P. Susheela, L. R. Eswari | 4:18 |
| "Kadavul Madhuvai Kangalil Aada" | L. R. Eswari | 4:20 |
Release and reception
editNeelagiri Express was released on 23 March 1968.[3] Kalki said the story looked like it lacked salt and pepper.[4] Despite this, it was a commercial success.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Guy, Randor (14 March 2015). "Neelagiri Express 1968". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- ^ Guy, Randor (7 November 2008). "Bond of Tamil Screen". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "Nilgiri Express". The Indian Express. 23 March 1968. p. 3. Retrieved 30 January 2020 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "நீலகிரி எக்ஸ்பிரஸ்". Kalki (in Tamil). 21 April 1968. p. 31. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
