Madras to Pondicherry
Madras to Pondicherry is a 1966 Tamil-language road film, directed by Thirumalai Mahalingam and written by "Usilai" Somanathan. The film stars Ravichandran and Kalpana in the lead roles. It became a commercial success, and was remade in Hindi as Bombay to Goa (1972).[2] This in turn went on to inspire the 2004 Marathi film Navra Maza Navsacha, which was also remade in Kannada in 2007 as Ekadantha.[3]
| Madras to Pondicherry | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Thirumalai-Mahalingam |
| Produced by | T. S. Adhinarayanan P. M. Nachchimuthu S. Sivaraman G. K. Selvaraj |
| Written by | "Usilai" Somanathan |
| Starring | Kalpana Ravichandran |
| Music by | T. K. Ramamoorthy |
| Cinematography | G. Vittal Rao[1] |
| Edited by | A. Paul Duraisingam[1] |
Production company | Sri Venkateswara Cinetone |
Release date | 16 December 1966 |
Running time | 121 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
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
- Ravichandran as Baskar[4]
- Kalpana as Mala[4]
- Nagesh as the bus conductor[4]
- Manorama as a Brahmin woman[4]
- A. Karunanidhi as the bus driver[4]
- Pakoda Kadhar as Gopu / the Brahmin couple's son[4]
- A. Veerappan as a Brahmin man[4]
- V. K. Ramasamy[4] as street magicians
- V. S. Raghavan[4] as Mala's father
- O. A. K. Thevar[4] as Hotel owner
- Karikol Raju[4] as Bhagavathar
- K. K. Soundar as Mad mother's son
- A. K. Veerasami as Baskar's father
- Thayir Vadai Desikan as Bus passenger
- Kallapart Natarajan[4] as Mala's love interest
- K.S. Angamuthu[4] as Bus passenger
- Gundu Karuppaiah as Bus passenger
Production
Madras to Pondicherry was directed by the duo Thirumalai-Mahalingam, written by "Usilai" Somanathan,[4] 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.[5]
Soundtrack
The music was composed by T. K. Ramamoorthy and the lyrics were written by Alangudi Somu, Panchu Arunachalam, Thanjai Vaanan and Namakkal Varadarajan.[4][6]
| No. | Song | Singer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Enna Enthan" | T. M. Soundararajan P. Susheela | 4:05 |
| 2 | "Engey Payanam" | 4:07 | |
| 3 | "Malar Ponndra Paruvame" | T. M. Soundararajan | 3:18 |
| 4 | "Hello My Friend Nenjathil Enna" | P. Susheela | 3:26 |
Release and reception
Madras to Pondicherry was released on 16 December 1966,[7] and became a commercial success. Film historian Randor Guy said it would be remembered for "the interesting story line, subplots that raised laughs, pleasing music and fine portrayals by Nagesh, Manorama, Kalpana, Ravichandran and 'Pakoda' Khader." [4]
Remakes
Madras to Pondicherry was remade in Hindi as Bombay to Goa in 1972.[4] This in turn went on to inspire the 2004 Marathi film Navra Maza Navsacha, which was also remade in Kannada in 2007 as Ekadantha.[8]
References
- Madras To Pondicherry (motion picture) (in Tamil). Sri Venkateswara Cinetone. 1966. Opening credits, from 0:00 to 3:24.
- https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/Madras-To-Pondicherry-1966/article12572848.ece
- http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/the-remake-saga/1073397/1
- Guy, Randor (29 September 2012). "Madras To Pondicherry 1966". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- Anantharam, Chitradeepa (2 December 2017). "The French film city". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- "Madras to Pondichery". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- Film News Anandan (2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru [Tamil film history and its achievements] (in Tamil). Chennai: Sivagami Publishers. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018.
- Swamy, Rohan (13 February 2013). "The Remake Saga". The Indian Express. Retrieved 23 May 2018.