Madras to Pondicherry

Madras to Pondicherry
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
Edited by	A. Paul Duraisingam
Music by	T. K. Ramamoorthy
Production; company	Sri Venkateswara Cinetone
Release date	16 December 1966;
Running time	121 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

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]

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 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

Madras 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

The 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"	T. M. Soundararajan P. Susheela	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

Madras 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

^ ^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.

External links

Madras to Pondicherry at IMDb

[movie-1] Madras To Pondicherry (motion picture) (in Tamil). Sri Venkateswara Cinetone. 1966. Opening credits, from 0:00 to 3:24.

[RandorGuy-2] Guy, Randor (29 September 2012). "Madras To Pondicherry 1966". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.

[3] Anantharam, Chitradeepa (2 December 2017). "The French film city". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2018.

[4] "Madras to Pondichery". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.

[5] "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.

[6] "மதராஸ் டு பாண்டிச்சேரி". Kalki (in Tamil). 1 January 1967. p. 21. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.

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