MarcellaGunter0 at 05:12, 4 March 2026

2026-03-04T05:12:12Z

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Madras to Pondicherry
| image = Madras to Pondicherry.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Thirumalai–Mahalingam]]
| writer = Usilai Somanathan
| producer = T. S. Adhinarayanan<br />P. M. Nachchimuthu<br />S. Sivaraman<br />G. K. Selvaraj
| starring = [[Ravichandran (Tamil actor)|Ravichandran]]<br />[[Kalpana (Kannada actress)|Kalpana]]
| cinematography = G. Vittal Rao<ref name="movie" />
| editing = A. Paul Duraisingam<ref name="movie" />
| music = [[T. K. Ramamoorthy]]
| studio = Sri Venkateswara Cinetone
| distributor = 
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1966|12|16}}
| runtime = 121 minutes
| country = India
| language = Tamil
}}
'''''Madras to Pondicherry''''' is a 1966 Indian [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-language [[Road movie|road]] [[comedy thriller]] film, directed by [[Thirumalai–Mahalingam]] and written by Usilai Somanathan. The film stars [[Ravichandran (Tamil actor)|Ravichandran]] and [[Kalpana (Kannada actress)|Kalpana]]. It was released on 16 December 1966, became a commercial success, and was remade in [[Hindi]] as ''[[Bombay to Goa (1972 film)|Bombay to Goa]]'' (1972).<ref name="RandorGuy" />

== Plot ==
{{more plot|date=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 ==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Ravichandran (Tamil actor)|B. S. Ravichandran]] as Ravi
* [[Nagesh]] as Gajakarnam, the bus conductor
* [[A. Karunanidhi|Karunanidhi]] as Naidu, the bus driver
*[[Kalpana (Kannada actress)|Kalpana]] as Mala
* [[Manorama (Tamil actress)|Manorama]] as a [[Brahmin]] woman
*[[V. K. Ramasamy (actor)|V. K. Ramasamy]] as street magician
*[[O. A. K. Thevar]] as Hotel owner
*[[A. Veerappan]] as a Brahmin man
*[[Kallapart Natarajan]] as Mala's love interest
*[[V. S. Raghavan]] as Thanikasalam, Mala's father
*[[Karikol Raju]] as Bhagavathar
*[[A. K. Veerasamy|Veerasamy]] as Ravi's father
*P. K. Saraswathi as Meenakshi, Mala's mother
*[[C. T. Rajakantham]]
* K. S. Angamuthu as Poongodi, Bus passenger
*Gundu Karuppaiah as Bus passenger
*[[K. K. Soundar]] as Mad mother's son
*[[Pakoda Kadhar|Kadhar]] as Gopu, the Brahmin couple's son
*Thayir Vadai Desikan as Bus passenger
}}

== Production ==
''Madras to Pondicherry'' was directed by the duo [[Thirumalai–Mahalingam]], written by Usilai Somanathan,<ref name="RandorGuy" /> and produced under the banner Sri Venkateswara Cinetone by four people: T. S. Adhinarayanan, P. M. Nachimuthu, S. Sivaraman and G. K. Selvaraj.<ref name="movie" /> It was among the earliest [[Road movie|road films]] in Tamil cinema.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Anantharam |first=Chitradeepa |last4=Menon |first4=Vishal |date=2 December 2017 |title=The French film city |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/the-french-film-city/article21245999.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806231552/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/the-french-film-city/article21245999.ece |archive-date=6 August 2020 |access-date=23 May 2018 |work=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> [[Suruli Rajan]] and [[Bava Lakshmanan]] shot for a scene at the [[Meenakshi Temple|Meenakshi Amman Temple]].<ref>{{cite web |last=பாரதிராஜா |first=மை. |date=11 May 2015 |title=எங்கேயோ பார்த்த முகம் |url=http://kungumam.co.in/Articalinnerdetail.aspx?id=8695&id1=3&issue=20150511 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20241223131204/http://kungumam.co.in/Articalinnerdetail.aspx?id=8695&id1=3&issue=20150511 |archive-date=23 December 2024 |access-date=22 December 2024 |website=[[Kungumam (magazine)|Kungumam]] |language=Tamil }}</ref>

== Soundtrack ==
The music was composed by [[T. K. Ramamoorthy]].<ref name="RandorGuy" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Madras to Pondichery |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/madras-to-pondichery-3-tracks-mw0001935435 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523173602/https://www.allmusic.com/album/madras-to-pondichery-3-tracks-mw0001935435 |archive-date=23 May 2018 |access-date=23 May 2018 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
! Song !! Singer !! Lyrics !! Length
|-
| "Enna Enthan" || rowspan=2|[[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 ==
''Madras to Pondicherry'' was released on 16 December 1966.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1966 – மெட்ராஸ் டூ பாண்டிசேரி – விவிதபாரதி |trans-title=1966 – Madras to Pondicherry – Vidyabharathi |url=http://www.lakshmansruthi.com/cineprofiles/1966-cinedetails33.asp |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523081830/http://www.lakshmansruthi.com/cineprofiles/1966-cinedetails33.asp |archive-date=23 May 2018 |access-date=6 October 2017 |website=[[Lakshman Sruthi]] |language=Tamil}}</ref> ''[[Kalki (magazine)|Kalki]]'' appreciated Nagesh and Karunanidhi's performances, but felt the saloon comedy sequence was unnecessary, and criticised the film's story.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1 January 1967 |title=மதராஸ் டு பாண்டிச்சேரி |url=https://kalkionline.com/kalkionline_archive/imagegallery/archiveimages/kalki/1967/jan/01-01-1967/p21.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220813050458/https://kalkionline.com/kalkionline_archive/imagegallery/archiveimages/kalki/1967/jan/01-01-1967/p21.jpg |archive-date=13 August 2022 |access-date=20 December 2021 |magazine=[[Kalki (magazine)|Kalki]] |page=21 |language=ta}}</ref> Despite this, it became a commercial success.<ref name="RandorGuy" />

== References ==
<references>

<ref name="movie">{{Cite AV media |title=Madras To Pondicherry |date=1966 |type=motion picture |language=ta |publisher=Sri Venkateswara Cinetone |time=0:00 to 3:24 |time-caption=Opening credits, from}}</ref>

<ref name="RandorGuy">{{Cite news |last=Guy |first=Randor |author-link=Randor Guy |date=29 September 2012 |title=Madras To Pondicherry 1966 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/Madras-To-Pondicherry-1966/article12572848.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180605093056/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/Madras-To-Pondicherry-1966/article12572848.ece |archive-date=5 June 2018 |access-date=23 May 2018 |work=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref>

</references>

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title}}

[[Category:1960s comedy thriller films]]
[[Category:1966 Indian films]]
[[Category:1960s road movies]]
[[Category:1966 Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:1966 films]]
[[Category:Films scored by T. K. Ramamoorthy]]
[[Category:Films set in Chennai]]
[[Category:Films shot in Chennai]]
[[Category:Films shot in Puducherry]]
[[Category:Indian black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Indian comedy road movies]]
[[Category:Indian comedy thriller films]]
[[Category:Tamil films remade in other languages]]
[[Category:Tamil-language Indian films]]

Madras to Pondicherry - Revision history

MarcellaGunter0 at 05:12, 4 March 2026