''Neelagiri Express'' () is a 1968 Indian
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
-language
thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
directed by
Thirumalai–Mahalingam and written by
Cho Ramaswamy
Srinivasa Iyer Ramaswamy, better known as Cho Ramaswamy (5 October 1934 – 7 December 2016), was an Indian actor, comedian, editor, political commentator, satirist, playwright, film director and lawyer from Tamil Nadu. He was a popular comedi ...
. 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
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
film ''
Cochin Express'' (1967).
The film was released on 23 March 1968 and was a commercial success.
Plot
A murder takes place aboard Neelagiri Express, bound to
Coimbatore
Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...
from
Madras
Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
. Ravanan is the only passenger who is travelling with the 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 the 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
Soundtrack
The music was composed by
T. K. Ramamoorthy and the lyrics were written by
Kannadasan
Muthiah Sathappan Chettiar better known as Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was a poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important l ...
.
Release and reception
''Neelagiri Express'' was released on 23 March 1968. ''
Kalki
Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...
'' said the story looked like it lacked salt and pepper.
Despite this, it was a commercial success.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title
1960s Indian films
1960s mystery thriller films
1960s spy thriller films
1960s Tamil-language films
1968 films
Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police
Films about organised crime in India
Films set on trains
Films with screenplays by Cho Ramaswamy
Indian black-and-white films
Indian mystery thriller films
Indian spy thriller films
Tamil remakes of Malayalam films
Tamil-language Indian films