''Town Bus'' is a 1955 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

-language

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by K. Somu and produced by M. A. Venu. The film was written by A. P. Nagarajan, and the soundtrack was composed by K. V. Mahadevan. The film stars

N. N. Kannappa N. N. Kannappa was an Indian stage and film artiste. He worked mainly in Tamil plays and films. He had his own troupe ''Navasakthi'' that staged several plays. N. N. Kannappa featured in the following Tamil language films. # Devaki (1951) - 1s ...

and

Anjali Devi Anjali Devi (; 24 August 1927 – 13 January 2014) was an Indian actress, model and producer in Telugu and Tamil films. She was well known for her role as the Devi Sita in '' Lava Kusa'' as well as for the titular roles in movies like Chen ...

, with V. K. Ramasamy, A. Karunanidhi, T. K. Ramachandran, M. N. Rajam and T. P. Muthulakshmi in supporting roles. The plot of the film was built around a bus transport company based in Coimbatore. The film, released on 13 November 1955, performed well at the box office.

Plot

Velu, an unemployed youth, meets a

bus conductor Bus conductors (also referred to as conductors, or clippies) were a common feature of many bus services across Europe until the late 1970s and early 1980s. The main reason two-person crews were needed was that most towns and cities used doubl ...

Amutha by circumstance, joins the transporter company as driver and gradually gets close to her. The owner's daughter falls in love with him, but her father wants her to marry Ramu, a relative who is the manager of the company. He is only after money and also a womaniser. Velu's friend Mannaru falls in love with another conductor Poongavam. The manager dismisses the two drivers, after which Velu becomes an

auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

driver. Soon he sets up his own company and experiences success in a short span of time. He marries Amutha and has a child through her. As he becomes more successful, his lifestyle changes and he falls in love with another woman, a dancer Pankajam. Amutha learns about her husband's affair with Pankajam and more complications follow. She eventually learns that Pankajam is her long-lost sister. Ramu locks up Velu in a room with the intention of killing him. The two women and the bus owner's daughter, who remains single, team up to save Velu. In the process, Ramu shoots Pankajam and is arrested. Velu, Amutha and their child unite and live happily.

Cast

;Male cast *

as Velu * V. K. Ramasamy as Ayya Kannu * A. Karunanidhi as Mannaru * T. K. Ramachandran as Ramu * P. D. Sambandam as Vaiyapuri * P. S. Venkatachalam as Thayanidhipillai * Kallapart Natarajan as Satagopan * R. Pakkirisamy as Murugan ;Female cast *

as Amutha * M. N. Rajam as Pankajam * T. P. Muthulakshmi as Poongavanam * K. S. Angamuthu as Meenakshi * Tambaram Lalitha as Vimala * Baby Kanchana as Mani

Production

''Town Bus'' was directed by K. Somu and produced by M. A. Venu for ''M. A. V. Pictures''. The film was written by A. P. Nagarajan. V. K. Gopal was the cinematographer. Shooting took place mainly in Coimbatore.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by K. V. Mahadevan, with lyrics by

Ka. Mu. Sheriff Ka. Mu. Sheriff was a writer and poet who wrote mainly in the Tamil language. He was a popular Tamil film lyricist during the 1950s and 60s. His lyrics ''Chittukuruvi Chittukuruvi Sedhi Theriyuma?'', ''Yerikaraiyin Maele Poravale Penn Mayile'' a ...

. Songs such as "Chittukkuruvi Chittukuruvi" (picturised on Anjali Devi) and the dance number "Leda Lady Aruginil Vaada Aadi Paadalam" became popular.

Release and reception

''Town Bus'' was released on 13 November 1955. ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Limited, Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, ...

'' wrote, "Anjali Devi appears to game for any kind of role and she makes a truly striking figure as a bus conductress". According to historian

Randor Guy Madabhushi Rangadorai (born 8 November 1937), better known by his pen name Randor Guy, is an Indian lawyer, columnist and film and legal historian associated with the English language newspaper '' The Hindu''. He is also the official editor of ...

, the film was commercially successful mainly because of the music.

References

External links

* {{A. P. Nagarajan 1950s road comedy-drama films 1950s romantic comedy-drama films 1950s Tamil-language films 1955 films Films about buses Films about women in India Films directed by K. Somu Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Films set in 1955 Films shot in Coimbatore Films with screenplays by A. P. Nagarajan Indian black-and-white films Indian road comedy-drama films Indian romantic comedy-drama films