Town Bus

Town Bus is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy 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 and Anjali Devi, 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.

Town Bus
Film poster
Directed byK. Somu
Written byA. P. Nagarajan
Produced byM. A. Venu
StarringN. N. Kannappa
Anjali Devi
CinematographyV. K. Gopal
Edited byT. Vijayarangam
Music byK. V. Mahadevan
Production
company
M. A. V. Pictures
Release date
  • 13 November 1955 (1955-11-13)
Running time
130 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot

Velu, an unemployed youth, meets a bus conductor 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 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

Production

Town Bus was directed by K. Somu and produced by M. A. Venu for M. A. V. Pictures.[2] The film was written by A. P. Nagarajan.[3] V. K. Gopal was the cinematographer. Shooting took place mainly in Coimbatore.[2]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by K. V. Mahadevan, with lyrics by Ka. Mu. Sheriff.[1][4] Songs such as "Chittukkuruvi Chittukuruvi" (picturised on Anjali Devi) and the dance number "Leda Lady Aruginil Vaada Aadi Paadalam" became popular.[2]

SongSingersLength
"Chittukuruvi Chittukuruvi" (Happy)M. S. Rajeswari02:21
"Chittukkuruvi Chiitukuruvi" (Sad)M. S. Rajeswari03:11
"Chittukkuruvi Chiitukuruvi" (Bit)M. S. Rajeswari00:46
"Leda Lady Aruginil"S. C. Krishnan, Seerkazhi Govindarajan & U. R. Chandra03:09
"Vadakathi Kallanada.... Thilaalanga Thilaalanga"T. M. Soundararajan01:10
"Ponnaana Vaazhvu Mannaagi Poma"Thiruchi Loganathan, M. S. Rajeswari & Radha Jayalakshmi05:46
"Panam Padaitha Selvar"
"Utthamaraai....Thottratthai Kandum"T. M. Soundararajan02:53
"Nenjam Urugudhe"Radha Jayalakshmi03:11
"Poongavaname Nee Purinji"S. C. Krishnan & U. R. Chandra

Release and reception

Town Bus was released on 13 November 1955.[5] The Indian Express wrote, "Anjali Devi appears to game for any kind of role and she makes a truly striking figure as a bus conductress".[6] According to historian Randor Guy, the film was commercially successful mainly because of the music.[2]

References
  1. டவுன் பஸ் (PDF) (song book) (in Tamil). M. A. V. Pictures. 1955. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  2. Guy, Randor (18 August 2012). "Blast from the Past: Town Bus 1953". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  3. Raman, Mohan V. (14 April 2012). "Master of mythological cinema". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  4. "Town Bus". JioSaavn. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  5. "1955 – டவுன்பஸ் – எம்.ஏ.வி.பிக்சர்ஸ்" [1955 – Town Bus – M.A.V. Pictures]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  6. "Town Bus". The Indian Express. 25 November 1955. p. 8. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
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