''Neelagiri Express'' () is a 1968 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, nativ ...

-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 A. Bhimsingh or Bhim Singh (1924–1978) was an Indian filmmaker who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Apart from Tamil, he made films in other languages that include 18 films in Hindi language, Hindi, 8 films in Telugu language, Telugu, 5 ...

and written by Cho Ramaswamy. The music was composed by T. K. Ramamoorthy. The film stars

Jaishankar Jaishankar (12 July 1938 – 3 June 2000) was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a very popular lead actor in the 1960s and 70s. He was credited onscreen with title of ''Makkal Kalaingnar'' (people's artiste) or '' ...

, Cho,

Vijaya Nirmala Vijaya Nirmala (born Nidudavolu Nirmala; 20 February 1946 – 27 June 2019) was an Indian actress, director, and producer known for her works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with a few Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning over si ...

and

Vijaya Lalitha Vijayalalitha or Vijaya Lalitha was an Indian actress who appeared in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films in the 1960s and 1970s. She is best known for her appearances in '' Rani Mera Naam'' (1972), ''Baazigar'' (1972) and '' Saa ...

. 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 2 ...

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 from Madras. Ravanan is the only passenger who is travelling with a deceased. One of Ravanan's co-passengers is a mysterious woman named Kalavathy. She takes him off the train to have food at Arakkonam and purposely makes him lose the train, and she disappears. In the meantime, a wealthy man named Sabapathy is murdered, and Ravanan becomes a crime suspect.

CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...

Inspector Shankar is assigned the task of nabbing the criminal behind the murder. He realises that Ravanan is innocent and begins the investigation. So, he sets out of solving the case with the help of Ravanan and eventually finds the murderer.

Cast

as CID Inspector Shankar * S. A. Ashokan as the villain with eye-patch * Cho Ramaswamy as Ravanan *

as Geetha *

as Kalavathy *

V. S. Raghavan V S Raghavan (18 February 1925 – 24 January 2015) was an Indian actor, who has acted both in Tamil films as well as television. He started his career as a dramatist and stage actor and went on to act as a character actor in films, starting ...

as Sabapathy *

S. V. Ramadas S. V. Ramadas (1921-2004) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil-language films, most often as a villain. He acted in more than 700 films in a career spanning over four decades. Film career Among popular movies, he acted in Aayirathil Or ...

as Boopathy * K. Vijayan as Kumar * S. Parvathi as Mahalakshmi *

Tambaram Lalitha Tambaram Lalitha (also known as Thambaram Lalitha, Tambaram N. Lalitha) was an Indian stage and film actress who acted in about 100 films as heroine and in supporting roles. She died in 1983. Partial filmography # ''Town Bus'' (1955) # ''Kokil ...

as Geetha's mother *

Kallapart Natarajan Kallapart Natarajan was an Indian actor who works in Tamil-language films. He received the moniker 'Kallapart' from his role as a thief (Kallapart) in stage dramas. Selected Filmography *'' Marumagal'' (1953) *'' Nalla Idathu Sammandham'' (1958) ...

Srividya Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), also known as Sreevidya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, ...

(special appearance in the song "Thiruthani Muruga Thennava Thalaiva") * M. Bhanumathi (special appearance in the song "Thiruthani Muruga Thennava Thalaiva")

Soundtrack

The music was composed by T. K. Ramamoorthy and the lyrics were written by

Kannadasan Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was an Indian philosopher, poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in India. Freq ...

Release and reception

''Neelagiri Express'' was released on 23 March 1968. ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

'' said the story looked like it lacked salt and pepper. Despite this, it was a commercial success.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0293456 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 Indian black-and-white films Indian mystery thriller films Indian spy thriller films Tamil remakes of Malayalam films