Ponmudi (1950 film)

Plot

Ponmudi was a love story based on the Bharathidasan novel Edhirparatha Mutham.

Production

Producer T. R. Sundaram of Modern Theatres wanted to make a film based on Edhirparatha Mutham (lit. Unexpected Kiss) - a novel written by the Tamil rationalist poet Bharatidasan. Ellis Dungan was hired to direct Bharathidasan's script. The film was made at the Modern Theatres studio in Salem. Some scenes were also filmed in Yercaud. For shooting beach scenes, Dungan had a beach set constructed in Salem, out of sand brought from Adyar beach. Music was composed by G. Ramanathan and lyrics were written by Marudhakasi-Ka. Mu. Sheriff. Most of the songs were copied from popular Hindi movie tunes. P. V. Narasimha Bharathi and Madhuri Devi were cast in the lead roles and M. G. Chakrapani as the villain. The film had intimate love sequences which were unusual in the (then) conservative Tamil film industry.

Cast and crew

Reception

Ponmudi was released on Pongal day (14 January) 1950. It was a commercial failure as its intimate scenes shocked the Tamil audience. The film was criticized in the press for being "vulgar" and Dungan was accused of "corrupting the population with American ways".J. G. Vijayam's cinematography was acclaimed and won him an award.

Soundtrack

Partial list of songs from Ponmudi :