Overview
Kizhakke Pogum Rail is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film co-written and directed by Bharathiraja, starring newcomers Sudhakar and M. R. Raadhika. It was released on 10 August 1978 and ran for over 365 days in theatres. The film was remade in Telugu as Toorpu Velle Railu (1979) by Bapu, and in Hindi by Bharathiraja himself as Saveray Wali Gaadi (1986).
Plot
A young woman Panchali gets off a train named 'Kizhakke Pogum Rail' (Eastbound Train) and lands in the village Thamaraikulam, which follows strict rules. There, she is accommodated by her sister Karuthamma and brother-in-law Ramaiah. Panchali informs Karuthamma that their mother died a couple of days ago. Ramaiah starts to have an eye on Panchali.
Paranjothi is an unemployed graduate and a big fan of the poet Subramania Bharati, who lives with his father Maruthu and sister Kanniyamma. Maruthu is a barber and considers Paranjothi as a good-for-nothing like all the villagers. After getting married, Kanniyamma leaves her birth home to live with her husband's family.
Panchali and Paranjothi slowly fall in love with each other. One day, the villagers spot Paranjothi running behind Panchali. At the gram panchayat, the panchayat members blame Paranjothi for trying to misbehave with Panchali. Only the retired military man Pattalathaar and the farmer Ponnandi support him, but the panchayat members overlook them and punish him. Maruthu shaves off Paranjothi's hair, and the latter parades on a donkey in the streets of the village, whereas Ramaiah forces Karuthamma to burn Panchali's arm with a piece of wood.
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