Neelamalai Thirudan

Neelamalai Thirudan is a movie about good-hearted brother (E. R. Sahadevan). He has two siblings: a kind sister named Lakshmi (P. Kannamba) and an evil brother named Nagappan (P. S. Veerappa), who has his eyes on the family's wealth. The kind brother has a son (Ranjan), and his sister has a daughter called Maragatham (Anjali Devi). Aware of the evil brother Nagappan's plans, the good brother leaves the family home and entrusts his son to take care of his sister and her husband Thangappan (M. K. Radha). After learning of his brother's departure, the villain searches for him and his family and orders his henchman Nanjappan (Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar) to kill them. The family gets separated. The boy, now grown up, takes up arms against his evil uncle. Like Robin Hood, he helps the downtrodden, exposes villains and restores peace. In the end, the whole family is reunited.[2][4]

• Ranjan as Neelamalai Thirudan
• P. S. Veerappa as Zamindar Nagappan
• Anjali Devi as Maragatham (Lakshmi's daughter)[5]
• K. A. Thangavelu as chithambaram (Friend of Neelamalai Thirudan)
• E. V. Saroja as Chokki (Maragatham's friend)
• M. K. Radha as Thangappan (Lakshmi's husband)
• P. Kannamba as Lakshmi (Neelamalai Thirudan's aunt)
• T. S. Balaiah as a Police officer
• E. R. Sahadevan as Neelamalai Thirudan's father
• Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar as Nanjappan
• K. Sairam as Constable 101
• Master Vijayakumar as young Neelamalai Thirudan
• Baby Uma as young Maragatham
• The horse as Iqbal
• The dog as Tiger

• Art: C. Raghavan
• Audiography: W. Narasimha Moorthy (dialogue)
• Audiography (Song): A. Krishnan and Kodieswara Rao
• Choreography: Sohanlal, T. C. Ganga Raj and S. M. Rajkumar
• Director: M. A. Thirumugam[5]
• Producer: Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar
• Processing: S. Ranganathan by Vijaya Lab
• Script: S. Ayyaiah Pillai
• Stills: Velappan
• Stunt: Somu

Chinnappa Thevar wanted to make a film with M. G. Ramachandran and planned the screenplay and song situations accordingly. Much to his surprise, MGR did not give him dates for shooting as he was busy with several productions, including his home production Nadodi Mannan. Thevar brought Ranjan on board which upset MGR. During the making of B. N. Rao's Saalivaahanan, in which Ranjan played the hero and MGR played villain, there was some misunderstanding between the two, especially while filming the stunt sequence.

After Neelamalai Thirudan, MGR and Thevar forgot their differences and came together to make several hits such as Thaai Sollai Thattadhe and Thayai Katha Thanayan. The two had known each other from their early days in Coimbatore at Central Studios. MGR was on the studio rolls and employee, Thevar supplied milk to the studio canteen and occasionally played roles in their movies; often without credit.[2]

Music was composed by K. V. Mahadevan and lyrics were written by Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass, A. Maruthakasi and Puratchidasan.[6] Playback singers were T. M. Soundararajan, S. C. Krishnan, Jikki, A. G. Rathnamala & G. Kasthoori.[7]

Randor Guy stated that a song filmed on the rural Robin-Hood Sathiyamey lakshiyamaye Kolladaa became a hit. A. Maruthakasi penned the song and T. M. Soundararajan sang it in an impressive manner. This song underlines the philosophy of life and the importance of helping the downtrodden and destroying the villains. It is often aired on Television Chennal.[2]