Underplayed Gems

Missiyamma (1955)

Missiyamma poster
Original title
మిస్సమ్మ
Directed by
L. V. Prasad
Genre
romantic comedy
Country
India
Runtime
3h 01m
Rated
U
Rating
7.5 of 10 from 6 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

Two unemployed people pretend to be a married couple so they can get teaching jobs at a school. As they fall in love, a family secret about one of their true identities begins to surface.

lightheartedwhimsicalwarmplayfulromanticupbeatslightly farcicalsocially aware

What happens

Missiamma (transl. Miss Madam) is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad. Produced by B. Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani's Vijaya Vauhini Studios, the script was adapted by Chakrapani from the Bengali play Manmoyee Girls School by Rabindranath Maitra. Missiamma also focused on social issues such as unemployment, corruption, and freedom of worship. Missiamma tells the story of two unemployed people of different religions and mentalities: Balu and Mary. They pose as a married couple to obtain jobs in a high school founded by Gopal, the zamindar of Aandipettai. As Balu and Mary fall in love, Gopal's nephew Raju (an amateur detective) learns that Mary is Gopal's missing elder daughter Mahalakshmi; she is unaware of her true identity. Production began in early 1954. The film was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Missamma, with an altered cast. P. Bhanumathi was originally cast as the female lead, with R. Ganesh playing the male lead. After a dispute with Bhanumathi, Chakrapani replaced her with Savitri. K. A. Thangavelu, Jamuna, S. V. Ranga Rao, Rushyendramani, and K. Sarangapani were cast in supporting roles while M. N. Nambiar was cast as the antagonist. C. P. Jambulingam and Kalyanam edited the film; Marcus Bartley was the cinematographer, and S. Rajeswara Rao composed the music. Principal photography took place in and around Madras (now Chennai) and wrapped in December 1954. Missiamma was released in theatres on 14 January 1955, two days after Missamma. Both versions were commercially successful, completing 100-day theatrical runs. The bilingual film brought recognition to its cast and studio. AVM Productions remade the film in Hindi as Miss Mary in 1957, with Ganesan reprising his role. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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