It is believed that the trend to incorporate intimate scenes in films has started in recent times. Films like The Dirty Picture and Bandit Queen which were deemed obscene and vulgar had drawn significant criticism from viewers and critics at the time of their release. However, one such film, released back in 1949, dared to go bold. Directed by Ellis R Dungan, Ponmudi was a Tamil romance that was loaded with sequences considered too bold for that time.
Starring R Balasubramanyam, Madhuri Devi and PV Narasimha Bharathi among others, Ponmudi was based on Bharathidasan’s novel Edhirparatha Mutham.
The plot of the film revolved around a couple who knew each other since childhood. They grow up thinking that they will tie the knot in future but things don’t fall in place for them. As their families don’t approve of their relationship, the couple fights for their love and overcomes obstacles that comes their way.
Ponmudi was released on the eve of Pongal and had turned out to be a commercial failure. For the Tamil audience in the 1950s, Ponmudi was an audacious attempt to portray an intimate relationship between two lovers.
Some of the scenes in the film include the couple sharing a moment under the moonlight while in another, the protagonist sneaks into the field to meet his love interest. It is also believed that outdoor scenes, like those in Ponmudi, were very rare at that time. The nearly 3-hour long film had plenty of love-filled scenes between Narasimha and Madhuri.
The bold depiction in Ponmudi had sparked controversy in 1950. Newspapers reports of that time alleged that Ponmudi was against the Tamil culture and that the filmmaker was influenced by western cinema. Meanwhile, there were some publications that also praised the movie for its poetic dialogues.
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