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Among the classic Malayalam Rail movies there is the one and only No.
20 Madras Mail.
Aye Auto has a scene where where a WDM2 is hauling a goods rake
over the Kallayi Iron Bridge... i jotted down the road number on my cell
phone, but now that's gone!
Shubayatra opens with some excellent shots of trains... including a
WDM2 jumbo.
Sallapam has got some excellent train shots, especially next to
Bharathapuzha and Shoranur.
Srinivasan's ...Chinta Vishitayaya Shyamala shows some tantalizing
shots of railway lines with background score of passing trains. I hate it
when they do that without showing us the trains.
Oru Yatra Mozhi, starring Mohanlal and Sivaji Ganesan, has some
excellent MG action. Forgot the name of the station which is particularly
featured in the movie.
Kalapani has some excellent steam action again
Oops, I almost forgot, Baba Kalyani, starring Mohanlal again,
features an AJJ WAM hauled Express next to ERS.
A Malayalam Gangster movie two years ago, I think, extensively featured
rail action around ERS. I think the name of the movie was Quotation.
Nammal features a few scenes around Ernakulam Junction... including
lots of railway announcements...
One of the classic comedies ever, Sandesham, Thilakan is a railway
station master. The opening credits saw a railway line and have some
rail-speak.
Balachandra Menon is again a railway station master in a movie for which
he won the National Award - Samantharangal.
Vettom, starring Dileep, has some railway action (MG), with Kunjan
as a TTE.
One of my favourite movies with rail action is one in which Suhasini is a
famous writer and she sees her long-lost friend and her kid as beggars on
a railway station platform. She tries to detrain from the moving train but
is restrained by the TTE. The train is Kannur Express. This is the climax
scene.
Recent Movies:
Mahasamudram - A railway station as well as an Erode WDM hauled
Express train.
Mammootty's Kaiyoppu mentions several trains by name especially,
Mangala and Day Express.
Most Malayalam movies shot in Ootty tend to showcase the Ooty Toy Train on
the Nilgiri Mountain Railway
A tragedy connecting trains with Malayalam filmdom is the passing away of
MS Tripunittura sir in a train. I consider this very ironic as he spent
most of his time in trains traveling. I have personally met him on a train
at Kollam Junction, where he brought out his full-flair of showmanship by
waving to people on the platform from a moving Intercity Express.
Another personal experience, I once ran into writer / director Renji
Panicker while rail-fanning at ERS at the middle of the night... he seemed
like a familiar face and I ended up asking him who he was... he seemed
pretty embarrassed to tell me that he was Renji Panicker
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