Many years ago in the United States of America a truck driver plying between two cities had a wife in both cities, legally married, with the first wife having no knowledge of the second. He died in an automobile accident and the insurance company was more than surprised when it received claims from both wives, each proving their legal claim. Not surprisingly this unusual event in Christendom became top news not only in America but many parts of the world and human interest stories appeared in many leading magazines. As it received enormous free publicity the insurance company paid both widows!

A creative playwright and screenwriter Liam O’Brien wrote a hit play called ‘The Remarkable Mr. Penny packer’ based on it and it was expectedly made into a movie with noted Hollywood star and excellent actor Clifton Webb playing the lead role. The movie proved a success and fared well even in Madras. Noted short story writer on the staff of Gemini Studios and a close associate of S. S. Vasan, Veppatthur Kittu wrote a screenplay suitably adapting the Hollywood movie to Indian conditions and approached Sivaji Ganesan to play the man with two families.

The Tamil film superstar refused to play the elderly role for reasons which better remain untold!

Left with no option Vasan made it in Hindi with the evergreen star Ashok Kumar playing the lead role, As “Grihasti” (1963). The film proved a box office bonanza and by sheer chance Sivaji Ganesan saw the movie in Bombay. He offered Kittu and Vasan to act if they did a Tamil version. At once Vasan announced the movie and that’s how “Motor Sundaram Pillai” came to be produced.

Convincing changes were made in the local version, with the second wife being the first wife’s sister who dies leaving children whom the father takes care of without the first wife’s knowledge. Sensing that something is wrong, the first wife (Janaki) visits the second wife’s(Manimala) house and is stunned to see her sister’s photograph on a wall! Naturally reconciliation takes place and the first wife takes care of the entire family, and all is well that ends well.

Jayalalitha plays Sivaji Ganesan’s daughter in love with Ravichandran and both look fetchingly handsome..

The family story with the required dose of sentiment was excellently narrated on screen by Balu (Balu, Vasan’s son, and not Balu Mahendra as mentioned in many data bases!) who made the movie with all the ingredients and moving touches of a Gemini Studios movie.

“Motor Sundaram Pillai” was a major success running to 100 days in many places.

If one watches the Tamil movie carefully, one would see the small car used by Sivaji Ganesan bearing a Bombay registration showing that the car used in the Hindi version was used in Tamil too!

The film also had tuneful songs (M. S. Viswanathan). A Classical Carnatic Music based song “Maname Muruganin mayil vaahanam…” (voice R. Jayalakshmi, lyrics Kothamangalam Subbu)… and a lilting melody, a duet with P. B. Sreenivos and P. Susheela, “Kaathirundha Kangaley…” picturised on Jayalalitha and Ravichandran became big hits.

REMEMBERED FOR: The gripping storyline, first class performances especially by Sivaji Ganesan, well supported by Sowcar Janaki and tuneful music of M. S. Viswanathan.