Anbe Vaa (Eng: Come, My Love) is a 1966 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. The film features M. G. Ramachandran and B. Saroja Devi in the lead roles, while S. A. Ashokan, Nagesh, Manorama, T. R. Ramachandran and P. D. Sambandam play supporting roles. Broadly based on the 1961 American film Come September directed by Robert Mulligan, Anbe Vaa was produced and distributed by AVM Productions. The soundtrack and background music were composed by M. S. Viswanathan while the lyrics for songs were written by Vaali.
Anbe Vaa was the first film produced by AVM to be shot in Eastmancolor, as well as being their first big-budget production; they had previously focused only on modest-budget films. The film was also the studio and Tirulokchandar’s only collaboration with M. G. Ramachandran. The film follows JB (Ramachandran), a wealthy industrialist who goes on vacation to his bungalow in Shimla, only to discover that his caretaker (Sambandam) and his wife have left for Varanasi after renting the bungalow to a family of three. The rest of the film revolves around JB’s response to this situation that he finds himself in.
Principal photography for the film began in August 1965. Shooting for the film took place in Shimla, Ooty and at the hill station of Kufri. This was the second ever Tamil film to be shot at Jammu and Kashmir. Filming was completed within five months, the shortest duration for a film starring Ramachandran.
Anbe Vaa was released on 14 January 1966, during the festive occasion of Pongal. It received positive reviews from critics, who particularly praised Ramachandran’s performance, as he was known for doing mainly action-adventure films up until that point in his career. The film grossed 3.3 million at the box office, against a budget of 3 million. The film was also dubbed into Telugu, under the title Prema Manasulu.
JB (M.G. Ramachandran) is a wealthy industrialist who decides to take a vacation at his residence in Shimla. Upon his arrival, he discovers that his caretaker (P. D. Sambandam) has rented his house to a Bangalore-based couple, Punyakodi (T. R. Ramachandran) and Pappamma (T. P. Muthulakshmi), and their daughter, Geetha (B. Saroja Devi). The caretaker and his wife leave for Varanasi after taking the money for the rent, leaving the caretaker’s daughter, Kannamma (Manorama), and brother-in-law, Ramaiah (Nagesh), in charge of the house and the guests. JB decides not to reveal his true identity, pretending to be JB’s personal secretary Balu, and pays the rent for a place in his own house. Ramaiah, who has never met JB, takes the money and gives JB’s room to Balu.
Balu plays continual pranks on Geetha, during the course of which he also falls in love with her. Geetha reciprocates his feelings, but circumstances and their egos prevent them both from expressing those feelings. One day, Balu pretends to suffer from chest pain, which scares Geetha, causing her to finally admit that she loves him. Later, when Geetha and Ramaiah go to Balu to enquire about his health, Balu, exiting from the bathroom, fails to see that Geetha is there. He tells Ramaiah about his prank on her, and that he was only pretending to have chest pain. Angry that she had been deceived by Balu, she begins to question whether or not his professed love for her is also deceit. Hurt, she brings her friends, who are on a holiday trip to Shimla, to the residence and tries to drive Balu out of the house. When her plan backfires and her friends start supporting Balu, she becomes spiteful and tells her parents to move forward with a planned marriage to Sekar (S. A. Ashokan), a relative and an air force pilot.
Geetha reconciles with Balu after he saves her from a wrestler named Sitting Bull. But by the time Balu confesses his love for her, Geetha’s engagement is already fixed. Luckily, Sekar turns out to be a school friend of JB, and when he discovers that Balu and Geetha are truly in love, he steps aside, wishing the couple a happy life. When Balu is finally revealed as JB, Geetha, again not knowing what to believe, thinks the wedding plans are yet another of Balu’s practical jokes and tries to run away. He finds her and clears up all of the misunderstandings between them. The two then get married.
Directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar
Produced by M. Murugan, M. Kumaran & M. Saravanan
Written by Aaroor Das (dialogue)
Story by A. C. Tirulokchandar
Starring M. G. Ramachandran, B. Saroja Devi
Music by M. S. Viswanathan
Cinematography S. Maruthi Rao
Edited by R. G. Gope
Production AVM Productions
Distributed by AVM Productions
Release dates 14 January 1966
Running time 174 minutes
Country India
Language Tamil
Visitor Rating: 1 Stars