S. Ramanathan's Bombay to Goa is one classic and light entertainment. This film stars Aruna Irani as Mala, a young woman who runs away from some gangster and manages to get into a red bus titled "PC Travels", which is bound for Goa. The reason for her escape is shown through some inconsequential flashback later on. This flashback is my least favourite sequence in the film and it was poorly done. What makes Bombay to Goa memorable is, as the title itself suggests, the bus journey from Bombay to Goa in which the majority of the story actually takes place. This adventurous and comic journey introduces us to a totally mixed bunch of passengers from all over India, from different religions and cultures. Two significant characters are those of Rajesh, the bus driver, and Khanna, the conductor - two characters played by real-life brothers, Anwar Ali and the great Mehmood, respectively. The list of travelers includes, among others, a married couple named Amma and Appa with their fat son, a sleeping passenger (Keshto Mukherjee), a chubby and heavily made-up woman (the wonderful Manorama) sitting at the back of the bus with her daughter, and an elderly noisy woman named Kashibai (Lalita Pawar).
The situations we get to see through this episode are very funny and enjoyable. The film is light, feel-good (except for some unsuccessful attempts at thriller in the flashback sequence, which are boring) and happy, and is flavoured by some nice tunes composed by RD Burman. I liked Kishore Kumar's appearance as himself and I loved Usha Utthup's number in the club where she sang "Listen To The Pouring Rain" as soulfully as ever. The show-stealer in this film is undoubtedly Mehmood. He is hilarious and brilliant and gets the best dialogues. Amitabh Bachchan does not have a very significant role, just a few action scenes and a few romantic scenes, but he does well in what he is given. Aruna Irani gets a leading role, one of the few in her career, and she does well. Manorama is simply outstanding, the funny faces she makes are awesome and she keeps reminding me a lot of her role in that same year's classic Seeta Aur Geeta. Lalita Pawar is great as always, while Anwar Ali and Shatrughan Sinha are adequate. One of the film's funniest scenes is in the ending - the entire action sequence was extremely funny. Bombay to Goa is a fun watch, nothing particularly great but still a memorable and entertaining little film.
