Tamil cinema (also known as the Tamil film industry, the Cinema of Tamil Nadu or the Chennai film industry) is the Indian film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of feature films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam area, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered. With reference to this, the industry sometimes called Kollywood, a portmanteau of Kodambakkam and Hollywood. Tamil cinema is India's third largest film industry in terms of films produced, as per the Central Board of Film Certification report of 2011,[1] with high revenues and worldwide distribution,[2] having audiences mainly from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh making it one of the largest in the world. [3]
Silent films were produced in Chennai since 1892 and the era of talkies dawned in 1924 with the film Kalidas.[4] By the end of the 1930s, the legislature of the State of Madras passed the Entertainment Tax Act of 1939. Tamil cinema later had a profound effect on other filmmaking industries of India, establishing Chennai as a secondary hub for Telugu cinema, Malayalam cinema, Kannada cinema, and Hindi cinema.[5][6] In its modern era, Tamil films from Chennai have been distributed to various overseas theatres in Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Malaysia, Japan, Oceania, the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America.[7] The industry also inspired filmmaking in Tamil diaspora populations in other regions, such as in Europe and Canada.[8]
Film studios in Chennai are bound by legislation, such as the Cinematography Film Rules of 1948,[9] the Cinematography Act of 1952,[10] and the Copyright Act of 1957
Studios
AVM studios in Chennai, the oldest surviving studio in India
The year 1916 marked the birth of Tamil cinema with the first Madras production and South Indian film release Keechaka Vaadham produced and directed by R. Nataraja, who established the India Film Company Limited.(English: The Destruction of Keechaka).[24] During the 1920s, silent Tamil language film were shot at makeshift locations in and around Chennai, and for technical processing, they were sent to Pune or Calcutta. Later, some films featuring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar were shot in those cities as well.In 1935, A Ramaiah from Thanjavur established the first studio, Star Combines, in Kodambakkam. In the 1930s AVM set up its makeshift studioIndependent Tamil film production in places outside of India, including Sri Lanka, Singapore, Canada, and Europe, took prominence over the late-20th century. The history of filmmaking of Tamil language films in Canada dates back to the early 1990s. It is primarily based in the metropolitan region of the Greater Toronto Area in Southern Ontario.
Tamil films are also made in Sri Lanka where Tamil is one of the official languages since the ancient times. The film My Magic directed by Singaporean Eric Khoo became Singapore's first film to be nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Some of these films have involved one or more film personalities from the Chennai industry as well. in the town of Karaikudi, and during the same decade, full-fledged Movie studios were built in Salem (Modern Theatres Studio) and Coimbatore (Central Studios, Neptune, and Pakshiraja). By the mid 1940s, Chennai became the hub of studio activity with two more movie studios built in Chennai, Vijaya Vauhini Studios and Gemini Studios. Later, AVM Studios shifted its operations to Chennai. Thus, with the undivided Madras Presidency being the Capital to most of South India, Chennai became the center for Tamil- and Telugu-language films. Also, most of the pre-independence era drama and stage actors joined the film industry from the 1940s, and Chennai became the hub for South Indianlanguage film production and the cinema of Sri Lanka before independence.
Silent films were produced in Chennai since 1892 and the era of talkies dawned in 1924 with the film Kalidas.[4] By the end of the 1930s, the legislature of the State of Madras passed the Entertainment Tax Act of 1939. Tamil cinema later had a profound effect on other filmmaking industries of India, establishing Chennai as a secondary hub for Telugu cinema, Malayalam cinema, Kannada cinema, and Hindi cinema.[5][6] In its modern era, Tamil films from Chennai have been distributed to various overseas theatres in Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Malaysia, Japan, Oceania, the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America.[7] The industry also inspired filmmaking in Tamil diaspora populations in other regions, such as in Europe and Canada.[8]
Film studios in Chennai are bound by legislation, such as the Cinematography Film Rules of 1948,[9] the Cinematography Act of 1952,[10] and the Copyright Act of 1957
Studios
AVM studios in Chennai, the oldest surviving studio in India
The year 1916 marked the birth of Tamil cinema with the first Madras production and South Indian film release Keechaka Vaadham produced and directed by R. Nataraja, who established the India Film Company Limited.(English: The Destruction of Keechaka).[24] During the 1920s, silent Tamil language film were shot at makeshift locations in and around Chennai, and for technical processing, they were sent to Pune or Calcutta. Later, some films featuring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar were shot in those cities as well.In 1935, A Ramaiah from Thanjavur established the first studio, Star Combines, in Kodambakkam. In the 1930s AVM set up its makeshift studioIndependent Tamil film production in places outside of India, including Sri Lanka, Singapore, Canada, and Europe, took prominence over the late-20th century. The history of filmmaking of Tamil language films in Canada dates back to the early 1990s. It is primarily based in the metropolitan region of the Greater Toronto Area in Southern Ontario.
Tamil films are also made in Sri Lanka where Tamil is one of the official languages since the ancient times. The film My Magic directed by Singaporean Eric Khoo became Singapore's first film to be nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Some of these films have involved one or more film personalities from the Chennai industry as well. in the town of Karaikudi, and during the same decade, full-fledged Movie studios were built in Salem (Modern Theatres Studio) and Coimbatore (Central Studios, Neptune, and Pakshiraja). By the mid 1940s, Chennai became the hub of studio activity with two more movie studios built in Chennai, Vijaya Vauhini Studios and Gemini Studios. Later, AVM Studios shifted its operations to Chennai. Thus, with the undivided Madras Presidency being the Capital to most of South India, Chennai became the center for Tamil- and Telugu-language films. Also, most of the pre-independence era drama and stage actors joined the film industry from the 1940s, and Chennai became the hub for South Indianlanguage film production and the cinema of Sri Lanka before independence.
; also known as Kattabomman was an 18th century Palayakarrar ('Polygar') chieftain from Panchalankurichi of Tamil Nadu, India. His ancestors migrated to Tamil Nadu from areas in present day Andhra Pradesh during the Vijayanagar period. Also known as Kattabomma Naicker he was among the earliest to oppose British rule in these regions. He waged a war with the British six decades before the Indian War of Independence occurred in the Northern parts of India. He was captured and hanged in 1799 CE. His fort was destroyed and his wealth was looted by the British army. Today his native village Panchalankurichi in present day Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu and some polygars families migrated to vedal village in Kanchipuram District, India is a historically important site.[1]
