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Tamil cinema is the segment of
Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...
dedicated to the production of
motion pictures A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
in the
Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...
, the main spoken language in the state of
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a
portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.
of the names
Kodambakkam Kodambakkam (also known as K-Town or Kollywood) is a business and residential neighbourhood in Central Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The neighbourhood is served by Kodambakkam railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. Kodambakkam h ...
, a
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
neighbourhood with a high concentration of film studios, and
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
. The first Tamil
silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
, '' Keechaka Vadham'', was directed by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1918. The first Tamil talking
feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...
, '' Kalidas'', a multilingual directed by
H. M. Reddy Hanumappa Muniappa Reddy (12 June 1892 – 14 January 1960), known as H. M. Reddy, was an Indian film director and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema. He directed the first Indian multilingual sound film '' Kalidas'' (1931), shot in ...
was released on 31 October 1931, less than seven months after India's first talking motion picture ''
Alam Ara ''Alam Ara'' () is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves around a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a ''fakir'' (Wazir Muhammad K ...
''. Tamil cinema has been noted for its advanced narratives and diverse films, with several productions in the 1990s and early 2000s cutting across ethnic and linguistic barriers. Such films include '' Roja'' (1992), ''
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
'' (1995), '' Indian'' (1996) and '' Enthiran'' (2010). Tamil cinema has since produced some of the most commercially successful actors, directors and films of Indian cinema. By the end of the 1930s, the
legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...
of the State of Madras passed the Entertainment Tax Act of 1939.
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
(now Chennai), then became a secondary hub for
Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
, other South Indian film industries, as well as for Sri Lankan cinema. Over the last quarter of the 20th century, Tamil films established a global presence, enjoying strong box office collections among Tamil-speaking audiences in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, and
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. Tamil films are also distributed throughout the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
,
Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
,
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, parts of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. The industry also inspired independent filmmaking among
Tamil diaspora The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil people, Tamil speaking Emigration, immigrants who emigrated from their native lands in the southern Indian subcontinent (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to ...
populations in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and the
West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
.


History


Early exhibitors

M. Edwards first screened a selection of silent films at the Victoria Public Hall in
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
in 1897 during the
British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...
. The selected films all featured non-fictional subjects; they were mostly photographed records of day-to-day events. The film scholar Stephen Hughes points out that within a few years there were regular ticketed shows in a hall in Pophams Broadway, started by one Mrs. Klug, but this lasted only for a few months. Once it was demonstrated as a commercial proposition, a Western entrepreneur, Warwick Major, built the first cinema theatre, the Electric Theatre, which still stands. It was a favourite haunt of the British community in Madras. The theatre was shut down after a few years. This building is now part of a post office complex on
Anna Salai Anna Salai (), named for C. N. Annadurai, formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towa ...
( Mount Road). The ''Lyric Theatre'' was also built in the Mount Road area. This venue boasted a variety of events, including plays in English, Western classical music concerts, and
ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and te ...
s. Silent films were also screened as an additional attraction. Swamikannu Vincent, a railway draftsman from
Tiruchirapalli Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of Ta ...
, became a travelling exhibitor in 1905. He showed short movies in a tent in
Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...
, near the present Parry's Corner, using carbide jet-burners for projection. He bought the
film projector A movie projector (or film projector) is an opto-mechanical device for displaying motion picture film by projecting it onto a screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in ...
and
silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
s from the Frenchman Du Pont and set up a business as
film exhibitor Film distribution, also called film exhibition or film distribution and exhibition, is the process of making a film available for viewing to an audience. This is normally the task of a professional film distributor, who would determine the marketin ...
. Soon, he tied up with
Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...
, a well-known pioneering film-producing company, and imported
projector A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer type ...
s. This helped new cinema houses to sprout across the
presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
. In later years, he produced
talkies A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...
and also built a cinema in
Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...
. To celebrate the event of
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...
's visit in 1909, a grand
exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...
was organised in
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
. Its major attraction was the screening of short films accompanied by sound. A British company imported a Crone
megaphone A megaphone, speaking trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loudhailer is usually a portable or hand-held, cone-shaped horn (acoustic), acoustic horn used to amplifier, amplify a person's voice or other sounds and direct it in a given direction. ...
, made up of a film projector to which a gramophone with a disc containing prerecorded sound was linked, and both were run in unison, producing picture and sound simultaneously. However, there was no synched
dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...
.
Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu (15 October 1869 – 15 March 1941) was an Indian filmmaker and entrepreneur widely regarded as the father of Telugu cinema. A pioneer of Indian cinema, Naidu established the first Indian-owned movie theatres in South ...
, a successful
photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...
, took over the equipment after the exhibition and set up a tent cinema near the
Madras High Court The High Court of Judicature at Madras is a High Courts of India, High Court located in Chennai, India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry. It is one of ...
. With this equipment, he screened the short films ''Pearl Fish'' and ''Raja's Casket'' in the Victoria Public Hall. When this proved successful, he screened the films in a tent set up in Esplanade. These tent events were the true precursors of the cinema shows. Naidu travelled with this unit to Burma (now
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
) and
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, and when he had gathered enough money, he put up a permanent cinema house in Madras—Gaiety, in 1914, the first cinema house in Madras to be built by an Indian. He soon added two more, Crown Theatre in Mint and Globe (later called Roxy) in Purasawalkam. Swamikannu Vincent, who had built one of the first cinema halls of
South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
in
Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...
, introduced the concept of "Tent Cinema" in which a
tent A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...
was erected on a stretch of open land close to a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
or
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
to screen the films. The first of its kind was established in
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
, called "Edison's Grand Cinemamegaphone". This was due to the fact that electric carbons were used for motion picture projectors. Most of the films screened then were shorts made in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
. In 1909, an Englishman, T. H. Huffton, founded Peninsular Film Services in Madras and produced some short films for local audiences. But soon, hour-long films, which narrated dramatic stories, then known as " drama films", were imported. From 1912 onwards, feature films made in Bombay (now
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
) were also screened in Madras. The era of
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
s had ended. The arrival of drama films firmly established cinema as a popular entertainment form. More cinema houses came up in the city. Fascinated by this new entertainment form, an automobile dealer in the Thousand Lights area of Madras, R. Nataraja Mudaliyar, decided to venture into film production. After a few days' training in
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
with the
cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
Stewart Smith, the official cinematographer of
Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...
's 1903 Durbar, he started a film production concern in 1916. The man who truly laid the foundations of Tamil cinema was A. Narayanan. After a few years in film distribution, he set up a production company in Madras, the General Pictures Corporation, popularly known as GPC. Beginning with ''The Faithful Wife''/''Dharmapathini'' (1929), GPC made about 24 feature films. GPC functioned as a film school and its alumni included names such as Sundara Rao Nadkarni and Jiten Banerji. The studio of GPC was housed in the Chellapalli bungalow on Thiruvottiyur High Road in Madras. This company, which produced the most Tamil silent films, had branches in
Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
,
Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...
and
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. ''The Ways of Vishnu''/''Vishnu Leela'', which R. Prakasa made in 1932, was the last silent film produced in Madras. The silent era of south Indian cinema has not been documented well. When the talkies appeared, film producers had to travel to
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
or
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
to make films. Most films of this early period were celluloid versions of well-known stage plays. Company dramas were popular among the
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
audience. The legendary Otraivadai drama theatre had been built in 1872 itself in Mint. Many drama halls had come up in the city where short silent films were screened in the afternoon and plays were enacted in the night. The scene changed in 1934 when Madras got its first sound studio. By this time, all the cinema houses in Madras had been wired for sound. Narayanan, who had been active during the silent era, founded Srinivasa Cinetone in which his wife worked as the sound recordist. ''Srinivasa Kalyanam'' (1934), directed by Narayanan, was the first sound film (talkie) produced in Madras. The second sound studio to come up in Madras was Vel Pictures, started by M. D. Rajan on Eldams Road in the Dunmore bungalow, which belonged to the Raja of Pithapuram. Before long, more sound studios came up. Thirty-six talkies were made in Madras in 1935.


Influences

The main impacts of the early cinema were the cultural influences of the country. The
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
-language was the medium in which many plays and stories were written since the ages as early as the
Cholas The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...
. They were highly stylised and nature of the spectacle was one which could attract the people. Along with this,
music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
and
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
were one of the main entertainment sources. There is a strong Indian tradition of narrating mythology, history,
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
s and so on through song and dance. Whereas Hollywood filmmakers strove to conceal the constructed nature of their work so that the realistic narrative was wholly dominant, Indian filmmakers made no attempt to conceal the fact that what was shown on the screen was a creation, an illusion, a fiction. However, they demonstrated how this creation intersected with people's day-to-day lives in complex ways. By the end of the 1930s, the State of Madras legislature passed the ''Entertainment Tax Act 1939''.


Studios

In 1916, a studio, the first in south India, was set up in Madras at 10 Millers Road, Kilpauk. He called it the India Film Company. Rangavadivelu, an actor from Suguna Vilasa Sabha, a theatre company then, was hired to train the actors. Thirty-five days later, the first feature film made in south India, ''The Extermination of Keechakan''/''Keechakavatham'', based on an episode from the
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
, was released produced and directed by R. Nataraja, who established the India Film Company Limited. Despite a century of increasing box office takings, Tamil cinema remains informal. Nevertheless, there are few exceptions like Modern Theatres,
Gemini Studios Gemini Studios was an Indian film studio based in Madras, Tamil Nadu. It was launched when S. S. Vasan, a businessman of many ventures (including the ownership of Ananda Vikatan) bought Motion Picture Producers' Combines from Krishnaswamy Su ...
, AVM and
Sri Thenandal Films Thenandal Studio Limited (TSL), formerly known as Sri Thenandal Films and Sri Thenandal Pictures, is an Indian film production and distribution studio in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded by director Rama Narayanan. History Rama Narayanan set ...
that survived beyond 100 productions.


Exhibitor strike 2017

In 2017, opposing the dual taxation of GST (28%) and entertainment tax (30%), ''Tamilnadu Theatre Owners Association'' announced indefinite closure of all cinemas in the state from 3 July 2017. The strike has been called off and the cinemas will be playing the movies starting Friday 7 July 2017. Government has formed a committee to decide on the existence of state's 30% entertainment tax. It was reported that, per day business loss during the strike was around ₹ 20 crores.


Distribution

Annual admissions in Chennai multiplexes and single screens averaged 1.1 
crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
tickets with a standard deviation of ±10 lakh tickets during 2011–16. The Chennai film industry produced the first nationally distributed film across India in 1948 with '' Chandralekha''. They have one of the widest overseas distribution, with large audience turnout from the
Tamil diaspora The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil people, Tamil speaking Emigration, immigrants who emigrated from their native lands in the southern Indian subcontinent (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to ...
. They are distributed to various parts of Asia, Africa, Western Europe, North America and Oceania. Many successful Tamil films have been remade by other film industries. It is estimated by the ''Manorama Yearbook 2000'' (a popular almanac) that over 5,000 Tamil films were produced in the 20th century. Tamil films have also been dubbed into other languages, thus reaching a much wider audience. There has been a growing presence of English in dialogue and songs in Chennai films. It is not uncommon to see movies that feature dialogue studded with English words and phrases, or even whole sentences. Some movies are also simultaneously made in two or three languages (either using subtitles or several soundtracks). Chennai's film composers have popularised their highly unique, syncretic style of film music across the world. Quite often, Tamil movies feature Madras Tamil, a colloquial version of Tamil spoken in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
.


Tamil film distribution territories


The rest of India

'' Keechaka Vadham'' (1918) was the first
silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
made in
South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
. '' Kalidas'' (1931) was the first
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
talkie film made in 1931. '' Kalava'' (1932) was the first full-length talkie made entirely in Tamil. '' Nandanar'' (1935) was the first film for American film director Ellis R. Dungan. '' Balayogini'' released in 1937 was considered to be first children's film of South India. It is estimated by the ''Manorama Yearbook 2000'' (a popular almanac) that over 5,000 Tamil films were produced in the 20th century. Tamil films have also been dubbed into other languages, thus reaching a much wider audience. There has been a growing presence of English in dialogue and songs in Chennai films. In 1991, '' Marupakkam'' directed by K.S. Sethu Madhavan, became the first Tamil film to win the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...
, the feat was repeated by '' Kanchivaram'' in 2007. Tamil films enjoy significant patronage in neighbouring Indian states like
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
,
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
,
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
,
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
,
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
and
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
. In Kerala and Karnataka the films are directly released in Tamil but in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh they are generally dubbed into Telugu where they have a decent market.


International

Tamil films have enjoyed consistent popularity among populations in
South East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
. Since '' Chandralekha'', '' Muthu'' was the second Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese (as ''Mutu: Odoru Maharaja'') and grossed a record $1.6 million in 1998. In 2010, '' Enthiran'' grossed a record $4 million in North America. Many Tamil-language films have premiered or have been selected as special presentations at various film festivals across the globe, such as
Mani Ratnam Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. H ...
's ''
Kannathil Muthamittal ''Kannathil Muthamittal'' (also released internationally as ''A Peck on the Cheek'') is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language musical war film written, produced and directed by Mani Ratnam. It was based on a short story, "Amuthavum Avanum" by Sujatha. T ...
'' (2002), Vasanthabalan's '' Veyyil'' (2006) and Ameer Sultan's'' Paruthiveeran'' (2007). '' Kanchivaram'' (2009) was selected to be premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
. Tamil films have been a part of films submitted by India for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language on eight occasions, next only to Hindi. Mani Ratnam's '' Nayakan'' (1987) was included in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list.


Economics

Average annual film output in Tamil film industry peaked in 1985. The Tamil film market accounts for approximately 0.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the state of
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. For the purpose of entertainment taxes, returns have to be filed by the exhibitors weekly (usually each Tuesday). The
Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...
made provisions for an entertainment tax exemption for Tamil films having titles in words from the
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
-language only. This is in accordance with Government Order 72 passed on 22 July 2006. The first film to be released after the new Order was '' Unakkum Enakkum''. The original title had been ''Something Something Unakkum Ennakkum'', a half-English and a half-Tamil title. In July 2011, strict norms on entertainment tax were passed which stated that films which were given a "U" certificate by the
Central Board of Film Certification The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory Motion picture content rating system, film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of ...
alone were eligible for tax exemption and those with an "A" certificate could not fit into this category. There are three major roles in the Tamil film value chain ''viz'' producer, distributor and exhibitor. The distributor purchases theatrical distribution rights from the producer for exhibiting the film in a defined territory. The distributor performs enhanced functions such as: # part-financing of film (in case of minimum guarantee / advance based purchase of film rights) # localised marketing of film # selection of exhibition halls # managing the logistics of physical print distribution There are three popular approaches to transfer of distribution rights via distribution contracts: # Minimum Guarantee + Royalty – Here, the producer sells the distribution rights for a defined territory for a minimum lump sum irrespective of the box office performance of the film. Any surplus is shared between the producer and distributor, in a pre-set ratio (typically 1:2) after deducting tax, show rentals, commission, print costs and publicity costs. Effectively, the distributor becomes a ''financier'' in the eyes of the market. This is the most common channel available to high budget producers. # Commission – Here, the distributor pays the producer the entire box office collection after deducting commission. So, the entire risk of box office performance of the film remains with the producer. This is the most common channel available to low budget producers. By the first decade of 21st century, about 90 per cent of the films were released on commission basis. # Outright Sale – Here, the producer sells all distribution and theatrical exhibition rights for a defined territory exclusively to a distributor. Effectively, the distributor becomes a ''producer'' in the eyes of the market. So, the entire risk of box office performance of the film remains with the distributor. There are four popular approaches to transfer of exhibition rights via exhibition contracts: # Theatre Hire – Here, the exhibitor pays the distributor the entire box office collection after deducting tax and show rentals. So, the entire risk of box office performance of the film remains with the distributor. This is the most common channel for low-budget films, casting rank newcomers, with unproven track record. In Chennai, a moderate theatre with AC and DTS can fetch around 1 lakh as weekly rent. # Fixed Hire – Here, the exhibitor pays the distributor a maximum lump sum irrespective of the box office performance of the film. Rental is not chargeable per show. Any surplus after deducting tax is retained by the exhibitor. Effectively, the exhibitor becomes a ''distributor'' in the eyes of the market. So, the entire risk of box office performance of the film remains with the exhibitor. # Minimum Guarantee + Royalty – Here, the exhibitor pays the distributor a minimum lump sum irrespective of the box office performance of the film. Rental is not chargeable per show. Any surplus after deducting tax and show rental is shared in a pre-set ratio (1:2) between the distributor and exhibitor typically. # Revenue Share – Here, the distributor shares with the exhibitor, in a pre-set ratio (typically 1:1), the entire box office collection of the film after deducting tax. Rental is not chargeable per show. So, the entire risk of box office performance of the film is shared between the exhibitor and distributor. This is the most common channel preferred by multiplex screens.


Highest-grossing Tamil films by year


Legislation

Film studios in Chennai are bound by legislation, such as the Cinematography Film Rules of 1948, the Cinematography Act of 1952, and the Copyright Act of 1957. In
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
, cinema ticket prices are regulated by the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
. Single screen theatres may charge a maximum of 50, while theatres with more than three screens may charge a maximum of 120 per ticket.


Awards

*
Filmfare Awards South The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...
*
IIFA Utsavam The IIFA Utsavam rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. The ceremony is organised by Wizcraft International, the team behind the IIFA Awards, and represents Tamil cinema, Telugu cinema, Malayalam cine ...
* Mirchi Music Awards South * Toronto Tamil Film Festival * SIIMA Awards *
Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards is the annual film festival conducted in Oslo to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Tamil film industry. NTFF was arranged for the first time in 2010 by VN Music Dreams. NTFF i ...
*
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Cinema of Tamil Nadu, Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Governmen ...
*
Vijay Awards The Vijay Awards are presented by the Tamil television channel STAR Vijay to honour excellence in Tamil cinema. It has been given annually since 2006, with the latest—the 10th edition—of the award-giving ceremony having been held i ...
* International Tamil Film Awards *
Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government ...
*
Edison Awards Edison Awards is an American company that runs an annual competition honoring excellence in innovation in a broad range of categories. Company The Edison Awards were established by the American Marketing Association in 1987 and has been an i ...
*
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards The Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards are annual awards in recognition for cinematic merit in the Tamil film industry. The awards ceremony is presented by the Tamil language weekly magazine ''Ananda Vikatan''. The awards were introduced in the year ...
* South Scope Awards


See also

* Cinema of the world *
Cinema of India The cinema of India, consisting of Film, motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various #Cinema by language, film indus ...
* Earliest color films in South India *
List of highest-grossing Indian films This ranking lists the highest-grossing Indian films produced by Cinema of India, Indian cinema, based on conservative global box office estimates as reported by organisations classified as green by Wikipedia. The figures are not adjusted for ...
*
List of Tamil actors A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* List of Tamil film actors *
List of Tamil film actresses This is a list of notable actresses who have played key roles in the Tamil cinema, primarily based in Tamil Nadu. 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also *Tamil cinema *L ...
* List of Tamil music directors * Tamil cinema and Dravidian politics * List of highest-grossing Tamil films * Lists of Tamil-language films


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{Tamil Nadu Film production districts Indian film industries