Tamil cinema

"Kollywood" redirects here. For other uses, see Kollywood (disambiguation).
For other uses, see Tamil cinema (disambiguation).

Tamil Cinema
No. of screens1546 (Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry) (2022)[1]
Main distributorsAVM Productions
Modern Theatres
National Pictures
Super Good Films
Raaj Kamal Films International
Lyca Productions
Studio Green
Madras Talkies
2D Entertainment
Sun Pictures
Avni Cinemax
Thenandal Studio Limited
V Creations
Wunderbar Films
Red Giant Movies
Aascar Films
AGS Entertainment
Dream Warrior Pictures
Seven Screen Studio
Produced feature films (2022)[2]
Total221

Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a neighbourhood in Chennai, and Hollywood.[7]

The first Tamil silent film, Keechaka Vadham, was directed by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1918.[8] The first Tamil talking feature film, Kalidas, a multilingual directed by H. M. Reddy was released on 31 October 1931, less than seven months after India's first talking motion picture Alam Ara.[9] 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), Indian (1996), Pokkiri (2007), 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 of the State of Madras passed the Entertainment Tax Act of 1939. Madras (now Chennai), then became a secondary hub for Hindi cinema, other South Indian film industries, as well as for Sri Lankan cinema.[10] 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, Malaysia, and Singapore. Tamil films are also distributed throughout the Middle East, Oceania, Europe, North America, parts of Africa, and Japan.[11][12] The industry also inspired independent filmmaking among Tamil diaspora populations in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and the West.[13]

Indian cinema
Life in Tamil Nadu
  1. ^ Vinayak, A. J. (28 September 2022). "Why films from the South set the box office on fire". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  2. ^ "KGF 2 to RRR, South Indian film industry saw THESE many releases across 4 languages in 2022!". 3 January 2023.
  3. ^ Hiro, Dilip (2010). After Empire: The Birth of a Multipolar World. PublicAffairs. p. 248. ISBN 978-1-56858-427-0.
  4. ^ Bureau, Our Regional (25 January 2006). "Tamil, Telugu film industries outshine Bollywood". Business Standard. Retrieved 19 February 2012. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ "China's Film Industry and Its Bollywood Future". Forbes.
  6. ^ "Tamil films give Bollywood a run for its money". The Toronto Star. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  7. ^ [3][4][5][6]
  8. ^ "Metro Plus Chennai / Madras Miscellany : The pioneer'Tamil' film-maker". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  9. ^ Velayutham, Selvaraj (2008). Tamil cinema: the cultural politics of India's other film industry. Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 9780415396806.
  10. ^ "THE TAMIL NADU ENTERTAINMENTS TAX ACT, 1939" (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  11. ^ Pillai, Sreedhar. "A gold mine around the globe". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Eros buys Tamil film distributor". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  13. ^ "SYMPOSIUM: SRI LANKA'S CULTURAL EXPERIENCE". Chennai, India: Frontline. Retrieved 26 September 2011.