![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/India_film_clapperboard_%2528variant%2529.svg/640px-India_film_clapperboard_%2528variant%2529.svg.png&w=640&q=50)
Tamil cinema
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.[3][4][5][6] The first Tamil silent film, Keechaka Vadham, was directed by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1918.[7] 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.[8]. Tamil cinema has been noted for its advanced narratives and diverse films, being the original pioneers of the pan-india movement with several movies in the 1990s and early 2000s to have cut across ethnic and linguistic barriers. Such movies include Roja, Indian, Enthiran, [Sivaji the boss (2007 film) |Sivaji the boss]]. Tamil cinema has since produced some of the most commercially successful actors, directors and films of Indian cinema. It is the only film industry to have occupied the number 1 position on the global charts twice with Master and Leo, as well as being noted for the only Indian film industry to have box office collections as high as 650 crore despite minimal release windows and release reach.
Tamil cinema | |
---|---|
![]() | |
No. of screens | 1037 (Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry) (2022)[1] |
Main distributors | AVM 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] | |
Total | 221 |
By the end of the 1930s, the legislature of the State of Madras passed the Entertainment Tax Act of 1939. Tamil film industry established itself in Madras (now Chennai), previously primary hub for other South Indian film industries and Sri Lankan cinema.[9] Over the last quarter of the 20th century, Tamil films established a global presence. While enjoying strong box office collections in the Tamil-speaking nations of Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, Tamil films are also distributed throughout the Middle East, Oceania, Europe, North America, parts of Africa, and Japan.[10][11] The industry also inspired independent filmmaking among Tamil diaspora populations in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and the West.[12]