Kollywood (Tamil : கோலிவூட் kōlivūṭ) is a name often applied to the home of the Tamil-language film industry based in India, and to the industry as a whole. The name, Kollywood, has derived from Kodambakkum, the area in Chennai (formerly Madras), where Kollywood films are widely produced. Tamil language movies are also filmed in Sri Lanka. South Asian cinema refers to the cinema of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. ... This article addresses Persian and Pashto cinemas of Afghanistan. ... The Bangladeshi film industry is based in Dhaka As of 2004, it produced approximately 100 movies a year. ... Bengali cinema, or the Bengali film industry, is one of the earliest film industries in India. ... The Indian film industry is the largest in the world in terms of the ticket sales and the number of films produced annually (877 feature films and 1177 short films were released in the year 2003 alone). ... Assamese cinema was born in 1935 when Jyoti Prasad Agarwala released his movie Joymoti. ... Bengali cinema, or the Bengali film industry, is one of the earliest film industries in India. ... Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India. ... The Cinema of Karnataka encompasses movies made in the Indian state of Karnataka. ... // Marathi cinema has grown in recent years -the industry is based in Mumbai, India. ... Malayalam cinema refers to films made in the southern Indian state of Kerala in Malayalam. ... Telugu Cinema refers to the Telugu film industry. ... The Himalayan country of Nepal does not have a very long film history, but the industry has its own place in the cultural heritage of Nepal. ... Lollywood (Urdu: لالیوڈ) (colloquially known as Ecco Bay) refers to the Pakistani film industry, based in the city of Lahore. ... Sri Lankan cinema is highly acclaimed abroad - its films have won dozens of awards at international festivals. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... , “Madras” redirects here. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ...

Silent movies were produced in Kollywood since 1916 and the era of talkies dawned in 1931. By the end of the 1930s, the industry was booming to the extent that the State of Madras legislature passed the pioneering Entertainment Tax Act 1939 with little opposition.

International accolades

Kollywood and the other major cinematic hubs (Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Malayalam, and Assamese) constitute the broader Indian film industry, whose output is the largest in the world in number of tickets sold. In 1959, the Kollywood-produced film Veerapandiya Kattabomman won the "Best Movie" award at that year's Afro-Asian Festival. The 1987 film Nayagan was named by Time as an "All Time Best movie".^[1] Malli, released in 1998, won the Golden Pyramid Best Film award at that year's Cairo International Film Festival, and The Terrorist won the same award in 1999.^[2]. In 2004, Virumandi won the Best Asian Movie award.^[3]. The 2005 release Raam won both Best Musical Score and Best Actor awards at the 2006 Cyprus International Film Festival^[4], and another 2005 release, Navarasa, won the "Angel Independent Spirit Award" and "Best Supporting Actor" awards at the Monaco International Film Festival.^[5] Veerapandiya Kattabomman (1959) is a Tamil feature film directed by B. Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu. ... Nayagan (1987) (a. ... Time (whose trademark is capitalized TIME) is a weekly American newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. ... Melli (also spelt Malli) is a town on the West Bengal-Sikkim border on the River Teesta. ... The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Cairo, Egypt. ... The film The Terrorist (Theeviravaathi - original Tamil title) portrays a period in the life of a nineteen-year-old woman, Malli (Ayesha Dharkar), sent to assassinate a leader in South Asia through a suicide bombing. ... RAAM may mean: United Arab List, Hebrew. ... The Cyprus International Film Festival (or CIFF) is an annual film festival held in Cyprus. ... Navarasa (Nine Emotions) (2005) is a film directed by Santosh Sivan. ... The Monaco International Film Festival is an annual international special interest film festival held in Monaco. ...

Distribution

Tamil films have one of the widest overseas distribution along with Telugu behind Hindi films. They have enjoyed consistent popularity among Tamil speakers in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. Tamil films have recently become popular in Japan (Rajinikanth's Muthu, for example, screened for a record period), South Africa, Canada, and the UK. Many movies such as Chandramukhi and Anniyan were also simultaneously released in the USA. Sivaji: The Boss, which had released recently has also been touted as a record-breaking film for its high-budget, large opening, and reception worldwide. Chandramukhi (Tamil : சந்திரமுகி/English : Chandramukhi) is a 2005 Indian musical, horror, comedy directed by P. Vasu and produced by Ramkumar Ganesan of Sivaji Productions. ... Anniyan (Aparachitidu in Telugu; Aparchit in Hindi) is a high-budget 2005 Tamil movie. ...

Tamil films enjoy significant patronage in the neighbouring southern States like Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh too. In Kerala the films are directly released in Tamil but in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka they are preferred by dubbing into regional languages.

There is a fair amount of dispersion amongst the Indian film industries. Many successful Tamil films have been remade by the Hindi and Telugu film industries, for example. Kollywood has also remade a fair number of Hindi-, Telugu-, Malayalam-, and other-language films.

It is estimated by the Manorama Yearbook 2000 (a popular almanac) that over 5,000 Tamil films were produced in the 20th century. For a complete list of Tamil films, see the List of Tamil-Language Films. Tamil films have also been dubbed into other languages, thus reaching a much wider audience. Examples of those dubbed into Hindi include such hits as Minsaara Kanavu, Roja and Bombay. Anniyan, a recent Tamil film became the first Indian film to be dubbed into French. See popular Tamil films. This article is under construction. ... Minsaara Kanavu is a Tamil film released in 1997. ... Roja (1992) is a Tamil film directed by Mani Ratnam. ... This article is about the film. ... Anniyan (Aparachitidu in Telugu; Aparchit in Hindi) is a high-budget 2005 Tamil movie. ... Popular Tamil films (in reverse chronological order) claim is made that these are the best Tamil films , though many of fans all-time favorites will be found on this list. ...

There has been a growing presence of English in dialogue and songs as well. 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). Quite often, Tamil movies feature Chennai Tamil, a colloquial version of Tamil spoken in Madras' i.e 'Chennai. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Madras Tamil or Madras bashai (Tamil: மெட்ராஸ் பாஷை), is a type of mixed language spoken in the city of Chennai, India (previously known as Madras). ... Madras refers to: the Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the former Indian state, now known as Tamil Nadu (Plural of Madra): Ancient people of Iranian affinites, who lived in northwest Panjab in the Uttarapatha division of ancient India. ... , “Madras” redirects here. ...

History

A visiting European exhibitor first screened (date unknown) a selection of silent short films at the Victoria Public Hall in Madras. The films all featured non-fictional subjects; they were mostly photographed records of day-to-day events. A European is primarily a person who was born into one of the countries within the continent of Europe. ... Madras refers to: the Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the former Indian state, now known as Tamil Nadu (Plural of Madra): Ancient people of Iranian affinites, who lived in northwest Panjab in the Uttarapatha division of ancient India. ... Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. ...

In Madras (now known as Chennai), the Electric Theatre was established for the screening of silent films. 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 the Post Office complex in Anna Salai. A Mr. Cohen built Lyric Theatre in the Mount Road area (now Anna Salai).This venue boasted a variety of events, including plays in English, Western classical music concerts, and ballroom dances. Silent films were also screened as an additional attraction. Samikannu Vincent, an employee of the South Indian Railways in Trichy, purchased a film projector and silent films from the Frenchman Du Pont and set up a business as film exhibitor. He erected tents for screening films. His tent cinema became popular and he travelled all over the state with his mobile unit. In later years, he produced talkies and also built a cinema in Coimbatore. Madras refers to: the Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the former Indian state, now known as Tamil Nadu (Plural of Madra): Ancient people of Iranian affinites, who lived in northwest Panjab in the Uttarapatha division of ancient India. ... , “Madras” redirects here. ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... Anna Salai formerly Mount Road is the most important arterial road in Chennai, India. ... // Cohen (Hebrew: kōhÄ“n, means: A Priest) is a Jewish surname of biblical origins (see: Kohen). ... Lyric Theatre is a common name for performing-arts houses, including: Australia Lyric Theatre Brisbane, Queensland Lyric Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales U.S. Lyric Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A play (noun) is a common literary form, usually consisting chiefly of dialog between characters, and usually intended for performance rather than reading. ... Look up West in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated puprose of which is holding dances (balls). ... Tiruchirapalli (also spelled Tiruchchirappalli, commonly known as Tiruchi or Trichy, formerly known as Trichinopoly under British rule) is a city situated on the banks of the Kaveri river, centrally located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE: DD) was founded in July 1802 as a gun powder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont on Brandywine Creek, near Wilmington, Delaware. ... A typical megaplex (AMC Ontario Mills 30 in Ontario, California). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A state is a political association with effective dominion over a geographic area. ... A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ... , Coimbatore   (Tamil: ), also known as Kovai (Tamil: ), is a major industrial city in India. ...

To celebrate the event of King George V's visit in 1909, a grand exhibition was organised in Madras. Its major attraction was the screening of short films accompanied by sound. A British company imported a Crone megaphone, 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. Raghupathy Venkiah Naidu, a successful photographer, took over the equipment after the exhibition and set up a tent cinema near the Madras High Court. R. Venkiah, flush with funds, built in 1912 a permanent cinema in the Mount Road area named Gaiety. It was the first in Madras to screen films on a full-time basis. This theatre is still functioning, although under different ownership. George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was the first British monarch belonging to the House of Windsor, which he created from the British branch of the German House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Exhibition may refer to: Exhibition (scholarship), a small grant Worlds Fair Exhibition game, a friendly match Art exhibition Exhibition (equestrian), a sport involving horse and riders Science fair State fair Funfair Trade fair Xzibit See also Look up exhibition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Madras refers to: the Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the former Indian state, now known as Tamil Nadu (Plural of Madra): Ancient people of Iranian affinites, who lived in northwest Panjab in the Uttarapatha division of ancient India. ... Commonly a synonym for Hag. ... A megaphone, with a three-inch lighter to scale. ... Edison cylinder phonograph from about 1899 The phonograph, or gramophone, was the most common device for playing recorded sound from the 1870s through the 1980s. ... A dialogue (sometimes spelt dialog[1]) is a reciprocal conversation between two or more entities. ... This is a list of notable photographers in the art, documentary and fashion traditions. ... The Madras High Court, one of the landmarks of the metropolis of Chennai, and believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, is located near the Parrys Corner, one of the important central business districts of Chennai. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

In tent cinemas, there were usually three classes of tickets: the floor, bench and, chair. The floor-ticket purchaser sat on sand to watch the movie, but he enjoyed certain advantages that other patrons did not. He could sit as he pleased, or he could turn over and take a short nap when the narrative was particularly dull and roll back again when the action was again to his liking—luxuries in which the upper class could never indulge. Surely those were the days! Look up class in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Superstar Club

Initially, Kollywood was dominated by M. K. Thiyagaraja Bagavathar, P. U. Chinnappa, M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan. After their deaths, Tamil cinema was dominated by 2 main superstars: Rajnikanth and Kamal Hasan. The young Superstars are ajithkumar and vijay. These stars command salary more than Rs.40 million per film and their films are much hyped and receive huge opening upon release. Even flop films of these stars gross at least Rs.100 million at the box office. Maruthur Gopala Ramachandran (Tamil: மருதூர் கோபால இராமச்சந்திரன், Malayalam:മരത്തൂര്‍ ഗോപാലന്‍ രാമചന്ദ്രന്‍) (January 17, 1917–December 24, 1987), popularly known as MGR எம்.ஜி.ஆர்., Puracthi Nadigar, Ponmana Chemmal, Makkal Thilakam and Puratchi Thalaivar (Tamil: Revolutionary Leader), was a longtime leading Tamil film actor and Chief Minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death. ... Ganesan in Thayaipola Pillai Noolaipola Selai, 1959 Sivaji Ganesan (October 1, 1927 - July 21, 2001) was a famous Indian actor and politician. ... Rajnikanth (Tamil: ரஜினிகாந்த், Marathi: रजनीकांत, Kannada: ರಜನೀಕಾಂತ್), real name Sivaji Rao Gaekwad (Tamil: சிவாஜி ராவ் காயகவாட், Marathi: शिवाजीराव गायकवाड, Kannada: ಶಿವಾಜಿ ರಾವ್ ಗಾಯಕ್ವಾಡ್) (born December 12, 1949 in Karnataka, India)[1], is the highest paid actor [2] in India and the top rated popular South Indian film actor. ... Kamal Haasan (born November 7, 1954) is an Indian movie star working mainly in the Tamil film industry. ... Ajith Kumar (born May 1, 1971 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India) is a popular Tamil actor and a race car driver. ...

These stars have exclusive fanclubs that often resort to violent display of support. Distributors of films of these stars are able to arrange financing of film-in-progress from banks and exhibitors without much distress.

This club is politically influential as they are able and willing to effect swings in votes in Assembly elections.

Industrial trends

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. This article has been tagged since August 2007.

Average annual film output in Tamil film industry has risen steadily in the 20th century Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...

• 1930s—22.5 releases per year on average
• 1940s—22.1 releases per year on average
• 1950s—32.6 releases per year on average
• 1960s—43.0 releases per year on average
• 1970s—62.5 releases per year on average
• 1980s—104.6 releases per year on average
• 1990s—101.2 releases per year on average

For the purpose of entertainment taxes, returns have to be filed by the exhibitors weekly (usually each Tuesday). [1] This is a chart of trend of box office collections of Kollywood with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.

The Tamil film industry accounts for approx. 1% of the gross domestic product of the state of Tamil Nadu. Costs of production have grown exponentially from just under Rs.4 million in 1980 to over Rs.110 million by 2005 for a typical star-studded big-budget film. Similarly, costs of processing per print have risen from just under Rs.2,500 in 1980 to nearly Rs.70,000 by 2005.

Interestingly, The Tamil Nadu government has made provisions for an entertainment tax exemption for Tamil movies having pure Tamil word(s) in the title. This is in accordance with Government Order 72 passed on 22 July 2006. The first film to be released after the new Order was Unnakkum Ennakum. The original title had been Something something Unakkum Ennakkum, a half-English and a half-Tamil title. is the 203rd day of the year (204th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Exhibitors

There are about 2,400 cinema halls in Kollywood, of which around 125 are located in the Chennai district. Below is a list of the most prominent exhibitors in the box office.

• Sathyam - 1,266 seats (Chennai )
• Albert - 1,225 seats (Chennai)
• Devi - 1,212 seats (Chennai)
• Melody - 998 seats (Chennai)
• Abirami - 927 seats (Chennai)
• Kasi - 917 seats (Chennai)
• Sangam - 877 seats (Chennai)
• Maharani - 733 seats (Chennai)
• Udhayam - 700 seats (Chennai)
• Santham - 567 seats (Chennai)
• Padmam - 540 seats (Chennai)
• Suriyan - 480 seats (Chennai)
• Devi Bala - 369 seats (Chennai)
• Subham - 306 seats (Chennai)
• Mayajaal - 178 seats (Chennai)

Show rentals range from Rs.700 in C-centres to as much as Rs.7,000 in A-centres for an average 700-seat screen. Unlike Hollywood, superstardom is deeply ingrained into Kollywood economics, so distributors are prepared to not only finance the films of super stars with proven track records but are also, in turn, able to secure minimum guarantees for those films from exhibitors. Sathyam Cinemas is the group which runs the popular and successful Sathyam Theatre complex, located a little away from the immensely important Mount Road in Chennai, is one of Indias largest cineplexes. ...

Rise of multiplexes in the late 1990s has stunted the growth of large screens.

See also

• List of Tamil-language films
• Popular Tamil films
• Cinema of India
• Filmfare Awards South
• List of Kollywood film clans
• Bollywood

This article is under construction. ... Popular Tamil films (in reverse chronological order) claim is made that these are the best Tamil films , though many of fans all-time favorites will be found on this list. ... The Indian film industry is the largest in the world in terms of the ticket sales and the number of films produced annually (877 feature films and 1177 short films were released in the year 2003 alone). ... The filmfare award. ... Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Tamil films on IndiaGlitz.com - reviews, news, and images
• Tamil films on Galatta.com - news, interviews and images