Cinema of Tamil Nadu

The Cinema of Tamil Nadu, (also referred to as Tamil cinema, the Tamil film industry, or Chennai film industry) is the Chennai–based Tamil language filmmaking industry of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is based in the Kodambakkam district of Chennai, where several Tamil language feature films are produced, which has led to a colloquial reference to it as Kollywood (Tamil: கோலிவுட் kōlivūṭ), a portmanteau of the words Kodambakkam and Hollywood.

Silent movies were produced in Chennai since 1916 and the era of talkies dawned in 1931 with the film Kalidas. 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. Tamil Nadu cinema has had a profound effect on the film making industries of India, with Chennai becoming a hub for the filmmaking industries of other languages and also Sri Lankan cinema in the 1900s. Tamil–language films are further made in other countries.

Today, Kodambakkam Tamil films are distributed to various theatres around the world, hence, the industry serves as one of India's most successful entertainment hubs. Tamil films have gained popularity with wide distribution in regions outside of India, such as in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Malayasia, Mauritius, South Africa, Eastern Europe, North America, and other significant Tamil diaspora regions.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.

1916 marked the birth of Tamil cinema with the the first Madras production and South Indian film release Keechaka Vaadham (The Destruction of Keechaka). During the 1920s, silent Tamil-language movies were shot at makeshift locations in and around Chennai, and for technical processing, they were sent to Pune or Calcutta. Later some movies featuring MKT were shot in Pune and Calcutta. In the 1930s AVM set up its makeshift studio 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 notable Telugu-language movies. Also, most of the pre-independence era drama and stage actors joined the movie industry from the 1940s, and Chennai became the hub for South Indian–language film production and Sri Lankan cinema before independence.

Kollywood is well known for its talented composers and its film music Two of the most famous and acclaimed film composers of India, Ilaiyaraaja and A. R. Rahman are from the Chennai film industry. Other prominent Tamil film score and soundtrack composers in the industry include Yuvan Shankar Raja, Harris Jayaraj, Karthik Raja and Vidyasagar. Several international composers have used Chennai's studios to record music for projects, as have composers from other film industries. S. Rajeswara Rao was based in Chennai from the 1940s. During the 1960s and 1970s, prominent film composers K. V. Mahadevan, M. S. Viswanathan were popular, with interest in classic Tamil film songs being re-ignited with the audio cassette revolution.

The film music of Tamil Nadu is widely known for its innovation and eclecticism. Scores may showcase blends of Carnatic, Western and other instruments, music systems with a range of melodic and rhythmic patterns. Orchestral themes and minimalist songs often feature. Recent trends show the prevalence of synthesizers and other electronic instruments.

The Tamil film industry has a long intertwining link with politics, dating from the earliest days of regional cinema, where stories, themes and characters derived from Tamil traditional folk ballads have inspired screenplays and have become vehicles for creating future politicians. The first non congress Chief Minister C. N. Annadurai and the current Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi were directors and acclaimed script writers. M. G. Ramachandran, who was a popular commercial film actor, had served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for nearly a decade. The current opposition leader J. Jayalalithaa was also a popular actress. Moreover, a few actors are currently appointed as members of parliament, such as Vijayakanth. Some of these actors like Rajinikanth, are politically influential due to their loyal fan bases.