He produced 98 films, including work by Duncan, C V Raman and T R Raghunath. T R Sundaram worked at Angel Films, then took it over and started the Modern Theaters Studio (1937) in Salem. She also acted in Sandow’s ‘Usha Sundari’ and ‘Rajeswari’.
#Tamil movie movie#
In 1936, she directed the movie ‘Miss Kamala’ (based on her first novel) and earned recognition as the first woman director of the Tamil film industry. She learnt dance and music and made her stage debut under the tutelage of Sankaradas Swamigal, considered the father of modern Tamil theatre. T P Rajalakshmi was an actress, producer and the first Tamil woman director. The Tamil Nadu government gives the ‘Raja Sandow Award’ for best movies, in memory of him. He was the first one to put actors’ names in the movie title. He made ‘Nandhanar’, the story of an untouchable Hindu Saint.
#Tamil movie series#
Directing his first film, ‘Anaadhai Penn’, with R Padmanabhan, he embarked on a series of reformist social movies. Returning to Tamil Nadu, he made many movies based on social reforms.
He became famous by the movie ‘Veer Bhemsean’. He went to Bombay and made silent movies. A passionate gymnast, he started his career as a stunt actor in S W Patankara’s National Film. In 1923, his studio was burnt down and his son died, prompting him to retire. He made ‘Draupadi Vastrapaharanam’ featuring an Anglo-Indian actress, Marian Hill, as Draupadi. He made ‘Keechaka Vadham’ inter-titled in Tamil, Hindi and English.
He set up a studio on Miller’s Road, Keelpakam with a second hand camera and financial help from S M Dharmalingam. He learned the tricks of cinematography at Pune and became the official cinematographer of Lord Curzon’s 1903 durbar. Speaking of the history of the Tamil film industry, the first movie in Tamil was made by Nataraja R. The Tamil film industry celebrates this year – 2007- 75 years of its impressive existence. We would not have probably reached this stage had the development and improvisations in the industry not been initiated such a long time ago. Fortunately or unfortunately, the past is very much a part and parcel of the present as is the future. But today, sitting comfortably in a cushioned chair watching those big screens at the multiplexes come alive with myriad colours and voices booming out of colossal speakers with DTS effect, the past achievements seem small. The first ‘talkie’ film was H M Reddy’s ‘Kalidas’.įrom the ancient techniques of shadow play and story telling to speechless black and white films, the Tamil film industry had gone a very long way. Four years later, the Tamil film industry carved out a niche for itself, creating a record when a Tamil film broke the silence. These were the first ever words spoken in a movie, by actor Al Jolson in Warner Brothers’ ‘The Jazz Singer’.