Progress of Tamil Cinema

1. Progress of Tamil Cinema It was exactly fifty years ago that the first full-length Tamil talkie was screened in Madras. The year was 1931 and the picture 'Kalidas', directed by H.M. Reddi. It was produced by Sagar Movietone of Bombay and featured T.P. Rajalakshmi, the then most popular actress of the Tamil stage. For more information, visit: https://www.cinemaazi.com/film/bhagyalakshmi Technically, though, the first attempt at Tamil sound film was a four-reel-long short film titled 'Korathi Songs and Dances', also produced by Sagar Movietone, and also featuring actress Rajalakshmi. Perhaps, this four-reeler inspired the full length 'Kalidas'. Technically, though, the first attempt at Tamil sound film was a four-reel-long short film titled 'Korathi Songs and Dances', also produced by Sagar Movietone, and also featuring actress Rajalakshmi. Perhaps, this four-reeler inspired the full length 'Kalidas'. These films did touch on certain social problems: for instance 'Rajamani' was on the evils of the dowry system and 'Chandrakantha', about hypocrites in saintly clothing. 'Menaka' was notable for being directed by Raja Sandow, a Tamilian actor-director who had established a position of prestige for himslef in the highly competitive Bombay film world. Today, in memory of this outsatnding personality, the Tamil Nadu Government awards an annual cash prize to those who have contributed to the

2. development of Tamil cinema. Madras-made Tamil talkies were turned out from Bombay and Calcutta, till 1934, a landmark year when Srinivas Cinetone Studios produced the first Tamil Talkie in Madras. It was 'Srinivasa Kalyanam'. And within just one year, 35 Tamil talkies had been produced in Madras. A flying start indeed! Production soared steadily from year to year. By the year 1937, there were nine studios in Madras. one at Salem and two at Coimbatore. Of Saints and Society While mythology continued to rule as the favourite theme as far as film content was concerned, there were unmistakable signs of better - and different - things to come. In 1935, Vel Pictures, for the first time, produced the biography of a saint - 'Pattinathar'. This was the forerunner of many such films including 'Jothi Ramalinga Swamigal' (1939) about the great saint who preached against the oppressive caste system. 'Nandanar' (1935) and 'Baktha Cheta' (1940) spoke out against untouchability, the curse of Indian society. Here, then, were the beginnings of social messages in the content of the Tamil films. While these were set against an essentially religious and semi-mythological backgorund, reformist ideas were spelt out more directly and with greater impact in some other social films, such as 'Harijana Penn' (1937) and 'Harijana Singam' (1938). The mid-40s saw many changes in the Tamil film scene. With the advent of playback the ‘talking, singing’ artistes from the stage and the classically-trained musicians were gradually displaced by new entrants with good looking, photogenic faces, and high degree of histrionic talent. From the legendary and phenomenal M.G. Ramachandran and the gifted Sivaji Ganesan and T. R. Rajakumari, Bhanumathi, Savitri, Padmini, Saroja Devi and K.R. Vijaya, to the present generation of Kamalahasan, Rajnikanth, Sivakumar, Sridevi, Sri Priya, Sujatha And Saritha, there are many numbers of stars who have enriched the Tamil Cinema-and continue to do so.