This is a list of films produced by the Tollywood film industry based in Hyderabad in 1961.
Mohanlal Viswanathan ), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam film industry besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Mohanlal has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 400 films. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2001, and Padma Bhushan in 2019, India's fourth and third highest civilian honours, for his contributions to Indian cinema. In 2009, he became the first actor in India to be awarded the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army. Mohanlal was named as one of "the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema" by CNN.
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam. He is widely regarded to be one of the most successful and popular actors in the history of Indian cinema. Known for his uniquely styled mannerism and one liners in films, he has a huge fan base and a cult following. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan in 2000, Padma Vibhushan in 2016, India's third and second highest civilian honours, and the highest award in the field of cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the 67th National Film Awards ceremony (2019) for his contributions to Indian cinema. He has won numerous film awards including seven Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, a Nandi Award, one Filmfare Award and two Maharashtra State Film Awards.
Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai ; known mononymously as Shobana, is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer, who works predominantly in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films. She is a recipient of two National Film Awards, one Kerala State Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards South. In 2011, Shobana received the Kalaimamani by Tamil Nadu Government. She established herself as one of the leading South Indian actresses of her time.
Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ganesan is acknowledged as one of the greatest Indian actors of all time and among the most imitated one by other actors. He was known for his versatility and the variety of roles he depicted on screen, which also gave him the Tamil nickname Nadigar Thilagam. In a career that spanned close to five decades, he had acted in 288 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. Sivaji Ganesan is the only actor in Tamil cinema to have played the lead role in over 250 films.
Ramasamy Ganesan, better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred as Kaadhal Mannan for his romantic roles in films. Ganesan was one of the "three biggest names of Tamil cinema", the other two being M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan. While Sivaji Ganesan excelled in dramatic films and M. G. Ramachandran was popular as an action hero, Gemini Ganesan was known for his romantic films. A recipient of the Padma Shri in 1971, he had also won several other awards including the Kalaimamani, the MGR Gold Medal, and the Screen Lifetime Achievement Award. He was one of the few college graduates to enter the film industry then.
Manoj Kumar is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema who is retired actor. He is known for acting and making films with patriotic themes, and has been given the nickname Bharat Kumar. He is the recipient of a National Film Award and seven Filmfare Awards, in varied categories. He was honoured the Padma Shri in 1992 and Dadasaheb Phalke Award; highest award in field of cinema in 2015 by the Government of India for his contribution to Indian cinema and arts.
A. Bhimsingh or Bhim Singh was an Indian filmmaker who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Apart from Tamil, he made films in other languages that include 18 films in Hindi, 8 films in Telugu, 5 films in Malayalam and 1 film in Kannada. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, he started his film career as an assistant editor with the film-making duo Krishnan–Panju in the late 1940s. Later, he became an assistant director before evolving as an independent director. His films mainly dealt with family and relationships. He made a series of films all of which started with the Tamil syllable pa, mainly with Sivaji Ganesan.
Amar Choudary, known professionally as Jiiva, is an Indian actor and film producer who works mainly in Tamil cinema and a few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films. He is the youngest son of film producer R. B. Choudary.
Annapurna Studios is an Indian film studio facility founded in 1976 by the Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. It is located on a 22-acre (8.9 ha) site in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. The studio provides comprehensive production and post-production services.
Palum Pazhamum is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language film directed by A. Bhimsingh. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and B. Saroja Devi. It was released on 9 September 1961. The film was remade in Kannada as Beratha Jeeva, and in Hindi as Saathi, the latter was remade in Turkish as Yarım Kalan Saadet (1970).
T. Krishna Kumari was an Indian actress. She worked predominantly in Telugu films, in addition to Tamil and Kannada films in the 1950s and 1960s. She was the sister of noted actress Sowkar Janaki.
Paava Mannippu is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed and edited by A. Bhimsingh, who co-produced it under his banner Buddha Pictures, with AVM Productions. The film features an ensemble cast of Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, Devika and M. R. Radha. M. V. Rajamma, V. Nagayya, S. V. Subbaiah and T. S. Balaiah play supporting roles. It revolves around four children who are separated from their parents in childhood, then found and raised by foster parents of different religious backgrounds.
Dasari Girija was an Indian actress who has worked in Telugu films. She was active in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s in comic roles. She appeared in many films with Relangi, the two of them becoming a famous comedic duo.
Thennilavu is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Sridhar. It stars Gemini Ganesan and Vyjayanthimala, with K. A. Thangavelu, M. N. Nambiar, M. Saroja and Vasanthi in supporting roles. The film's plot is about a man who, due to mistaken identity, is appointed as a manager by a young woman for her father's honeymoon in Kashmir. The man and the woman fall in love but things go awry when the real manager arrives in Kashmir.
Bhaaga Pirivinai is a 1959 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by A. Bhimsingh, starring Sivaji Ganesan, M. R. Radha and B. Saroja Devi. The film was released on 31 October 1959. It was remade in Hindi as Khandan (1965), in Telugu as Kalasi Vunte Kaladu Sukham (1961), in Kannada as Muriyada Mane (1964), and in Malayalam as Nirakudam (1977).
Kappalottiya Thamizhan is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri. It is based on the 1944 book of the same name by M. P. Sivagnanam, a biography of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai who founded the Swadeshi Stream Navigation Company to break the monopoly of the British over maritime trade out of India.
Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi Kalimuthu is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. Sethupathi is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Film Award, two Filmfare Awards South and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Venkataraman Gopalakrishnan, was an Indian stage and film actor who was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. He was well known for playing negative and supporting roles, but was also a successful character actor. In a career spanning close to five decades, he acted in more than 400 movies in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. With his eloquent and stylish English. The film industry admired his strong English.
Shanti Theatre was an Indian movie theatre in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Built by G. Umapathy and D. Shanmuga Raja, and inaugurated in January 1961, it was bought by actor Sivaji Ganesan, and was owned by his family since. In May 2016, Shanti ceased screening films, and was re-invented by its owners as office space.