M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute

M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute

Type	Film school
Established	1945;80 years ago (1945) (as Adyar Film Institute)
Academic affiliations	The Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Music and Fine Arts University
President	Trotsky Marudu
Principal	J. V. Mohanakrishnan
Location	C.I.T. Campus, Tharamani, Chennai – 600113 , Tamil Nadu , India
Campus	Urban
Website	https://www.filminstitute.tn.gov.in/en

The M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, popularly known earlier as Madras Film Institute, is Asia's first-ever film and television training institute. Established in 1945 as Adyar Film Institute, it is one of the pioneer film institutes in India. ^[1] It is in Tharamani, Chennai, and is run by the Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Tamil Nadu. ^[2]

The diplomas are approved by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), while the certificates are awarded by the Department of Technical Education, Government of Tamil Nadu. ^{[2] [3]}

The incumbent president of the Institute is Trotsky Marudu, who was appointed by the Government on 11 November 2024. ^[4]

History

The institute was established in 1945 as Adyar Film Institute and was a part of the Central Polytechnic. In 1965, it moved into its present campus in the Tharamani area of Chennai. At the time, the campus was spread over 54 acres, which has reduced over the following decades, due to rapid urbanisation. Parts of land were given to the IIT Madras and many IT companies, bringing it down to the present 10 acres.

M.G.R. Film City is situated in Taramani. It is an Indian Film and TV Training Institute run by Tamil Nadu State Government under Information and Public relation.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2006, it was renamed M.G.R. Film and Television Training Institute, after former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987), who was a prominent actor in Tamil cinema. ^[5]

In 1994, the government started MGR Film City to make more filmmaking facilities in the city. On 16 October 1997, Queen Elizabeth II visited MGR Film City and watched the filming of Kamal Haasan's Tamil movie Marudhanayagam . ^[6] The acting course that started in 1971, at the behest of M.G.R., was discontinued in 2002. ^[7] Talks to revive the course have been on for many years. ^[8]

Courses

It offers four-year bachelor's degree courses

1. Bachelor of Visual Arts (Cinematography)
2. Bachelor of Visual Arts (Digital Intermediate)
3. Bachelor of Visual Arts (Audiography)
4. Bachelor of Visual Arts (Direction and Screenplay Writing)
5. Bachelor of Visual Arts (Film Editing)
6. Bachelor of Visual Arts (Animation and Visual Effects)

Screenplay and Direction, Cinematography, Sound Recording and Sound Engineering, Film Editing and Film Processing, and functions of the government. Only 14 students are admitted in each course.

Notable alumni

Artist	Category	Notes
K. S. Prasad	Cinematographer
Mankada Ravi Varma	Cinematographer
Ashok Kumar	Cinematographer
P. S. Nivas	Cinematographer
Keyaar	Film director
Aabavanan	Film director
RV.Udayakumar	Film director
Rajinikanth	Actor
Hema Chaudhary	Actress
G. V. Narayana Rao	Actor
Mohan Babu	Actor
K. Natraj	Actor
Ramki	Actor
C. Rudhraiya	Screenwriter, Film director
K. Rajeshwar	Screenwriter, Film director
Jose	Actor
Maniyanpilla Raju	actor
Rajendra Prasad	Actor
Sujatha Vijaykumar	Producer
Chakrapani	Actor
Sudhakar	Actor
Chiranjeevi [9]	Actor
Nassar	Actor
Sreenivasan	Actor
P. C. Sreeram	Cinematographer
Suhasini Maniratnam	Cinematographer
Raghuvaran	Actor
Archana	Actor
Yugi Sethu	Film director
R. V. Udayakumar	Film director
Rajiv Menon	Cinematographer
G. P. Krishna	Cinematographer
Ayananka Bose	Cinematographer
V. Manikandan	Cinematographer
Boopathy Pandian	Director
Sakthi Saravanan	Cinematographer
Anand Raj	Actor
Shiva Rajkumar	Actor
S. Saravanan	Cinematographer
M. V. Panneerselvam	Cinematographer
Raveendran	Actor
Kumar Bangarappa	Actor
Ajayan	Cinematographer
N. Harikumar	Sound editor
U. K. Senthil Kumar	Cinematographer
Jeeva	Cinematographer
S. Saravanan	Cinematographer
M. V. Panneerselvam	Cinematographer
Vijay Milton	Cinematographer
R. Rathnavelu	Cinematographer
Saravanan	Actor
E. Ezhilbabu	Cinematographer Cameraman, ISRO, Ahmedabad
Alberrt Antoni	Film director
Vaidy S.	Cinematographer
R. Diwakaran	Cinematographer
P. V. Sunilkumar	Cinematographer, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO
Chandru Manickavasagam	Writer, Film director
R. T. Neason	Director
N. K. Ekambaram	Cinematographer
Siva	Director
Vetri	Cinematographer
Nandha Durairaj	Actor
Mohan Raja	Film director
Bommarillu Baskar	Film Director
Azhagam Perumal	Director, Actor
P. S. Vinod	Cinematographer
Arivazhagan Venkatachalam	Director
M. Anbazhagan	Director
Narain	Cinematographer, Actor
E. Krishnasamy	Cinematographer
Manoj Paramahamsa	Cinematographer
Gnanam Subramanian	Cinematographer
Arul Sakthi Jayam	Underwater DOP/ Cinematographer
Mahesh Narayanan	Film editor, Screenplay writer
Manush Nandan	Cinematographer
K. G. Venkatesh	Cinematographer
Sooraj Nallusamy	Cinematographer
Magesh Raj	Cinematographer
E.Subamohan	Cameraman, Tamilnadu Films Division.
Sampath Alwar	Sound Engineer, Sound Designer
Vishnu Govind	sound engineer, sound designer
Vijay Ulaganath	Cinematographer
Dinesh Krishnan	Cinematographer
Sujith Sarang	Cinematographer
Anbusathiyan R.	Cinematographer
Richard Prasad	Cinematographer
Srihari	Actor
Bakkiyaraj Kannan	Director
Gopi Krishna	Editor
J. Dharmendra	Television Presenter, Actor
Kavin Raj	Cinematographer
Suriya	Editor
Sistla VMK	Cinematographer
Adith Gopal A P	Animation & Visual Effects (VFX)
Prasanna venkatesh D	animation & visual effects (VFX)
B.Sakthidoss	Cinematographer
Adam Ayub [10] [11]	Actor
Ganesh K Babu	Director

See also

• Film and Television Institute of India
• Bhartendu Natya Academy
• Cinema of India
• Film and Television Institute of India alumni
• Film school
• Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute
• Government Film and Television Institute
• State Institute of Film and Television
• Jyoti Chitraban Film and Television Institute
• Biju Pattnaik Film and Television Institute of Odisha
• K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts

References

1. One among the Pioneer film institutes Archived 2013-03-19 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Courses Offered". Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
3. "CAREER GUIDE: Shooting for the stars". The Hindu . 1 November 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
4. Kumar, Arun (11 November 2024). "திரைப்பட பயிற்சி நிறுவன தலைவர் ட்ராட்ஸ்கி மருது நியமனம்: தமிழ்நாடு அரசு உத்தரவு". Dinakaran. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
5. "Modernisation of Government printing presses under way: Minister". The Hindu . 29 August 2006. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
6. Queen Elizabeth's Visit to MGR Film City Archived 2003-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
7. "MGR Film and TV Institute losing land to urbanisation". The Times of India . 12 June 2009. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
8. "New dreams for MGR Film Institute". The Hindu . 5 July 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
9. Adam Ayub. "താങ്കള്‍ വലിയ എഴുത്തുകാരനാകുമെന്ന് പ്രതീക്ഷിച്ചില്". Media one. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
10. https://www.mediaoneonline.com/user-31663
11. https://www.manoramaonline.com/news/latest-news/2021/09/14/exclusive-interview-with-malayalam-serial-cinema-director-actor-writer-adam-ayub.html

External links

• M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute Archived 7 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine at Government of Tamil Nadu website
• [https://www.filminstitute.tn.gov.in/ta
• [https://www.filminstitute.tn.gov.in/en