Tamil Nadu Talkies was an Indian film production company producing films in Telugu and Tamil languages. Headed by S. Saundara Rajan, it was founded in the 1930s. Tamil Nadu Talkies was one of the foremost names in early Tamil cinema from the 1930s through 1950s, but later fell into obscurity. [1]
Legendary Telugu film actors Gummadi Venkateswara Rao and Krishna Kumari made their debut through the films produced by the company.
Tamil cinema is the Indian filmmaking industry of Tamil-language films based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Central Chennai, leading to the industry's nickname K-Town or Kollywood, the word being a portmanteau of Kodambakkam and Hollywood.
Central Studios was an Indian film studio in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, started by B.Rangaswamy Naidu and other prominent industrialists like Swamikannu Vincent of Coimbatore in 1935 to make Tamil and other South Indian language movies. The studio was a major hub of Tamil movie production and notable for its association with many early day Tamil Movie Superstars, directors and script writers etc. and many making their career debuts here. The studio is best remembered for movies like Sivakavi, Velaikari and Haridas.
Yaragudipati Varada Rao was an Indian film actor, screenwriter, director, editor, and producer, known for his works primarily in the Telugu cinema, Kannada cinema, and Tamil Cinema. Rao plunged into theatre and did a few stage plays before moving to Kolhapur and Bombay to act in silent films. Regarded as one of the greatest filmmaking pioneers of the Cinema of South India, he made motion-pictures across Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Konkani and Hindi languages, apart from silent films. Rao started his career as a lead actor in many silent films such as Garuda Garva Bhangam, Gajendra Moksham and Rose of Rajasthan.
Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar, also known as A. V. Meiyappan or AVM, was an Indian film producer, director and philanthropist who established AVM Productions in Vadapalani, Chennai. He is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of Tamil cinema, and one of three movie moguls of the South Indian film industry along with S. S. Vasan and L. V. Prasad. His production company AVM Productions is the only production company in Kollywood to run successfully for five decades and three generations.
Madabhushi Rangadorai, better known by his pen name Randor Guy, is an Indian lawyer, columnist and film and legal historian associated with the English language newspaper The Hindu. He is also the official editor of the weekly column "Blast from the Past" that appears in The Hindu.
Mangamma Sabatham is a 1943 Indian Tamil language film, starring Vasundhara Devi, Ranjan, N. S. Krishnan and T. A. Mathuram. The film was produced by S. S. Vasan and directed by T. G. Raghavanchari, credited as Acharya. The film was remade in Hindi as Mangala (1950), in Telugu as Mangala (1951), in Sinhala as Mathalan (1955) and again in Telugu as Mangamma Sapatham (1965).
Raja Sandow was an Indian film actor, film director and producer. He began his career as an actor in silent films and later became a prominent actor and director in Tamil and Hindi films of the 1930s. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of early Indian cinema.
Kalidas is a 1931 Indian Tamil- and Telugu-language biographical film directed by H. M. Reddy and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It is notable for being the first sound film in the Tamil and Telugu languages, and the first sound film to be made in a language from South India. It was based on the life of the Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa; it featured P. G. Venkatesan in the title role and T. P. Rajalakshmi as the female lead, with L. V. Prasad, Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila, and M. S. Santhanalakshmi in supporting roles.
Ranjan was an Indian film actor, singer, journalist and writer. He debuted in the 1941 movie Ashok Kumar, but gained fame in S. S. Vasan's 1948 magnum opus Chandralekha.
The cinema of South India is used to refer collectively the four distinct film industries of South India – Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada film industries – as a single entity. They are based in Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi, and Bangalore.
Unjalur Ramayamma Jeevaratnam was an Indian actress, singer, producer and playback singer. Most of her works are in Telugu and Tamil languages.
R. Krishnan (1909–1997) and S. Panju (1915–1984), collectively referred to as Krishnan–Panju, were Indian film directors. The duo directed more than 50 films in South Indian languages and in Hindi.
Sri Valli is a 1945 Tamil-language Hindu mythological film co-directed by A. V. Meiyappan and produced by him under Pragathi Studios. It was co-directed by A. T. Krishnaswamy who also wrote the script. The film stars T. R. Mahalingam and Kumari Rukmani. Sri Valli revolves around the romance between Muruga and Valli, a tribal girl. The rest of the story shows how Valli wins the heart of Murugan.
Pankajavalli is a 1947 black-and-white Indian mythological and biographical film directed by S. Soundararajan and produced by Tamil Nadu Talkies. The script was by S. Soundararajan Ayyangar. The music was by Papanasam Sivan. The film starred P. U. Chinnappa, T. R. Rajakumari and Kumari Rukmini playing lead role to protagonist. The film was basically the story of Alli, who dominates men in her kingdom and treats them like slaves. The movie was successful at the box office. The film was inspired by the popular Kerala folktale Malayala Pankajavalli, which Ayyangar adapted.
Prabhavathi is a 1944 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film directed by T. R. Raghunath and produced by Lena Chettiar. The film stars Honnappa Bhagavathar and S. P. L. Dhanalakshmi. It was released on 6 August 1944, and was not commercially successful.
Bhaktha Chetha is a 1940 Tamil language film directed and produced by Krishnaswami Subrahmanyam. The film featured Papanasam Sivan as the titular character with G. Subbulakshmi, Kothamangalam Subbu, S. R. Janaki and Master R. Thirumalai playing supporting roles.
Bhaktha Naradar is a 1942 Indian, Tamil language film directed by S. Soundararajan. The film featured Ranjan and Rukmini in the lead roles.
Kambayanatham Rangaswami Kanakavalli, known professionally as K. R. Chellam, was an Indian actress who appeared in Tamil language films.
B. Jayamma was an Indian actress and singer. She began her career on stage as a 14-year-old when she joined a theatre group owned by Gubbi Veeranna, her future husband. She went on to perform for 45 years on stage while also appearing in 45 Kannada, Telugu and Tamil films.