V. Senthil Kumar

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V. Senthil Kumar
Born
V. Senthil Kumar

(1963-11-07) November 7, 1963 (age 61)[ citation needed ]
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Alma materNIT, Tiruchirappalli (B.E., 1985)
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, technologist
Years active1986–present
Known forCo-founder of Qube Cinema
ParentArun Veerappan
RelativesA. V. Meiyappan (grandfather)
Awards
  • Indywood Lifetime Achievement Award (2017) [1]
  • IMAX Big Cine Special Achievement Award (2018) [2]
  • Distinguished Alumni Award, NIT Tiruchirappalli (2023) [3]

V. Senthil Kumar is an Indian entrepreneur and media-technology specialist who co-founded Qube Cinema (formerly Real Image Media Technologies), a company that supplies digital-cinema hardware and services in more than 50 countries. [4] In 2020 he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars) as a Member-at-Large, one of the first Indian technologists to receive the honour. [5] [6]

Contents

Early life and education

Kumar was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on 7 November 1963, to film producer-director Arun Veerappan. He is the grandson of A.V. Meiyappa Chettiar, founder of the historic AVM Studios. [7] He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science Engineering from the Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirappalli (now NIT Tiruchirappalli) in 1985. [3]

Career

Media Artists

Soon after graduating, Kumar founded Media Artists (1986), an audio and video post-production studio in Chennai that introduced time-code-based multitrack recording and digital audio recording to Indian cinema [4] as well as computer graphics for television content. [8]

Real Image

In 1992, he and advertising filmmaker Jayendra Panchapakesan established Real Image to introduce emerging film and video production tools in the Indian market. [8]

Qube Cinema

Real Image began developing a domestic digital cinema system in 2000. The first commercial rollout of the Qube XP server and projector took place in 35 Tamil-Nadu screens in April 2005, after which the network expanded nationally. [4] Later developments included:

Real Image Media Technologies formally adopted its product name, becoming Qube Cinema Technologies in 2017. [9]

Accessibility

Kumar has presented on accessibility in cinema at the 55th IFFI in Goa in Nov 2025 [10] and at the AbilityFEST 2025 [11] in conversation with festival Chairperson Ms. Revathy.

Awards and honours

Patents

Granted patents (selected)

Personal life

Kumar married social worker Vandana Gopikumar in 2004; the couple live in Chennai. [18] He serves as a trustee of The Banyan, the mental-health NGO co-founded by his wife. [19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Qube Cinema founder gets Lifetime Achievement award". International Business Times. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  2. ↑ IMAX Big Cine Expo 2018 – Special Achievement Award. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Distinguished Alumni Awards 2022–23" (PDF). National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Govardan, D. (21 November 2022). "They changed the way we watch movies". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  5. 1 2 Suganth, M. (1 July 2020). "Chennai-based movie tech guru Senthil Kumar gets Academy invite". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  6. 1 2 Rajendran, Sowmya (1 July 2020). "Chennai Qube Cinemas' Senthil Kumar on being invited to be Academy member". The News Minute. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  7. ↑ Warrier, Shobha (25 November 2013). "Indian entrepreneurs have 100 times more opportunities today". Rediff GetAhead. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  8. 1 2 "Digitizing Films". Times of India. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  9. ↑ "Digital studio Real Image renamed as Qube Cinema". Digital Studio India. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  10. ↑ "Accessibility is not a feature, it's a social imperative, says Senthil Kumar at IFFI". Deccan Herald. 29 November 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  11. ↑ "How visually impaired students watched Tourist Family". The Hindu. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "Indywood IT Excellence Awards 2017". Indywood IT Excellence Awards 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  13. ↑ "Big Cine Awards 2018". IMAX Big Cine Awards. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  14. ↑ "Big Cine Expo successfully concludes its third edition". 29 August 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  15. ↑ "IMAX Big Cine Awards 2018 - SENTHIL KUMAR (Qube Cinema)". YouTube. Network208. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  16. ↑ "Oscars: How Senthil Kumar's Qube Cinema changed the Indian film industry". The Federal. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  17. ↑ "NIT-T fetes distinguished alumni". The Times of India. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  18. ↑ "Old, eclectic and with a touch of jazz". The New Indian Express. 6 March 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  19. ↑ "Our Team & Leadership". The Banyan. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
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