Kamal Haasan is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter, social activist and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil, he has also appeared in some Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali films. Considered one of the finest actors in Indian cinema, Haasan is also known for introducing many new technologies and cosmetics to the Indian film industry. He has won numerous accolades, including Four National Film Awards, Nine Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Four Nandi Awards, One Rashtrapati Award, Two Filmfare Awards and 17 Filmfare Awards South. He was awarded the Kalaimamani Award in 1984, the Padma Shri in 1990, the Padma Bhushan in 2014 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier) in 2016.
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in international cinema. He is a winner of six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, fifteen Filmfare Awards and seventeen Filmfare Awards South. In 2010, the Indian government conferred him with the Padma Bhushan, the nation's third-highest civilian award.
Gopalaratnam Subramaniam, known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. He is one of India's most acclaimed and commercially successful filmmakers. Ratnam has won six National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards, six Filmfare Awards South, and numerous awards at various film festivals across the world. In 2002, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, acknowledging his contributions to film.
Srinivasa Sarja, better known by his stage name Arjun, is an Indian actor, producer, and director who works predominantly in Tamil cinema in addition to Telugu and Kannada films and a few Malayalam and Hindi films. Referred to by the media and his fans as "Action King" for his roles in action films, Arjun has acted in more than 160 films, most of them being lead roles. He is one of few South Indian actors to attract fan following from multiple states of India. He has directed 12 films and also produced and distributed a number of films.
Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hyderabad. As of 2021, Telugu cinema is the largest film industry in India in terms of box-office. Telugu films sold 23.3 crore tickets in 2022, the highest among various film industries in India.
Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language widely spoken in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam and Hollywood. The first Tamil silent film, Keechaka Vadham, was directed by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1918. The first Tamil talking feature film, Kalidas, a multilingual directed by H. M. Reddy was released on 31 October 1931, less than seven months after India's first talking motion picture Alam Ara.
Bharath Bala is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Vijay Gurunatha Sethupathi is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, two Filmfare Awards South and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. Having worked mainly in Tamil cinema, Sethupathi has also appeared in a few Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada language films.
Pannaiyarum Padminiyum is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by debutant S. U. Arun Kumar, based on his own eponymous short-film. Arun Kumar was a contestant in Naalaya Iyakunar. It features Vijay Sethupathi, Jayaprakash, and Aishwarya Rajesh in the lead roles, with Thulasi, Bala Saravanan, Neelima Rani, and Mahadevan in supporting roles. Sneha and Attakathi Dinesh appear in brief guest roles. Music for the film was composed by debutant Justin Prabhakaran and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad while the cinematography is by Gokul Binoy.
K. Hariharan is an Indian film director who has directed films in Tamil, Marathi and Hindi. Currently he is the professor of Film Studies at Krea University. Born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, his father H.Krishnan was the Chairman of Eastman Kodak. An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Hariharan formed "Yukt Film Co-operative" in 1976 together with his batch mates to make an experimental film called Ghashiram Kotwal. Ezhavathu Manithan, his directorial debut in Tamil cinema, won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil and was nominated for Golden St. George at the Moscow International Film Festival.
The 11th Chennai International Film Festival took place in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India from 12 to 19 December 2013. The event was organised by the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF) with support from the Government of Tamil Nadu. The festival was curated by actress-director Suhasini Maniratnam and inaugurated by Kamal Haasan and Aamir Khan. The Japanese drama Like Father, Like Son marked the beginning of the fest.
S. R. Prabhu is an Indian film producer. During his tenure at Studio Green (2010–13), he has produced 10 Tamil films and distributed 16 films in Tamil and Telugu. Later he founded Dream Warrior Pictures, a film production company in which his brother S. R. Prakashbabu has become partner in 2014. He is also a partner in Potential Studios, which is another film production company. S. R. Prabhu is a relative of the veteran actor Sivakumar and cousin of actors Suriya and Karthi.
Chennai has LGBTQIA cultures that are diverse concerning- socio-economic class, gender, and degree of visibility and politicisation. They have historically existed in the margins and surfaced primarily in contexts such as transgender activism and HIV prevention initiatives for men having sex with men (MSM) and trans women (TG).
Orinam is a non-funded, social, and activist collective that works to enhance understanding of alternate sexualities and gender identities among families, communities and society. It was founded in 2003 in Chennai under the name MovenPick and is one of the oldest collective of its kind in India. People affiliated with Orinam are from or trace their ancestry to the following geo-cultural: People of Tamil Origin from Tamil Nadu, India. Orinam provides a platform for creative expression, personal and social commentary by Queer people of Tamil Origin and of Indian Origin primarily. Orinam also acts as a local support group in Chennai for the queer community. Orinam also partners with the city-, state- and national initiatives around decriminalisation of homosexuality by amending Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and LGBTQ rights.
Dream Warrior Pictures is an Indian film production company based in Chennai. It was founded in 2010 by brothers S R Prakashbabu and S R Prabhu, who were partners in Studio Green during 2010–2013. They are also relatives of the veteran actor Sivakumar and cousins for actors Suriya and Karthi. They are prominent producers and distributors in India.
Joker is a 2016 Tamil-language political satire film from India. It was written and directed by Raju Murugan of Cuckoo fame and produced by S. R. Prakash Babu and S. R. Prabhu, under the banner Dream Warrior Pictures. The film stars Guru Somasundaram, Ramya Pandian, and Gayathri Krishnaa in the lead roles, while Mu Ramaswamy, Bava Chelladurai, and Bala Murugan are in supporting roles.
Amshan Kumar is an Indian filmmaker and writer. He has won a National Film Award for his documentary film Yazhpanan Thedchanamoorthy - Music beyond boundaries in the year 2015. This is a lone Tamil non-fiction film to win a National Award in the past 17 years prior to this award He is also a writer on films, his book Cinema Rasanai on film appreciation is being used as a textbook in many universities. His debut feature film Oruththi was selected for the 2003 International Film Festival of India and was screened in the Indian Panorama section. His second feature film Manusangada was screened in the 39th Cairo International Film Festival and also in the 48th International Film Festival of India (2017) in the Indian Panorama section. He lives in Chennai.
