Tamil Cinema and the elusive 1000-crore benchmark – Episode 1
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion became the first Indian film to cross the 1000-crore (Rs 10 Billion) mark in worldwide takings. There are now only 8 Indian films to cross that milestone: 4 Telugu Films (Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, RRR, Kalki and Pushpa 2), 3 Hindi films (Dangal, Jawan and Pathaan) and one Kannada film (KGF: […]
Rajinikanth: The untold story
Rajinikanth is one of the most iconic actors in Tamil film history with a cult-like following that venerates him almost as a God. He turns 74 on Thursday, 12 December but he enjoys adulation from little children to seniors and his fame has spread far beyond the Indian borders. Despite numerous health challenges, he continues […]
History of Tamil Cinema – Part 4
On 5 February 1937 there released a film titled Balayogini released simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu. It is said to be the first children’s film of South India and one of the first strongly socialist films. Director K Subramanyam – C.V. Krishnaswamy Iyer who was greatly influenced by the reformist and revolutionary ideas of his […]
History of Tamil Cinema – Part 3
The first release for 1936 was the devotional film, Kuchela which had music composer Papanasam Sivan playing the lead role in addition to scoring the music. Director K. Subramaniam cast his wife, SD Subbulakshmi, in an unusual dual role – a first for Indian cinema. She played a male role – that of Lord Krishna […]
History of Tamil Cinema – Part 2
In Part 1 we discussed the pioneers of Indian Cinema and the progression from silent films to the release of the first film with sound in 1931. PK Nagalingam was renamed Raja Sandow after the German bodybuilder, Eugen Sandow, because of the former’s muscular build. He was the first director to introduce socio-political themes in […]
The Dhanush-Nayanthara Clash: A personal view
Whilst there had been an editorial decision by Sigaram to stay away from stories pertaining to the personal lives of the stars (including gossip), the events of the last week has necessitated a response, mainly because the current discussions on social media has hinged around a vague or no understanding of the facts. I will […]
History of Tamil Cinema – Part 1
Although Tamil cinema is said to have begun with the release of the 1931 film, Kalidas, it is more accurate to state that Kalidas was the first South Indian talkie. The film had dialogue in Tamil and Telugu and starred the renowned T.P. Rajalakshmi with P.G. Venketesan and LV Prasad (founder of Prasad Studios) Tamil […]
Interview with Nandhini JS
The growth and popularity of OTT platforms has led to the creation of new markets for good quality serials that go way beyond the soap operas of most Chennai-based TVchannels. I spoke to Nandhini, JS, a film director who made her big screen debut with the romantic comedy Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru (2009) and was […]
Interview with Gautham Vasudev Menon
I got to chat to Gautham Vasudev Menon in the week in which he launched his first original song, Mutha Pitchai in which he sang the vocals to original music which he composed. In South Africa, the song went on to reach Number 1 on the Tamil top 20, a position it held for two […]
Why MR Radha shot MGR – A Quest for the Truth
On 12 January 1967 shortly after 16h00, actor MR Radha walked into MGR’s house and shot him at point blank range before turning the gun on himself in an attempted suicide. Miraculously, both survived, but the truth behind the curious incident has remained a mystery. There are many versions of the incident, but the truth […]