Cinema of South India
Although the four industries developed independently for a long period of time, gross exchange of artists and technicians, as well as globalisation helped to shape this new identity.
This collaboration resulted in major hits such as Baahubali, KGF, Lokesh Cinematic Universe, Jailer, Lucifer, Pushpa, RRR, Kalki 2898 AD, Manjummel Boys, Amaran, and Salaar.
[10] In 1897, a European exhibitor first screened a selection of silent short films at the Victoria Public Hall in Madras (Present-day Chennai).
[11] This venue boasted a variety of events, including plays in English, Western classical music concerts, and ballroom dances.
Raghupathy Venkaiah Naidu, a successful photographer, took over the equipment after the exhibition and set up a tent cinema near the Madras High Court.
[11] R. Venkaiah, flush with funds, in 1912 built a permanent cinema in the Mount Road area named Gaiety Theatre.
[17] During the 1920s, silent Tamil language films were shot at makeshift locations in and around Chennai, and for technical processing, they were sent to Pune or Calcutta.
[18] The two, along with Yaragudipati Varada Rao, would go on to produce and direct dozens of films throughout the decade, casting theater actors in major roles.
It was difficult, as well, to find financial backing for new film projects in the region; thus, very few movies in Kannada were released during the early years of Indian sound cinema.
The Madras presidency was divided into linguistic States, known today as Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
[27] Actors and writers of guerrilla theater, who were inspired by the ideologies of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, brought the philosophies of Tamil nationalism and anti-Brahminism to celluloid media.
His popularity enabled him to found a political party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which is regularly part of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
His film Bangaaradha Manushya created a record at the box office for successfully running in the main theaters for more than two continuous years.
They tell stories that are in tune with the culture, dialect, politics, social structure, and lifestyle of the people in their respective regions.
Similarly, K. Viswanath directed films based on arts — performing and visual, aesthetics, social structure and lifestyle of Telugu people.
For many years, films in Hindi have gone urbane and elitist, while down South, they remained rooted in telling the stories of people in a way they can enjoy as their own.
[30][31] Recent South Indian cinema sees a trend of violent heroes, deviating from virtuous protagonists of the past and embracing "bad boy" personas, with violence integrated into their characters gaining popularity.
Despite critics questioning the rationale, the enduring appeal of violent scenes persists, driven by fans of star-centric films.
The CBFC's inconsistent certification approach adds to ongoing discourse, reflecting changing preferences in the South Indian cinema landscape.
