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	There are currently six acknowledged superstars in Kollywood ''viz'' ], ], ], ], ] and ]. They receive a salary of more than Rs.45 million. Their films regularly fetch minimum guarantees of at least Rs.250 million for their distributors (from exhibitors). Their films open in at least 200 screens throughout Tamil Nadu. This elite club has the privilege of choosing the cast and technicians of their films.		There are currently six acknowledged superstars in Kollywood ''viz'' ], ], ], ], ] and ]. They receive a salary of more than Rs.45 million. Their films regularly fetch minimum guarantees of at least Rs.250 million for their distributors (from exhibitors). Their films open in at least 200 screens throughout Tamil Nadu. This elite club has the privilege of choosing the cast and technicians of their films.

	There are also rising superstars like ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. They receive a salary of between Rs. 10 million and Rs. 35 million. Their films have opening and total grosses similar to that of the aforementioned superstars.		There are also rising superstars like ], ], ], ],], ] and ]. They receive a salary of between Rs. 10 million and Rs. 35 million. Their films have opening and total grosses similar to that of the aforementioned superstars.
	Other than the heroes there are also heroines who are considered as ]. ] became the undisputed No.1 in Tamil cinema by her performance in ]. She receives a salary of Rs. 40 million per film, the highest by a ] ]. She is followed by ], ], ] and ], who all receive salaries of between Rs. 7 million and Rs. 25 million.		Other than the heroes there are also heroines who are considered as ]. ] became the undisputed No.1 in Tamil cinema by her performance in ]. She receives a salary of Rs. 40 million per film, the highest by a ] ]. She is followed by ], ], ] and ], who all receive salaries of between Rs. 7 million and Rs. 25 million.
	Unlike Hollywood or Bollywood, Kollywood superstars are also politically powerful. Their votes and press releases have effected dramatic swings in several polls in Tamil Nadu.		Unlike Hollywood or Bollywood, Kollywood superstars are also politically powerful. Their votes and press releases have effected dramatic swings in several polls in Tamil Nadu.

Revision as of 19:09, 11 August 2006

Kollywood is a name often applied to Tamil Cinema, based in Chennai (formerly Madras) in the state of Tamil Nadu in south India. The name is a conflation of Kodambakkam and Hollywood, and mirrors the adaptation of Bollywood by the Mumbai-based film industry. Kodambakkam is an area in Chennai, in and around which there is a high concentration of film studios, and where many people involved with Tamil cinema live. ("Kollywood" is also occasionally used to mean the much smaller film industry of Nepal - after the capital city, Kathmandu ).

In 2003, according to the Central Board of Film Certification, Tamil film industry stood third in terms of number of films produced (222 Hindi Movies, 155 Telugu Movies and 151 Tamil movies were certified in 2003..) Kollywood witnessed three new releases on average every week in 2005 and annual turnover of over Rs.23,205 million ($526 million) on ticket sales of 700 million. Silent movies were produced in Kollywood since 1916 and the era of talkies dawned in 1931. By the end of the Thirties, the industry was booming so much that the Madras legislature passed the pioneering Entertainment Tax Act 1939 with little opposition.

Some believe Tamil cinema to have the widest distribution after Hindi cinema. It has enjoyed consistent popularity among Tamil speakers in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and other South East Asian countries. Tamil-language films have recently become popular in Japan, South Africa, UK and Canada. Many successful Tamil films have been re-made by other film industries like Hindi film industry and Telugu film industry.

It is estimated by Manorama Yearbook 2000 that over 5,000 Tamil films have been produced in the 20th century. For a complete list of Tamil films see Tamil films database. Tamil films have also been dubbed into other languages, thus reaching a much wider audience. Examples of those dubbed into Hindi include such hits as Minsaara Kanavu, Roja and Bombay. Anniyan, a recent Tamil film became the first Indian film to be dubbed into French. See popular Tamil films.

Tamil film history

Films entered into Tamil nadu as soon as the invention of silent films by lumiere brothers in 1897.In 1899 silent films were shown at some parts of chennai in Tamil Nadu. There has been a growing presence of English in dialogues and songs as well. It is not uncommon to see movies which feature dialogues studded with English words and phrases, or even whole sentences. Some movies are also simultaneously made in two or three languages (either using subtitles, or several soundtracks). Quite often, Tamil movies feature Madras Bashai which is the version of Tamil spoken in Madras.

Tamil films and politicians

The Tamil film industry has a long intertwining link with creating future politicians. The first non-Congress Chief Minister C. N. Annadurai and the current Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi wrote cine scripts. Long-time Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. G. Ramachandran (MGR) was a well known actor in Kollywood. Former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was also a popular actress. Moreover, many in the field are currently in houses of Parliament or Assembly, while future aspirants are ready to take wing.

Industrial trends

Average annual film output in Tamil film industry has risen steadily in the 20th century:

Thirties - 22.5 releases per year on average
Fourties - 22.1 releases per year on average
Fifties - 32.6 releases per year on average
Sixties - 43.0 releases per year on average
Seventies - 62.5 releases per year on average
Eighties - 104.6 releases per year on average
Nineties - 101.2 releases per year on average

For the purpose of entertainment tax, returns have to be filed by the exhibitors weekly (usually each Tuesday). http://www.tnsalestax.com/briefent.htm This is a chart of trend of box office collections of Kollywood with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.

Year	Tamil film Box Office
1980	808
1985	1,564
1990	3,133
1995	7,820
2000	14,110
2005	23,205

Tamil film industry accounts for 1% of the gross state domestic product of Tamil Nadu. Costs of production have grown exponentially from just over Rs.3 million in 1980 to nearly Rs.200 million by 2005 for a typical star-studded big-budget film. Similarly, cost of processing per print have expanded from just under Rs.2,000 in 1980 to nearly Rs.67,000 by 2005. Tamil Nadu government has given entertainment tax exemption for Tamil movies having chaste tamil word(s) title name. This is vide the Governement Order 72 passed on 22/07/06. and the first movie to release after the new G.O was " Unnakkum Ennakum ". Previously the movie had a title "Something something Unakkum Ennakkum", a half english and a half Tamil title.

Superstar Club

There are currently six acknowledged superstars in Kollywood viz Rajini, Kamal, Ajith, Vijay, Surya and Vikram. They receive a salary of more than Rs.45 million. Their films regularly fetch minimum guarantees of at least Rs.250 million for their distributors (from exhibitors). Their films open in at least 200 screens throughout Tamil Nadu. This elite club has the privilege of choosing the cast and technicians of their films.

There are also rising superstars like Dhanush, Silambarasan, Vishal, Sibiraj,Jayam Ravi, Madhavan and Jeeva. They receive a salary of between Rs. 10 million and Rs. 35 million. Their films have opening and total grosses similar to that of the aforementioned superstars. Other than the heroes there are also heroines who are considered as Superstars. Jyothika became the undisputed No.1 in Tamil cinema by her performance in Chandramukhi. She receives a salary of Rs. 40 million per film, the highest by a South Indian actress. She is followed by Trisha Krishnan, Asin Thottumkal, Nayantara and Namitha, who all receive salaries of between Rs. 7 million and Rs. 25 million. Unlike Hollywood or Bollywood, Kollywood superstars are also politically powerful. Their votes and press releases have effected dramatic swings in several polls in Tamil Nadu.

Exhibitors

There are an estimated 1,800-odd permanent exhibitors in Kollywood of which 125-odd exhibitors are located in Chennai district. This is a select list of the most prominent of the lot in the box office.

Sathyam - 1,266 seats (Chennai district)
Albert - 1,225 seats (Chennai district)
Devi - 1,212 seats (Chennai district)
Melody - 998 seats (Chennai district)
Abirami - 927 seats (Chennai district)
Kasi - 917 seats (Chennai district)
Sangam - 877 seats (Chennai district)
Maharani - 733 seats (Chennai district)
Udhayam - 700 seats (Chennai district)
Santham - 567 seats (Chennai district)
Padmam - 540 seats (Chennai district)
Suriyan - 480 seats (Chennai district)
Devi Bala - 369 seats (Chennai district)
Subham - 306 seats (Chennai district)

Show rentals range from Rs1,750 in C-centres to as much as Rs7,000 in A-centres for an average 700-seat screen. Unlike Hollywood, super stardom is deeply ingrained into Kollywood economics. So distributors are prepared to not only finance the films of super stars with proven track record but are also in turn able to secure minimum guarantees for those films from exhibitors! Rise of multiplexes in the Nineties has stunted the growth of large screens.

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