51-535: Arvind Swamy (born 18 June 1970) is an Indian actor, film director and entrepreneur known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi cinema , Telugu cinema and Malayalam cinema . He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuster film Thalapathi (1991) and subsequently starred in successful films such as Roja (1992), Bombay (1995), Minsara Kanavu (1997), Thani Oruvan (2015), and Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018). He made his debut as
102-538: A Bachelor of Commerce degree. He then went to the United States to do his master's degree in international business from Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Arvind Swamy wished to be a doctor. In college, he used to be a model for pocket money. In his Loyola Theatre Society, he wasn't well received and was asked to get off stage. Later on Mani Ratnam saw him in an advertisement and called for
153-956: A town or village to screen the films. The first of its kind was established in Madras , called "Edison's Grand Cinemamegaphone". This was due to the fact that electric carbons were used for motion picture projectors. Most of the films screened then were shorts made in the United States and Britain . In 1909, an Englishman, T. H. Huffton, founded Peninsular Film Services in Madras and produced some short films for local audiences. But soon, hour-long films, which narrated dramatic stories, then known as " drama films ", were imported. From 1912 onwards, feature films made in Bombay (now Mumbai ) were also screened in Madras. The era of short films had ended. The arrival of drama films firmly established cinema as
204-596: A decent market. Tamil films have enjoyed consistent popularity among populations in South East Asia . Since Chandralekha , Muthu was the second Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese (as Mutu: Odoru Maharaja ) and grossed a record $ 1.6 million in 1998. In 2010, Enthiran grossed a record $ 4 million in North America. Many Tamil-language films have premiered or have been selected as special presentations at various film festivals across
255-735: A director in the Netflix anthology series Navarasa (2021) in which his segment was named Rowthiram (Raudra - Anger) . He is a recipient of three Filmfare Award South , one Tamil Nadu State Film Award and two SIIMA Awards. Swamy also starred in other regional film industries, including Telugu and Malayalam films where he has done films such as Mounam (1995), Daddy (1992) and Devaraagam (1996). He has also appeared in Hindi , making his debut appearance as lead actor in Saat Rang Ke Sapne (1998). He briefly worked as
306-531: A few months. Once it was demonstrated as a commercial proposition, a Western entrepreneur, Warwick Major, built the first cinema theatre , the Electric Theatre, which still stands. It was a favourite haunt of the British community in Madras. The theatre was shut down after a few years. This building is now part of a post office complex on Anna Salai ( Mount Road ). The Lyric Theatre was also built in
357-656: A few production schedules. The former two, which featured him opposite Hindi actresses Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor , respectively, eventually did not have a theatrical release. Sasanam , which he worked on without remuneration, had a delayed release in 2006. Two prominent Hindi films that he signed during the period, Mahesh Bhatt 's venture with Aishwarya Rai , and Anupam Kher 's directorial debut film co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, also eventually were dropped. His final two releases before his sabbatical, En Swasa Kaatre (1999) and Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya (2000) also took several years to complete, with long delays during
408-420: A grand exhibition was organised in Madras . Its major attraction was the screening of short films accompanied by sound. A British company imported a Crone megaphone , made up of a film projector to which a gramophone with a disc containing prerecorded sound was linked, and both were run in unison, producing picture and sound simultaneously. However, there was no synched dialogue . Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu ,
459-470: A meeting. Then Santosh Sivan introduced him to the basics of film-making. Swamy made his debut in Mani Ratnam 's action drama film, Thalapathi (1991), where he played a young district collector pitted against a don and his own biological brother. Subsequently, Mani Ratnam signed him on to play the lead role in his 1992 political drama film Roja (1992). Roja and Bombay (1995) won awards at
510-638: A permanent cinema house in Madras—Gaiety, in 1914, the first cinema house in Madras to be built by an Indian. He soon added two more, Crown Theatre in Mint and Globe (later called Roxy) in Purasawalkam . Swamikannu Vincent, who had built one of the first cinema halls of South India in Coimbatore , introduced the concept of "Tent Cinema" in which a tent was erected on a stretch of open land close to
561-566: A popular entertainment form. More cinema houses came up in the city. Fascinated by this new entertainment form, an automobile dealer in the Thousand Lights area of Madras, R. Nataraja Mudaliyar , decided to venture into film production. After a few days' training in Pune with the cinematographer Stewart Smith, the official cinematographer of Lord Curzon 's 1903 Durbar, he started a film production concern in 1916. The man who truly laid
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#1732782393417612-589: A remake of Thani Oruvan , for which he got appreciation from the Telugu audience. Later that year, he appeared in a Hindi film, Dear Dad . The game show Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi recruited Swamy for its third season, which started airing on 30 May 2016. In 2017, he played the title role of Bogan , co-starring Jayam Ravi , for which he again got an outstanding response from critics and audience. In 2018, he acted in Bhaskar Oru Rascal , playing
663-474: A role in one of his films, Kadal (2013) for which Swamy dropped 15 kilograms. In 2013, he provided the voice-over for Santhosh Sivan's film Ceylon . In 2015, he played the iconic negative role of Sidharth Abhimanyu in Thani Oruvan , for which he was highly praised and received positive reviews and many awards. In 2016, he reprised the same role in Telugu in the film Dhruva with Ram Charan ,
714-740: A secondary hub for Hindi cinema , other South Indian film industries, as well as for Sri Lankan cinema . Over the last quarter of the 20th century, Tamil films established a global presence, enjoying strong box office collections among Tamil-speaking audiences in Sri Lanka , Malaysia , and Singapore . Tamil films are also distributed throughout the Middle East , Oceania , Europe , North America , parts of Africa , and Japan . The industry also inspired independent filmmaking among Tamil diaspora populations in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and
765-400: A son Rudra, born in 2000. The couple lived separately for seven years until 2010, when they filed for divorce. He was granted the custody of his children. He married Aparna Mukerjee in 2012. Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language , the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu . It
816-460: A standard deviation of ±10 lakh tickets during 2011–16. The Chennai film industry produced the first nationally distributed film across India in 1948 with Chandralekha . They have one of the widest overseas distribution, with large audience turnout from the Tamil diaspora . They are distributed to various parts of Asia, Africa, Western Europe, North America and Oceania. Many successful Tamil films have been remade by other film industries. It
867-586: A studio, the first in south India, was set up in Madras at 10 Millers Road, Kilpauk. He called it the India Film Company. Rangavadivelu, an actor from Suguna Vilasa Sabha, a theatre company then, was hired to train the actors. Thirty-five days later, the first feature film made in south India, The Extermination of Keechakan / Keechakavatham , based on an episode from the Mahabharata , was released produced and directed by R. Nataraja, who established
918-704: A successful photographer , took over the equipment after the exhibition and set up a tent cinema near the Madras High Court . With this equipment, he screened the short films Pearl Fish and Raja's Casket in the Victoria Public Hall. When this proved successful, he screened the films in a tent set up in Esplanade. These tent events were the true precursors of the cinema shows. Naidu travelled with this unit to Burma (now Myanmar ) and Sri Lanka , and when he had gathered enough money, he put up
969-603: A television presenter as the host of the third season of Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi (2012–2016) on Star Vijay . Swamy's parents are industrialist V. D. Swamy and Bharatanatyam dancer Vasantha. Swamy studied at the Sishya School and later in Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School , P. S. Senior Secondary School and completed his schooling in 1987. He then graduated from Loyola College, Madras in 1990 with
1020-767: Is estimated by the Manorama Yearbook 2000 (a popular almanac) that over 5,000 Tamil films were produced in the 20th century. Tamil films have also been dubbed into other languages, thus reaching a much wider audience. There has been a growing presence of English in dialogue and songs in Chennai films. It is not uncommon to see movies that feature dialogue 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). Chennai's film composers have popularised their highly unique, syncretic style of film music across
1071-587: Is nicknamed Kollywood , a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam , a neighbourhood in Chennai , 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 . Tamil cinema has been noted for its advanced narratives and diverse films, with several productions in
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#17327823934171122-797: The Central Board of Film Certification alone were eligible for tax exemption and those with an "A" certificate could not fit into this category. There are three major roles in the Tamil film value chain viz producer, distributor and exhibitor. The distributor purchases theatrical distribution rights from the producer for exhibiting the film in a defined territory. The distributor performs enhanced functions such as: There are three popular approaches to transfer of distribution rights via distribution contracts: There are four popular approaches to transfer of exhibition rights via exhibition contracts: Film studios in Chennai are bound by legislation, such as
1173-412: The Madras audience. The legendary Otraivadai drama theatre had been built in 1872 itself in Mint. Many drama halls had come up in the city where short silent films were screened in the afternoon and plays were enacted in the night. The scene changed in 1934 when Madras got its first sound studio. By this time, all the cinema houses in Madras had been wired for sound. Narayanan, who had been active during
1224-609: The State and National Film Awards . His performance in Bombay was called "soulful" by Time Magazine. Swamy has won several awards, popular and critical, for his films. He has been described as one of the first few actors in India who is able to achieve pan-Indian appeal. He lent his voice for the Tamil dubbed version of the adult Simba in Disney 's The Lion King (1994). His next project
1275-403: The Tamil -language only. This is in accordance with Government Order 72 passed on 22 July 2006. The first film to be released after the new Order was Unakkum Enakkum . The original title had been Something Something Unakkum Ennakkum , a half-English and a half-Tamil title. In July 2011, strict norms on entertainment tax were passed which stated that films which were given a "U" certificate by
1326-690: The West . M. Edwards first screened a selection of silent films at the Victoria Public Hall in Madras in 1897 during the British Raj . The selected films all featured non-fictional subjects; they were mostly photographed records of day-to-day events. The film scholar Stephen Hughes points out that within a few years there were regular ticketed shows in a hall in Pophams Broadway, started by one Mrs. Klug, but this lasted only for
1377-491: The film projector and silent films from the Frenchman Du Pont and set up a business as film exhibitor . Soon, he tied up with Pathé , a well-known pioneering film-producing company, and imported projectors . This helped new cinema houses to sprout across the presidency . In later years, he produced talkies and also built a cinema in Coimbatore . To celebrate the event of King George V 's visit in 1909,
1428-509: The 1990s and early 2000s cutting across ethnic and linguistic barriers. Such films include Roja (1992), Indian (1996), Pokkiri (2007), Enthiran (2010). Tamil cinema has since produced some of the most commercially successful actors, directors and films of Indian cinema. By the end of the 1930s, the legislature of the State of Madras passed the Entertainment Tax Act of 1939. Madras (now Chennai), then became
1479-806: The Cinematography Film Rules of 1948, the Cinematography Act of 1952, and the Copyright Act of 1957. In Tamil Nadu , cinema ticket prices are regulated by the government . Single screen theatres may charge a maximum of ₹ 50, while theatres with more than three screens may charge a maximum of ₹ 120 per ticket. Pudhayal Pudhayal ( transl. Treasure ) is a 1997 Indian Tamil -language heist adventure film directed by Selva . The film stars Mammootty , Arvind Swamy and Sakshi Shivanand . The score and soundtrack are composed by Vidyasagar . It
1530-514: The India Film Company Limited. Despite a century of increasing box office takings, Tamil cinema remains informal. Nevertheless, there are few exceptions like Modern Theatres, Gemini Studios , AVM and Sri Thenandal Films that survived beyond 100 productions. In 2017, opposing the dual taxation of GST (28%) and entertainment tax (30%), Tamilnadu Theatre Owners Association announced indefinite closure of all cinemas in
1581-617: The Mount Road area. This venue boasted a variety of events, including plays in English, Western classical music concerts, and ballroom dances . Silent films were also screened as an additional attraction. Swamikannu Vincent , a railway draftsman from Tiruchirapalli , became a travelling exhibitor in 1905. He showed short movies in a tent in Esplanade , near the present Parry's Corner, using carbide jet-burners for projection. He bought
Arvind Swamy - Misplaced Pages Continue
1632-411: The box office after a slow start, with Arvind Swami eventually stating he was happy to be a part of the film. His next film, Pudhayal (1997), again saw him portray a role with a cast headlined by another actor, Mammootty . In the film, Arvind wore uncharacteristically loud clothes and portrayed a comedy-oriented role for the first time in his career. Working on the two films meant that he missed out on
1683-531: The character Mammootty did in the original. The film was followed by Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018). The film was released to positive reviews which also got him the Filmfare Award . In 2021, he acted in A. L. Vijay 's directorial biographical-political drama Thalaivii opposite Kangana Ranaut . He portrayed the character of actor-politician M. G. Ramachandran in the film. He returned to Malayalam cinema after 25 years with Ottu (2022). In
1734-556: The constructed nature of their work so that the realistic narrative was wholly dominant, Indian filmmakers made no attempt to conceal the fact that what was shown on the screen was a creation, an illusion, a fiction. However, they demonstrated how this creation intersected with people's day-to-day lives in complex ways. By the end of the 1930s, the State of Madras legislature passed the Entertainment Tax Act 1939 . In 1916,
1785-542: The course of nine years. Likewise, Naragasooran and Kallapart began their shoot in mid-2017 and mid-2018 respectively, but neither film has had a theatrical release. Other projects such as the Hindi-Tamil bilingual remake of Marathi film Kaksparsh and Santhosh Jayakumar's Pulanaivu were shelved despite entering production. Swamy married Gayathri Ramamurthy in June 1994 and has one daughter Adhira, born in 1996, and
1836-576: The early cinema were the cultural influences of the country. The Tamil -language was the medium in which many plays and stories were written since the ages as early as the Cholas . They were highly stylised and nature of the spectacle was one which could attract the people. Along with this, music and dance were one of the main entertainment sources. There is a strong Indian tradition of narrating mythology, history, fairy tales and so on through song and dance. Whereas Hollywood filmmakers strove to conceal
1887-567: The first Tamil film to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film , the feat was repeated by Kanchivaram in 2007. Tamil films enjoy significant patronage in neighbouring Indian states like Kerala , Karnataka , Andhra Pradesh , Maharashtra , Gujarat and New Delhi . In Kerala and Karnataka the films are directly released in Tamil but in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh they are generally dubbed into Telugu where they have
1938-492: The foundations of Tamil cinema was A. Narayanan. After a few years in film distribution, he set up a production company in Madras, the General Pictures Corporation, popularly known as GPC. Beginning with The Faithful Wife / Dharmapathini (1929), GPC made about 24 feature films. GPC functioned as a film school and its alumni included names such as Sundara Rao Nadkarni and Jiten Banerji. The studio of GPC
1989-583: The globe, such as Mani Ratnam 's Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), Vasanthabalan 's Veyyil (2006) and Ameer Sultan 's Paruthiveeran (2007). Kanchivaram (2009) was selected to be premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival . Tamil films have been a part of films submitted by India for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language on eight occasions, next only to Hindi. Mani Ratnam's Nayakan (1987)
2040-468: The late 2010s, several of Arvind Swamy's films were delayed or shelved as a result of production troubles and the actor's insistence to have his salary settled. Production on Sathuranga Vettai 2 began in July 2016, but remains unreleased following a payment dispute with the film's producer Manobala . Vanangamudi was conceptualised by director Selva in 2014, with the shoot taking place in a slow manner over
2091-569: The opportunity of acting in Mani Ratnam's Iruvar (1997). He appeared in his first Hindi film through Priyadarshan 's Saat Rang Ke Sapne (1998) produced by Amitabh Bachchan . Co-starring Juhi Chawla , Arvind portrayed the role of a village do-gooder. In the late 1990s, several of Arvind Swami's films ran into production troubles. Three of his Tamil films, Gandhi Krishna 's Engineer , Azhagam Perumal 's Mudhal Mudhalaaga and Mahendran 's Sasanam were all stalled after completing
Arvind Swamy - Misplaced Pages Continue
2142-455: The production phase. Swamy eventually stopped acting in films post-2000, after playing a guest role in Mani Ratnam's Alaipayuthey , and opted to concentrate on his business interests. As the director of V D Swamy and Company, he continued to engage in international trade and construction businesses. In 2000, he became the president of InterPro Global, and the chairman and managing director of Prolease India, engaged in transaction processing. He
2193-583: The silent era, founded Srinivasa Cinetone in which his wife worked as the sound recordist. Srinivasa Kalyanam (1934), directed by Narayanan, was the first sound film (talkie) produced in Madras. The second sound studio to come up in Madras was Vel Pictures, started by M. D. Rajan on Eldams Road in the Dunmore bungalow, which belonged to the Raja of Pithapuram . Before long, more sound studios came up. Thirty-six talkies were made in Madras in 1935. The main impacts of
2244-418: The state from 3 July 2017. The strike has been called off and the cinemas will be playing the movies starting Friday 7 July 2017. Government has formed a committee to decide on the existence of state's 30% entertainment tax. It was reported that, per day business loss during the strike was around ₹ 20 crores. Annual admissions in Chennai multiplexes and single screens averaged 1.1 crore tickets with
2295-515: The world. Quite often, Tamil movies feature Madras Tamil , a colloquial version of Tamil spoken in Chennai . Keechaka Vadham (1918) was the first silent film made in South India . Kalidas (1931) was the first Tamil talkie film made in 1931. Kalava (1932) was the first full-length talkie made entirely in Tamil. Nandanar (1935) was the first film for American film director Ellis R. Dungan . Balayogini released in 1937
2346-544: Was Indira (1995), followed by the Telugu film Mounam (1995) and Malayalam movie Devaraagam (1996). He starred in Rajiv Menon 's Minsaara Kanavu alongside Kajol and Prabhu Deva , which won four National Film Awards besides high box office reviews. During the making of the film, Arvind Swami was critical of Menon changing the script to prioritise Prabhu Deva's role. The film eventually performed well at
2397-436: Was considered to be first children's film of South India. It is estimated by the Manorama Yearbook 2000 (a popular almanac) that over 5,000 Tamil films were produced in the 20th century. Tamil films have also been dubbed into other languages, thus reaching a much wider audience. There has been a growing presence of English in dialogue and songs in Chennai films. In 1991, Marupakkam directed by K.S. Sethu Madhavan , became
2448-699: Was housed in the Chellapalli bungalow on Thiruvottiyur High Road in Madras. This company, which produced the most Tamil silent films, had branches in Colombo , Rangoon and Singapore . The Ways of Vishnu / Vishnu Leela , which R. Prakasa made in 1932, was the last silent film produced in Madras. The silent era of south Indian cinema has not been documented well. When the talkies appeared, film producers had to travel to Bombay or Calcutta to make films. Most films of this early period were celluloid versions of well-known stage plays. Company dramas were popular among
2499-472: Was in charge of operations and technology for the delivery of many processes across different verticals globally. He then founded Talent Maximus in 2005, a company engaged in payroll processing and temporary staffing in India. In 2005, he had an accident and injured his spine. He experienced partial paralysis of his leg and suffered in pain for many years. The treatment took another 4–5 years. After his successful treatment, Mani Ratnam called him once more to play
2550-549: Was included in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list. Average annual film output in Tamil film industry peaked in 1985. The Tamil film market accounts for approximately 0.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the state of Tamil Nadu . For the purpose of entertainment taxes, returns have to be filed by the exhibitors weekly (usually each Tuesday). The Government of Tamil Nadu made provisions for an entertainment tax exemption for Tamil films having titles in words from
2601-414: Was released on 30 January 1997, and was a box office success. Arvind Swami said he accepted the film because he felt he suited the role offered to him. He said, "Since the character was a sort of an idiot, I had to play it accordingly... right down to my garish costumes". Soundtrack was composed by Vidyasagar . Lyrics were written by Vairamuthu . The song "Baba Baba" is based on "Bohemian Ballet" by
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