93-546: Karthik Sivakumar (born 25 May 1977), known as Karthi , is an Indian actor and playback singer who works predominantly in Tamil cinema . He has won three Filmfare Awards South , an Edison Award , two SIIMA Awards and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award . The younger brother of the actor Suriya and son of actor Sivakumar , Karthi initially joined Mani Ratnam as an assistant director and made his acting debut with Paruthiveeran (2007), which earned him several accolades including
186-477: A folk music -based score and used rural sounds with instruments as dholak , nadaswaram , thavil and urumee . Yuvan Shankar Raja received critical acclaim for his score, while the soundtrack album initially got mostly unfavorable reviews, being described as a "letdown" and "disappointment", raising to question whether it could attract today's "modern" audience. Following the film's release however, critics unanimously made very positive remarks in regards to
279-707: A kingmaker in Tamil Nadu politics. The film opened to mixed reviews from critics, and became a box office failure. Karthi dubbed for himself for the Telugu version of Saguni (2012) and his since dubbed for the Telugu dubbed versions of all of his films and for one character in Brothers , the dubbed version of his brother Suriya 's Maattrraan (2012). He later appeared in the 2013 Pongal release Alex Pandian , opposite Anushka Shetty , which also opened to negative critical response upon release. Karthi's next release
372-956: 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
465-426: A ball ... " and "It's been a long time since you saw an actor who can be as convincing in sadness and rage, as in happiness." Naan Mahaan Alla was dubbed into Telugu and released as Naa Peru Shiva in 2011; it was very successful and earned Karthi some Telugu film offers. Karthi's next film was the action– masala Siruthai (2011), a remake of the 2006 Telugu film Vikramarkudu . He played two roles;
558-712: A chance to work as an assistant director in Aayutha Ezhuthu , because he wanted to become a film director and preferred directing to acting, though he did appear as an extra in Aayutha Ezhuthu . He continued to receive acting offers and his father convinced him to take up acting, telling him " ... one can always direct films, but one will not get a chance to act once you grow older". He accepted his first acting assignment with Priyamani as female lead in April 2005. When director Ameer approached him to play
651-406: A cheque of ₹ 50,000 to YRG Care Centre, which helps AIDS affected children. In 2011, Karthi became a cause ambassador for promoting awareness of lysosomal storage disease . He had also adopted a white tiger cub at Vandalur Zoo and contributed ₹ 72,000 to protect and preserve the animal. On his birthdays, Karthi visits orphanages and donates funds to them. In September 2010, Karthi signed
744-478: A commercially successful leading actor of Tamil cinema. Apart from his film career, Karthi has also been involved in social welfare activities, encouraging fans to do likewise through the "Makkal Nala Mandram", a social welfare club that he inaugurated. In 2011, he became a cause ambassador to promote awareness of lysosomal storage diseases . As of 2015, he is the treasurer of the Nadigar Sangam . Karthi
837-613: A contract with Bharti Airtel to become its brand ambassador in South India and appear in its "Indraikku enna plan" advertising campaign. He has also appeared in advertisements for Bru Instant Coffee along with Kajal Aggarwal , who had earlier acted opposite him in Naan Mahaan Alla and All in All Azhagu Raja . In 2015, Karthi joined fellow actors Vishal , Nassar , Karunas and Ponvannan to campaign against
930-564: A cool dude on screen. Karthi's performances in Aayirathil Oruvan and Paiyaa earned him further nominations at the 58th Filmfare Awards South in the Best Actor category. Both films were dubbed into Telugu as Yuganiki Okkadu and Aawara , respectively, and were successful. Karthi's third film in 2010 was Suseenthiran 's action thriller Naan Mahaan Alla , in which he played a middle class youth from Chennai whose life
1023-596: 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
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#17328016619511116-540: A failure. Karthi's Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru was directed by H. Vinoth and produced by Dream Warrior Pictures . It received critical acclaim and Karthi received a Filmfare Award South for the Best Actor – Critics for his performance. The film became a huge success at the box office. Right after Theeran Karthi acted in Kadaikutty Singam portrayed the role of a farmer directed by Pandiraj which has been produced by this brother Suriya which has gained
1209-531: 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
1302-420: 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 ,
1395-438: A huge commercial success, running successfully for more than one year in theatres. The story is set in a rural area around Madurai in the village called Paruthiyur, in 2005 which still practices caste segregation. Paruthiveeran "Paruthi" is a country brash whose inter-caste parents were ostracized by the villagers since his upper-caste Agamudayar father married his lower-caste Kurava mother. After his parents' death, Paruthi
1488-461: A part-time graphic designer . He then decided to pursue a career in filmmaking; he attended two courses in basic filmmaking at State University of New York . He stated: "I always knew I wanted to be in films, but I did not know exactly what I wanted to do. I loved movies and watched a lot of them. But my father insisted that I get a good education before I joined the film industry". When Karthi returned to Chennai, he met director Mani Ratnam and got
1581-638: 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
1674-566: 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
1767-740: 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
1860-517: A single jolt to his conscience." Despite gaining mixed critical response, the film achieved financial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of 2011. In 2011, Siruthai became Karthi's biggest commercial success, cementing his position in the Tamil film industry. Sify said that Karthi had become " ... one of the hottest stars in Kollywood ". He made a special appearance in
1953-518: A song in K. V. Anand 's Ko (2011), alongside other prominent actors from Tamil cinema. In May 2011, Karthi began working in the political comedy film Saguni , directed by Shankar Dayal and featuring him amongst an ensemble cast of supporting actors. He played Kamalakannan in the film, a villager who comes to the city to save his palatial house in Karaikudi from being destroyed for a politician's personal gain and unknowingly transforms to become
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#17328016619512046-460: 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
2139-586: 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
2232-704: 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
2325-461: A thief and a police officer. Karthi's performances received favourable reviews. Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote: "Karthi looks and performs better with every film. Siruthai exemplifies the observation". Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff wrote: "But the film belongs to Rocket Raja (Karthi), the sort of adorable ruffian Tamil cinema has been missing for a while. He picks pockets, slices off handbags, charms women and even bashes (!) them up without
2418-555: Is Karthi's debut film as he is just spectacular. His expressions, anger, laughter and anguish are all so realistic that you can feel the fire in him." Rediff called his performance "excellent", and " ... one of the top performances of 2007". Karthi received several accolades for his performance, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Tamil . In October 2006, Karthi signed his second project under Selvaraghavan 's direction, Idhu Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam , which
2511-601: Is Karthi's sister-in-law. On 3 July 2011, Karthi married Ranjani Chinnasamy, who graduated with a master's degree in English literature from Stella Maris College, Chennai . They were engaged on 29 April 2011 at Ranjani's native village, Goundampalayam in Erode district , and the wedding was held in a traditional Kongu culture at the CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex in Coimbatore . The wedding was arranged by
2604-487: Is a 2007 Indian Tamil -language romantic action drama film written and directed by Ameer . The film stars Karthi in his feature film debut as the title character , with Priyamani as the female lead and Ponvannan , Saravanan , Ganja Karuppu , Sampath Raj , and Sujatha Sivakumar playing supporting roles. Produced by Ameer , it features a soundtrack and score composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja , cinematograhy by Ramji and editing by Raja Mohammad . Paruthiveeran
2697-437: Is away making the necessary marital arrangements, she comes across four of Paruthi's acquaintances who mistake her for one of his prostitutes. They brutally gang rape and leave her to die. Later, Paruthiveeran returns and finds her dying from bleeding. She beseeches Paruthi to cut her into pieces as she does not want anybody to find her in her present state and dies. He tries to take her out from there, but sees people approaching
2790-404: Is born." Other critics have offered criticism of the violence and brutality of some sequences in the film. A Sify critic wrote that it was "undoubtedly [...] a brave film and full credit goes to the director for making every scene realistic and characters life-like", while criticizing that Ameer's script was "too thin on logic" and the climax "too heavy, dark and morbid." However, in regards to
2883-481: Is disrupted when his father is targeted by a gang of killers. It received good reviews, was very popular, and Karthi's performances was praised by critics. Sreedhar Pillai wrote for Sify: "[Karthi] nails the character to perfection" ... He is one good reason to see the film." Bhama Devi Ravi of Times of India wrote: " ... what a pleasure to see Karthi deliver his best performance to date ... ". Rediff wrote that "Karthi has simply had
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2976-767: 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
3069-449: Is strangely unresolved). We see, all the time, character actors striving to become larger-than-life heroes. For a change, here's a hero scaling himself down to play a life-sized character." Later that year, Karthi appeared in director Gokul 's Kaashmora . Though the film received mixed reviews, his performance was praised. Karthi's Kaatru Veliyidai , was directed and produced by Mani Ratnam . The film met with mixed reviews and became
3162-579: Is the daughter of his snobbish uncle, Kazhuvathevan Servai, who is a respected member of the village and a caste sectarian. Muththazhagu has been in love with Paruthi since their childhood, but he remains unmoved and keeps her at bay. When they were children, Paruthi saved Muththazhagu from drowning in a well. She promised to marry him and be by his side forever and starts to love him against her parents' will as they do not approve of Parututhi's inter-caste background. In order to delay her marriage with anybody else, she fails in her tests at school on purpose to be in
3255-745: 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
3348-512: The Filmfare Award for Best Actor . He went on to star in hit films like Paiyaa (2010), Naan Mahaan Alla (2010), Siruthai (2011), Madras (2014), Thozha (2016), Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru (2017), Kadaikutty Singam (2018), Kaithi (2019), Thambi (2019), Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022), Sardar (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023), thus establishing himself as
3441-561: The Hollywood production 300 during the Easter weekend. At the end of its run, the film had reportedly grossed a share ₹ 15 crore at the box office, being declared one of the most commercially successful Tamil films of the year. The film and many of its cast and crew have been awarded or nominated by many associations in India and worldwide for the film. Notably, Priyamani has won
3534-412: 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
3627-403: 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
3720-667: The Tamil language , the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu . It 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
3813-690: 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
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3906-491: 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,
3999-484: The nadaswaram only. It features vocals from Yuvan Shankar Raja's father Ilaiyaraaja , director Ameer himself and professional playback singers Shreya Ghoshal , Manikka Vinayagam and Madhumitha. Moreover, a couple of traditional, village-based singers contributed to the album by lending their voice to a few songs. All lyrics were written by Snehan . Paruthiveeran was notably the first ever entirely village-based film Yuvan Shankar Raja had scored music for. He composed
4092-560: 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
4185-1005: The Best Actress prizes at all awards ceremonies. Paruthiveeran was honoured with the "Special Mention" award from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival . The film was screened five times at the Berlin Film Festival in two German subtitled versions and three English subtitled versions. 2006 National Film Awards (India) 2007 Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema 2008 Berlin International Film Festival ( Germany ) 2006 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards 2007 Cinema Journalists Association Awards 2007 Filmfare Awards South (India) 2007 Vijay Awards There
4278-616: 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. Paruthiveeran Paruthiveeran ( transl. Hero of Paruthiyur )
4371-514: 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
4464-562: 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
4557-466: The concurrent office bearers of the Nadigar Sangam , led by R. Sarathkumar and Radha Ravi . He was successful in the election, becoming the association's treasurer. After starring in Kaatru Veliyidai , he expressed his interest in learning to fly. Unreleased film Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in
4650-556: 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,
4743-573: The director, the reviewer further adds that Ameer had "shown his class again" and "enhance[d] his reputation as a master craftsman". Russell Edwards of Variety cited, "rough production values are mitigated by a myriad of sophisticated cinematic techniques that show this is no boondocks effort. Fests that appreciate curry flavors will eat this one up, though uninitiated aud[ience]s could experience culture shock". Furthermore, he noted that Ameer's "creative helming, which includes split-screen, appears unbridled and sometimes outright chaotic, but always serves
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#17328016619514836-576: 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
4929-503: The elders of the family. They have two children, a daughter and a son. Karthi has been involved in several charities and social service activities. On his 31st birthday, he inaugurated the Makkal Nala Mandram , in order to encourage his fans to become involved in welfare activities. During the event, Karthi donated blood, donated bicycles to handicapped people, sewing machines to women and schoolbags to children. He presented
5022-412: The end, he is lovable and provides humour.", and that he had " ... made a sensational comeback ... ". In April 2010, Linguswamy's Paiyaa released. A romantic road-trip film, featuring an album by Yuvan Shankar Raja , it was very successful. For the first time, he enacted a character that lives in an urban area. He said that he accepted the film because he desperately wanted to play
5115-404: The ensuing melee he warns her against marrying anyone else by threatening to cut her into pieces. Undeterred by his threats, her parents press ahead with the preparations for her marriage with a boy of their choice. Since Muththazhagu is not able to convince her parents otherwise, she runs away from home in order to elope with Paruthi. However, while hiding away in an abandoned building while Paruthi
5208-439: The film score. Baradwaj Rangan labelled it a "magnificently earthy score", while Malathi Rangarajan noted that the composer "proves he is a chip off the old block in rustic music too". Other critics hailed his music as "excellent", and as "unmistakably a milestone on his road to the pinnacle that his father Ilayaraja has reached". Due to its successful run at the box office, the songs enjoyed popularity as well, particularly among
5301-479: The film. The number of newcomers who acted in the film, notably, outweighed the number of professional artists, with Priyamani, Ponvannan, Saravanan and Ganja Karuppu being the only four experienced actors. Furthermore, no dubbing artists were involved in the production and all artists were brought to Chennai had dubbed their original voice. Filming was held at various locations that, according to Ameer, were never before explored by Tamil cinema. A village carnival
5394-413: The filming of Aayirathil Oruvan , producer R.Ravindran complained that Karthi was trying to change his look and move on to Paiyaa before finishing his commitments. Aayirathil Oruvan was released in early 2010. Karthi's portrayal of a chief coolie was often compared to that in his debut film. Sify called Karthi's performance " ... a scream.", and said, "Right from his introduction scene till
5487-606: The finest performance outputs given by an actress in the Tamil film industry to date. The film won prizes at major film award ceremonies in India, including two National Film Awards , six Filmfare Awards South and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards , among others, while being screened at several international film festivals such as the Berlin International Film Festival and the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema as well. It also emerged as
5580-567: 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
5673-492: 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
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#17328016619515766-583: 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)
5859-423: The highest footfalls in the year 2018 in Tamil Nadu. His next film was Dev , produced by Lakshman Kumar, under Prince Pictures, directed by debutante director, Rajath Ravishankar, music composed by Harris Jayaraj , and cinematography by R. Velraj . Upon release, it received negative reviews from both the critics and audience, alike. It was a huge commercial failure. His next release in the same year, Kaithi ,
5952-499: The house. He comes back inside with her dead body and locks the house from the inside. When he realises it is Kazhuvathevan and her family that have come to kill him, he does not want them to see her in that state. He goes mad and chops her body up and runs towards them saying he will not allow her to marry anyone else. Kazhuvathevan and his henchmen see her mutilated dead body inside and brutally thrash Paruthi. His time with Muththazhagu flashes before his eyes as he breathes his last. For
6045-431: The performances, the reviewer, too, heaped praise on the actors, describing Karthi as "spectacular" and Saravanan as "terrific" and adding that Priya Mani "... steals the show with her spontaneity and authenticity". Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu claimed that the film was "the genuine depiction of village life" that "transports you to the era of classics in a rustic ambience, Bharatiraaja style", further citing that "all
6138-418: The same grade class as she might be married off if she finishes school. At times, Paruthi is violent towards her, but she still loves him. When Paruthi finally accepts Muththazhagu's love for him and decides to marry her, the feud between the two families comes in the way. Determined to marry Muththazhagu, he goes to Kazhuvathevan's house and formally asks for her hand in marriage. He is again shamed off, and in
6231-431: The same, when graphic pictures of gang rape and killing in cold blood dominate, things becomes too much to stomach" and that Ameer "only creates the impression that village folks as a whole are a belligerent lot." Lajjavathi of Kalki praised the acting of Karthi, Priyamani and other cast, Ramji's cinematography and Yuvan's music and praised Ameer for giving quality film and the efforts is visible in every scene but panned
6324-582: The script", while writing that performances were "consistent with the bombastic storytelling". A reviewer from nowrunning.com called the film a "gripping tale narrated with a skill and imagination which only directors like Amir are endowed with", rating it three out of five. Baradwaj Rangan called Paruthiveeran a "classic, one for the ages" and a "showcase for how good filmmaking can (almost) overcome mediocre material", while noting that Karthi gave "a superb first-film performance by any standard, and it makes you reach for that oldest of movie-myth cliches: A star
6417-583: 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
6510-549: The soundtrack were scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja , teaming up with his friend Ameer following two successive successful collaborations in Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002) and Raam (2005). The soundtrack album was released on 29 Decrember 2006 at Green Park Hotel in Chennai , with several prominent film personalities participating in the event, including fellow actor Vijay , who launched the audio. The album consists of six songs, including one instrumental track, featuring
6603-418: 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
6696-417: The title character, Karthi was chosen to portray the part. Although Karthi revealed he preferred directing to acting, he agreed to take up acting since his father convinced him to do so. When director Ameer approached him to play the titular character in the film he accepted the offer because the film was " ... so compelling". About 60 debutants, mostly real-time people from the region, appeared in
6789-558: The titular character in the film Paruthiveeran , he accepted the offer because the film was " ... so compelling". The filming started in July 2005 and experienced financial difficulties, and was almost abandoned by mid–2006. It was released in January 2007, to critical acclaim and became commercially successful. Critics unanimously praised Karthi's portrayal of a careless village ruffian. Sify said: "It's hard to believe that it
6882-474: The violent climax and portrayal of transgenders. Released on 23 February 2007, Paruthiveeran faced competition from Mozhi , which was released on the same day. The film took a big opening at the Chennai box office, collecting ₹ 3.69 crore from 92 prints in Tamil Nadu in its opening weekend. The film continued to rank at first at the Chennai box office for five successive weeks, being ousted only by
6975-515: 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
7068-629: The younger generation. The song "Oororam Puliyamaram" in particular was the Chartbuster number, also being chosen as the "Best Folk Song of the Year 2007" at the Isaiyaruvi Tamil Music Awards, whilst the entire album itself was named as "Isaiyaruvi Best Album of the Year 2007". All lyrics are written by Snehan The film was released on 23 February 2007. It was later dubbed into Hindi as Meri Awargi . Paruthiveeran
7161-492: Was Rajesh M 's All in All Azhagu Raja , which featured him opposite Kajal Aggarwal and Santhanam . The film was released on Diwali 2013, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. He also sang the song "Mississippi" under Yuvan Shankar Raja 's direction. In 2014, Karthi appeared in Pa. Ranjith 's Madras , a critical and commercial success. His next release was the 2015 action drama Komban . His first release in 2016
7254-630: Was a blockbuster hit and collected more than ₹ 100 crores at the box office. It became the highest-grossing film of his career. He was next seen in Sulthan , directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan , of Remo fame. It starred Rashmika Mandanna alongside him. It opened to mixed reviews from both the critics and audience, alike. It became a decent box-office success. Next, he was seen in the rural family drama, Viruman , directed by M. Muthaiah , his second collaboration with him after Komban . It too turned out to became commercially successful. Post Viruman , he
7347-418: Was a controversy surrounding the ownership of the movie. Ameer has complained that the original producer K. E. Gnanavel Raja , couldn't finance the movie till its completion, so he supposedly gave up the movie to Ameer. But towards the completion of the movie, Ameer ran out of funds and the movie went back to Gnanavel. Since the release of the movie, both parties have been accusing each other for failing to make
7440-452: Was a huge commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film of his career (solo). Later in 2023, Karthi have his second release of the year with Japan . Karthi is the second son of actor Sivakumar and his wife Lakshmi. He has two siblings; an elder brother, Suriya , who was already an established actor at the time of Karthi's film debut, and a younger sister, Brindha , who is a singer in Tamil cinema . Tamil film actress Jyothika
7533-504: Was born as Karthik Sivakumar on 25 May 1977 in Madras (now Chennai ), Tamil Nadu , India to actor Sivakumar and his wife Lakshmi. He completed his elementary and secondary school education at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan and St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School , Chennai. He gained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Crescent Engineering College , Chennai. After graduation, he worked as an Engineering consultant in Chennai and considered higher studies abroad. "I
7626-436: 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
7719-468: Was created by art director Jacki for the film and shot for 10 days in Karumathur, Madurai . The filming started in July 2005 and experienced financial difficulties, and was almost abandoned by mid–2006. Ameer took over the production and later transferred it to K. E. Gnanavel Raja. He later stated that he had incurred heavy financial losses as a producer of the film. The film's score as well as
7812-528: Was delayed and filming continued until early 2009. He had agreed to play the lead character in Linguswamy 's next film Paiyaa , in September 2007. Because of the slow progress of Aayirathil Oruvan , Paiyaa was postponed several times. He later said that he became anxious because he received several film offers, but could not work on them because he needed to maintain the continuity of his looks. During
7905-590: Was earning about ₹ 5000 per month and found the work monotonous. That was when I thought, I should do something more", he recalled in an interview. Karthi got a scholarship for his higher studies in the United States, and enrolled at Binghamton University , New York , where he earned his Master of Science in industrial engineering . While pursuing his master's degree, he also took elective courses on filmmaking. During his stay in New York, Karthi worked as
7998-492: Was entirely shot in Madurai and its surroundings. After two years of making, the film was released on 23 February 2007 and received universal critical acclaim. The female lead of this film Priyamani has won the National Film Award for Best Actress (2006) for her brilliant and intense performance as a gang rape victim. In this film, Priyamani 's voice modulation and dialogue delivery in a Madurai Tamil accent are considered as
8091-699: 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
8184-549: 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
8277-445: Was mostly raised by his doting paternal uncle, Chevvaazhai, and Chevvazhai's mother. Chevvazhai pampers and accompanies him in every misbehavior to keep him happy. Having grown up among his mother's people, he is often arrested for petty crimes. His one ambition in life is to gain enough notoriety to be on the news and to be thrown into Madras Jail. He often bullies the villagers for money and fun. Paruthi's paternal cousin, Muththazhagu,
8370-545: Was released on DVD by AP International in 2013. Sriram Iyer of Rediff gave the film three out of five stars, lauding it as a "remarkable effort" and claiming that Ameer "successfully brings alive the feel of the pastures". The reviewer appreciated the cast and crew, describing Karthi's performance as "excellent", while citing that Saravanan "excels" and Priyamani had done "a fairly good job in her deglamourised role". A Behindwoods critic wrote that Paruthiveeran "lives up to all that it promised and more". Heaping praise on
8463-481: Was seen in the magnum opuses, Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023), directed by Mani Ratnam . He essayed Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan in the films, in which his performances received several accolades. In between the two films, he also played a dual role, as a father and son in Sardar , which released in 2022. It opened to generally positive reviews from both the critics and audience, alike. It
8556-483: Was supposed to be a romance film, featuring Sandhya as the female lead. Karthi's character was a " ... sophisticated upmarket stylish guy ... ". Selvaraghavan abandoned that project and in July 2007, he announced the production of an action-adventure film titled Aayirathil Oruvan , with Karthi in the lead role. Filming began later that year and was expected to be completed by February 2008. The producers planned to release it in mid-2008, but production
8649-676: Was the Telugu-Tamil bilingual film Oopiri / Thozha . The film received positive reviews. Karthi's performance was praised, with Baradwaj Rangan of The Hindu stating (in his review of the Tamil version Thozha ), "At a time every leading man (including Karthi) seems to be participating in a game-show titled Who Wants To Be The Next Rajinikanth? , here's a simple 'buddy movie' (in the Hollywoodian sense), with no punch dialogues, no action sequences, with just one duet (with Tamannaah, who plays Vikram's secretary; her romance with Seenu
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