73-540: Lokesh Kanagaraj ( / l oʊ k eɪ ʃ k ə n ə ɡ ə r ɑː dʒ / ; born 14 March 1986) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Tamil cinema . He started his career with a short film in the 2016 anthology Aviyal , he later directed his first feature film Maanagaram (2017). He created the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) franchise after the commercial success of Kaithi (2019),
146-937: 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
219-572: A Christian minister. He later found a passion for movies influenced by the French New Wave especially Jean-Pierre Melville . Woo has said he was shy and had difficulty speaking, but found making movies a way to explore his feelings and thinking and would "use movies as a language". Woo found respite in Bob Dylan and in American Westerns . He has stated the final scene of Butch Cassidy and
292-420: A Thief (1991). Hard Target (1993), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme , was his first American directorial debut, and the first major Hollywood film made by a Chinese director. His other Hollywood films include Broken Arrow (1996), Face/Off (1997) and Mission: Impossible 2 (2000). He made his Canadian debut with the action comedy film Once a Thief (1996), which is a remake of Woo's 1991 film of
365-659: A Thief , a Canadian made-for-television remake of Woo's 1991 caper film. The teleplay subsequently spawned a television series of the same name , which Woo executive produced. In 1998, Woo directed Blackjack , which featured Dolph Lundgren as a leukophobic bodyguard who hunts down an assassin. The film was intended as a backdoor pilot for a television series, but was not picked up. That same year, Woo served as executive producer and action choreographer on Antoine Fuqua 's directorial debut The Replacement Killers , which featured Chow Yun-Fat 's first international starring role. Later, Woo directed Mission: Impossible 2 ,
438-510: A box-office superstar in Asia, A Better Tomorrow II (1987), The Killer (1989), Once a Thief (1991), and Hard Boiled (1992). He has also directed martial arts films such as The Dragon Tamers (1975), Hand of Death (1976), and Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979), and action comedies such as Follow the Star (1978), From Riches to Rags (1980), Run, Tiger, Run (1984), and Once
511-519: A cat-and-mouse game, trapped in each other's outward appearance. Face/Off opened in 1997 to critical acclaim and strong attendance. Grosses in the United States exceeded $ 100 million. Face/Off was also nominated for an Academy Award in the category Sound Effects Editing ( Mark Stoeckinger ) at the 70th Academy Awards . Around this period, Woo would also produce and direct several film and TV projects. In 1996, Woo produced and directed Once
584-460: A corporate short film competition. The judge of the competition was Karthik Subbaraj . Impressed with his short film, he encouraged Lokesh to pursue a directorial career making films. Lokesh made his directorial debut with the short film, Acham Thavir (2012), which won awards for Best Director, Best Film and Best Actor at the Clubace short film festival. In 2016, his short film Kalam was included in
657-598: A criminal—was a financial blockbuster . A Better Tomorrow became a defining achievement in Hong Kong action cinema John Woo: Interviews includes a 36-page interview with Woo by editor Robert K. Elder , which documents the years 1968 to 1990. It includes Woo's early career in working on comedies, his work on kung fu films (during which time he gave Jackie Chan one of his first major film roles), and more recently, his gunpowder morality plays in Hong Kong. An émigré in 1993,
730-582: 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
803-518: 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
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#1732884262918876-635: 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 the West . M. Edwards first screened
949-420: 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 ,
1022-482: A large Japanese cast including Yasuaki Kurata , Jun Kunimura , Hiroyuki Ikeuchi , Nanami Sakuraba , Naoto Takenaka and Tao Okamoto . In addition, Chinese actress Qi Wei , Korean actress Ha Ji-won and Woo's daughter Angeles were cast in key roles in the film. The film was released in China on 24 November 2017. Following another hiatus, Woo returned to Hollywood to direct the action thriller Silent Night , where
1095-546: A musical Sparks have been developing with Focus Features as their follow-up to Annette and sought a director for. Woo has previously tried to get musical projects in production, and shares a love of French cinema and Jaques Demy 's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg with the Mael brothers. He later confirmed it to be a "half-musical". In May 2008, Woo announced in Cannes that his next movie would be 1949 , an epic love story set between
1168-638: A new experience for the audience, and I think it would be another breakthrough for Chinese movies". Woo has been married to Annie Woo Ngau Chun-lung since 1976. They have two daughters, Kimberley Woo, Angeles Woo, and a son Frank Woo. He is a Christian and told BBC in an interview that he believes in God and has utmost admiration for Jesus , whom he calls a "great philosopher". His three favorite films are David Lean 's Lawrence of Arabia , Akira Kurosawa 's Seven Samurai and Jean-Pierre Melville 's Le Samouraï . A complete list of his 48 inspirational films
1241-439: A normal father heads into the underworld to avenge his young son's death. Produced by Basil Iwanyk , the film starred Joel Kinnaman and was told entirely without dialogue. It was Woo's first American feature film since Paycheck (2003). Woo commented in 2015 that he would remake The Killer for American audiences. Initially, actress Lupita Nyong'o had been cast for the lead role, however by March 2023, Nathalie Emmanuel
1314-622: 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
1387-555: 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
1460-576: 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
1533-507: A short film within the LCU, titled Chapter Zero , as a prequel to Kaithi 2 . On 14 April 2024 coinciding with Puthandu , Lokesh announced his production venture, Benz , directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan and starring Raghava Lawrence in the lead. He has also written the story for the film. On 30 October 2024, Benz was confirmed to be a part of the LCU. Lokesh's films are primarily in the noir action genre. He has likened himself to John Woo , who
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#17328842629181606-460: 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
1679-572: 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
1752-682: 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
1825-478: A television pilot entitled The Robinsons: Lost in Space for The WB Television Network, based on the 1960s television series Lost in Space . The pilot was not purchased. Woo also directed and produced the 2007 video game Stranglehold , which is a sequel to his 1992 film, Hard Boiled . The game features Woo as a multiplayer playable character. That same year he produced the anime movie, Appleseed: Ex Machina ,
1898-424: Is a Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre. The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Picture , Best Director , and Best Editing , as well as a Golden Horse Award , an Asia Pacific Screen Award and a Saturn Award , he is regarded as a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films and the gun fu genre in Hong Kong action cinema . He
1971-999: Is also known mainly for directing such films. Despite this, Lokesh has expressed interest in exploring other genres such as fantasy and comedy . He has cited action films from the 1980s and 1990s as influences on his films, and has named Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino as some of his favourite directors due to their filmmaking styles. Rathna Kumar , who worked with Lokesh on Master , Vikram , and Leo , mentioned that his penchant for retro songs, violence, and hyperlink narratives in his films come from his admiration for Tarantino. Though Lokesh's films are sometimes criticised for glorifying bloodshed and violence, he admitted that while he does try to romanticise violence, he has always had to tone down such sequences in his films to appeal to family audiences. To make his stunt sequences believable, Lokesh avoids using ropes, and believes this limitation makes
2044-754: 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
2117-448: Is known for his highly chaotic "bullet ballet" action sequences, stylized imagery, Mexican standoffs , frequent use of slow motion and allusions to wuxia , film noir and Western cinema. Considered one of the major figures of Hong Kong cinema , Woo has directed several notable action films . He is known for his collaborations with actor Chow Yun-fat in five Hong Kong action films: A Better Tomorrow (1986), which made Chow
2190-572: Is the founder and chairman of the production company Lion Rock Productions . Woo was born as Wu Yu-seng (Ng Yu-sum in Cantonese) on 22 September 1946, in Guangzhou , China, amidst the chaotic Chinese Civil War . Due to school age restrictions, his mother changed his birth date to 22 September 1948, which is what remains on his passport. The Woo family, who were Protestant Christians , faced persecution during Mao Zedong 's early anti-bourgeois purges after
2263-647: The American Volunteer Group , or the Flying Tigers . The movie was tentatively titled "Flying Tiger Heroes" and Woo is reported as saying it will feature "The most spectacular aerial battle scenes ever seen in Chinese cinema." It was not clear whether Woo would not be directing the earlier war film, or whether it was put on the back burner. Woo has stated that Flying Tiger Heroes would be an "extremely important production" and will "emphasise US-Chinese friendship and
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2336-786: 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
2409-412: 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
2482-403: 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
2555-612: The anthology film Aviyal , produced by Karthik Subbaraj . He directed his first feature film, Maanagaram , in 2017, followed by the 2019 action thriller Kaithi produced by Dream Warrior Pictures , with Karthi in the lead role. Lokesh's next film, Master , released in January 2021 and starring Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi , received positive reviews and became the highest-grossing Indian film of that year. In 2022, Lokesh directed Vikram , starring Kamal Haasan , Vijay Sethupathi and Fahadh Faasil . The film’s success, along with
2628-519: The communist revolution in China , and fled to Hong Kong when he was five. Impoverished, the Woo family lived in the slums at Shek Kip Mei . His father was a teacher, though rendered unable to work by tuberculosis , and his mother was a manual laborer on construction sites. The family was rendered homeless by the Shek Kip Mei Fire of 1953. Charitable donations from disaster relief efforts enabled
2701-483: 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,
2774-604: 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. John Woo John Woo Yu-sen SBS ( Chinese : 吳 宇 森 ; born 22 September 1946)
2847-503: 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
2920-601: 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
2993-500: The Sundance Kid made a particular impression on him in his youth: the device of two comrades, each of whom fire pistols from each hand, is a recurrent spectacle later found in his own work. In 1969, Woo was hired as a script supervisor at Cathay Studios . In 1971, he became an assistant director at Shaw Studios . The same year, he watched Bruce Lee 's The Big Boss , which left a strong impression on him due to how different it
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3066-551: The box-office disappointment of The Crossing , Woo and producer Terence Chang disbanded Lion Rock Productions . Woo followed up The Crossing with Manhunt , a remake of the 1976 Japanese crime thriller of the same name . Production started on Manhunt in June 2016 in Osaka and later reported to be finished filming by the end of November. The film, co-led by Chinese actor Zhang Hanyu and Japanese actor Masaharu Fukuyama , features
3139-543: 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,
3212-589: The contributions of the Flying Tigers and the Yunnan people during the war of resistance." Woo has announced he will be using IMAX cameras to film the Flying Tigers project. "It has always been a dream of mine to explore shooting with IMAX cameras and to work in the IMAX format, and the strong visual element of this film is incredibly well-suited to the tastes of cinemagoers today [...] Using IMAX for Flying Tigers would create
3285-524: The director experienced difficulty in cultural adjustment while contracted with Universal Studios to direct Jean-Claude Van Damme in Hard Target . Like other foreign national film directors confronted with the Hollywood environment, Woo was unaccustomed to pervasive management concerns over matters such as limitations on violence and completion schedules. When initial cuts failed to yield an "R" rated film ,
3358-572: 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
3431-535: The end of World War II and Chinese Civil War to the founding of the People's Republic of China , the shooting of which would take place in China and Taiwan. Its production was due to begin by the end of 2008, with a theatrical release planned in December 2009. However, in early April 2009, the film was cancelled due to script right issues. Reports indicated that Woo might be working on another World War II film, this time about
3504-689: The establishment of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU), elevated his reputation in the industry, leading to another collaboration with Vijay on Leo . Following Leo , Lokesh announced Thalaivar 171 , Rajinikanth ’s 171st film, produced by Sun Pictures , with music by Anirudh Ravichander . The official title Coolie was revealed in April 2024. In June 2023, Lokesh announced to conclude his directing career after completing 10 films. By November 2023, he launched his production company, G Squad, and unveiled his first production, Fight Club , directed by Vijay Kumar . Later that year, in December, Lokesh announced
3577-416: The family to relocate; however, violent crime had by then become commonplace in Hong Kong housing projects. At age three he was diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Following surgery on his spine, he was unable to walk correctly until eight years old, and as a result his right leg is shorter than his left leg. His Christian upbringing shows influences in his films. As a young boy, Woo had wanted to be
3650-553: 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
3723-480: 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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#17328842629183796-511: The franchise's first installment. He directed Master (2021), a standalone film featuring Vijay . This was followed by Vikram (2022), the second installment in the LCU with Kamal Haasan in the lead role. Lokesh Kanagaraj and Shruti Haasan come together for a musical project titled "Inimel". He then worked on Leo (2023) which became his most successful film, it became one of the highest grossing Indian films by earning over ₹ 600 crore (US$ 72 million) worldwide and served as
3869-562: 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)
3942-403: The mid-1980s, Woo was experiencing occupational burnout . Several of his films were commercial disappointments, and he felt a distinct lack of creative control. It was during this period of self-imposed exile that director/producer Tsui Hark provided the funding for Woo to film a longtime pet project, A Better Tomorrow (1986). The story of two brothers—one a law enforcement officer, the other
4015-514: 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 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
4088-483: The production of motion pictures in 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
4161-553: The same name. He continued to be active in Hong Kong cinema, directing films such as the two-part historical epic The Crossing (2014). His first Chinese-language feature since Hard Boiled (1992) was the internationally co-produced Red Cliff (2008-2009), which broke the Chinese box office record previously held by Titanic in mainland China. Woo is the creator of the comic series Seven Brothers , published by Virgin Comics . He
4234-554: The second entry in the Tom Cruise -led action film series . Despite receiving mixed reviews, Mission: Impossible 2 grossed over $ 549 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2000, as well as of Woo's career. Woo made two additional films in Hollywood: Windtalkers (2002) and Paycheck (2003), both of which fared poorly at the box office and were summarily dismissed by critics. Also in 2003, Woo directed
4307-587: The sequel to Shinji Aramaki 's 2004 film Appleseed . In 2008, Woo returned to Asian cinema with the completion of the two-part epic war film Red Cliff , based on a historical battle from Records of the Three Kingdoms . Produced on a grand scale, it is his first film in China since he emigrated from Hong Kong to the United States in 1993. Part 1 of the film was released throughout Asia in July 2008, to generally favourable reviews and strong attendance. Part 2
4380-488: The sequences look brutal and raw. Editor Philomin Raj has worked on five films. The duo Anbariv have worked on four films. Anirudh , Rathna Kumar , Arjun Das , Arun Alexander and Dheena have worked on three films. Only people who have worked in three or more films are listed. This list only concerns Lokesh Kanagaraj's directorial films. Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to
4453-574: 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
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#17328842629184526-418: 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
4599-473: The studio assumed control of the project and edited footage to produce a cut "suitable for American audiences". A three-year hiatus saw Woo next direct John Travolta and Christian Slater in Broken Arrow . A frenetic chase-themed film, the director once again found himself hampered by studio management and editorial concerns. Despite a larger budget than his previous Hard Target , the final feature lacked
4672-581: The third installment in the LCU. Lokesh Kanagaraj was born in Kinathukadavu , Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu , India. In PSG College of Arts and Science , he majored in Fashion Technology before pursuing an MBA . He did his schooling in Palanayiammal Matric Hr. Sec. School Kalliyapuram, Pollachi. He is an ex-bank employee. He pursued his passion towards film making by participating in
4745-627: The trademark Woo style. Public reception saw modest financial success. Reluctant to pursue projects which would necessarily entail front-office controls, the director cautiously rejected the script for Face/Off several times until it was rewritten to suit him. (The futuristic setting was changed to a contemporary one.) Paramount Pictures also offered the director significantly more freedom to exercise his speciality: emotional characterisation and elaborate action. A complex story of adversaries—each of whom surgically alters their identity—law enforcement agent John Travolta and terrorist Nicolas Cage play
4818-456: 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
4891-466: Was cast instead, with Omar Sy joining the film as the cop character. The film was directed by Woo, produced by Universal Studios and released exclusively on Peacock . In September 2024, Woo's official Instagram account and the social media accounts of the duo Sparks all posted a photo of Woo with members Ron and Russell Mael , strongly hinting at collaborating on a "new project" which would not be an action film. The hashtag #xcrucior points to
4964-436: 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
5037-528: Was from earlier martial arts films . Lee's films inspired Woo to direct his own action films . His directorial debut in 1974 was the feature film The Young Dragons (鐵漢柔情, Tiě hàn róu qíng ). In the kung fu film genre, it was choreographed by Jackie Chan . The film was picked up by Golden Harvest Studio , where he went on to direct more martial arts films. He later had success as a comedy director with Money Crazy (發錢寒, Fā qián hàn ) (1977), starring Hong Kong comedian Ricky Hui and Richard Ng . By
5110-585: 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
5183-499: 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
5256-601: Was released in China in January 2009. John Woo was presented with a Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2010. He followed Red Cliff with another two-part film, The Crossing , in 2014 and 2015. Featuring an all-star cast, the four-hour epic tells the parallel stories of several characters who all ultimately find themselves passengers on the doomed Taiping steamer, which sank in 1949 en route from mainland China to Taiwan and has been described as "China's Titanic ". Following
5329-425: 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 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
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