The M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, formerly known as the Adyar Film Institute, is Asia's first-ever film and television training institute. Established in 1945 as Adyar Film Institute, it is one of the pioneer film institutes in India, It is in

Tharamani Tharamani is an area in the south Indian city of Chennai. It is known for the presence of the city's first IT parks and numerous government educational and research institutions. It is located adjacent to the posh residential area of Adyar an ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, and is run by the Tamil Nadu State Government under the Department of Information and Public Relations. It offers four-year bachelor's degree courses Screenplay and Direction, Cinematography, Sound Recording and Sound Engineering, Film Editing and Film Processing, and functions of the government. Only 14 students are admitted in each course. The diplomas are approved by

All India Council for Technical Education The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is a statutory body, and a national-level council for technical education, under the Department of Higher Education. Established in November 1945 first as an advisory body and later on in ...

(AICTE), while the certificates are awarded by the Department of Technical Education,

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

.Courses Offered
/ref> The chief minister of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

M. K. Stalin Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin ( , born 1 March 1953), often referred to by his initials MKS, is an Indian Tamil politician serving as the 8th and current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The son of the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Stalin ...

, appointed actor Rajesh as the Head of the Institute in Sep 2022.

History

The institute was established in 1945 as Adyar Film Institute and was a part of the Central Polytechnic. In 1965, it moved into its present campus in the Tharamani area of Chennai. At the time, the campus was spread over 54 acres, which has reduced over the following decades, due to rapid urbanisation. Parts of land were given to the

IIT Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance and has be ...

and many IT companies, bringing it down to the present 10 acres. A full-fledged "Film City" in the country, situated amidst sylvan surroundings and serene atmosphere at Chennai, is being inaugurated on 31 August 1994, in a true manner by the then chief minister late J. Jayalalitha. The Film City with its 21 crore rupees worth of comprehensive infrastructural facilities encompassing all aspects of moviemaking. One can enter and can exit with a completed film. M.G.R. Film City is situated in Taramani. It is an Indian Film and TV Training Institute run by Tamil Nadu State Government under Information and Public relation. A Dream World that's dotting a living landscape has been the vision of the mighty architect of Tamil Nadu's progress, Dr. J.Jayalalitha, the Honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. After completion of this dream world and named J. Jayalalitha Film City. The grandeur and scale of the project have been inspired by her intellect and imagination and is an example of her creative spirit. The Film City has everything for the dream merchants to spin their web of fantasy tales. Their wildest imagination can be realised here on the "silver screen". These settings and locales cascade into a world of equipment and technology which reveal the level of sophistication seen only in the finest studios of the world. There were airconditioned shooting floor, editing lab, recording studio, preview theatre, makeup room, central jail, police station, courtyard, and Japanese home. These settings play an important role in TV productions and Indian Films. In 2006, it was renamed M.G.R. Film and Television Training Institute, after former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

(1917–1987), who was a prominent actor in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

. In 1994, the government started MGR Film City to make more filmmaking facilities in the city. On 16 October 1997,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

visited MGR Film City and watched the filming of

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

's Tamil movie ''

Marudhanayagam ''Marudhanayagam'' is an unfinished Indian historical drama film directed and produced by Kamal Haasan under his Raaj Kamal Films International banner. The script was co-written by Haasan, along with novelist Sujatha, and the pair started wo ...

''.Queen Elizabeth's Visit to MGR Film City
The acting course that started in 1971, at the behest of M.G.R., was discontinued in 2002. Talks to revive the course have been on for many years.

Notable alumni

References

External links

M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute
at

website {{authority control Film schools in India Educational institutions established in 1945 1945 establishments in India State agencies of Tamil Nadu

History

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links