Tollywood (Telugu)

Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hyderabad, India. The nickname ''Tollywood'' is a portmanteau. By 2021, it has emerged as the largest film industry in India in terms of box-office.

Since 1909, filmmaker Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu was involved in producing short films and travelling to different regions in Asia to promote film work. In 1921, he produced the silent film, '' Bhishma Pratigna'', generally considered to be the first Telugu feature film, and hence, regarded as the ''Father of Telugu cinema''. In 1933, '' Sati Savitri'' directed by Chittajallu Pullayya received an honorary diploma at the 2nd Venice.

Known for its big-ticket, and popular film genre catering to wider audience, works such as ''Pathala Bhairavi'' (1951) (only South Indian entry at the 1st IFFI), '' Malliswari'' (1951), '' Devadasu'' (1953), '' Mayabazar'' (1957), '' Nartanasala'' (1963), ''Maro Charitra'' (1978), '' Maa Bhoomi'' (1979), ''Sankarabharanam'' (1980), ''Sagara Sangamam'' (1983), and ''Siva'' (1989) are featured in ''CNN-IBN'''s "100 Greatest Indian Films of All Time".

Ethnographic works such as Mrinal Sen's '' Oka Oori Katha'' (1977) won the "Special Jury Prize (Karlovy Vary IFF)"; B. Narsing Rao's ''Maa Ooru'' (1992) won the " Media Wave Award" of Hungary; K. N. T. Sastry's '' Thilaadanam'' (2000) received "New Currents Award" at the 7th Busan; Rajnesh Domalpalli's '' Vanaja'' (2006) won "Best First Feature Award" at the 57th Berlinale.

Mainstream works such as K. Viswanath's ''Sankarabharanam'' (1980) won the "Prize of the Public" at the Besançon Film Festival of France. S. S. Rajamouli's epic '' Baahubali 2: The Conclusion'' (2017), and alternate history '' RRR'' (2022) are the only Indian films to win the American "Saturn Award for Best International Film". The later is the only Indian film to be featured in the " U. S. National Board of Review top 10".

History

Early development

The Telugu film industry originated with silent films in 1921, with the production and release of '' Bhishma Pratigna'' in 1921. The film was directed by Raghupathi Venkayya and his son R. S. Prakash. Y. V. Rao and R. S. Prakash established a long-lasting precedence of focusing exclusively on religious themes; ''Nandanar'', ''Gajendra Moksham'', and ''Matsyavatar'', three of their most noted productions, centred on religious figures, parables, and morals. The first film studio in South India, Durga Cinetone, was built in 1936 by Nidamarthi Surayya in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. In 1935, ''Andhra Cine Tone'' was built in Visakhapatnam by ''Gottumukkala Jagannadha Raju''. He introduced digital theater sound with the 1935 film ''Jagadamba''.

Rise of the "talkie"

The first Telugu film with audible dialogue, '' Bhakta Prahlada'', was produced by H.M. Reddy, who directed the first bilingual (Telugu and Tamil) talkie Kalidas (1931). Bhakta Prahlada was completed on 15 September 1931, which henceforth became known as "Telugu Film Day" to commemorate its completion. Popularly known as talkies, films with sound quickly grew in number and popularity. In 1934, the industry saw its first major commercial success with '' Lavakusa''. Directed by C. Pullaiah and starring Parupalli Subbarao and Sriranjani, the film attracted unprecedented numbers of viewers to theatres and thrust the young industry into mainstream culture. By 1936, the mass appeal of film allowed directors to move away from religious and mythological themes. That year, under the direction of Kruthiventi Nageswara Rao, ''Prema Vijayam'', a film focusing on social issues, was released. Its success prompted the production of dozens of other immensely successful 'social films', notably 1939's '' Vandemataram'', touching on societal problems like the practice of giving dowry, Telugu films increasingly focused on contemporary living: 29 of the 96 films released between 1937 and 1947 had social themes.

Cinema during the Crown Rule

In 1938, Gudavalli Ramabrahmam, has co-produced and directed the social problem film, '' Mala Pilla'' starring, Kanchanamala, the film dealt with the crusade against untouchability, prevailing in pre-independent India. In 1939, he directed '' Raithu Bidda'', starring thespian Bellary Raghava. The film was banned by the British administration in the region, for depicting the uprise of the peasantry among the Zamindar's during the British raj.
1940 film, '' Viswa Mohini'', is the first Indian film, depicting the Indian movie world. The film was directed by Y. V. Rao and scripted by Balijepalli Lakshmikanta Kavi, starring V. Nagayya. Rao subsequently made the sequel films ''Savithri'' and ''Sathyabhama'' (1941–42) casting thespian Sthanam Narasimha Rao.

The outbreak of World War II and the subsequent resource scarcity caused the British Raj to impose a limit on the use of filmstrip in 1943 to 11,000 feet, a sharp reduction from the 20,000 feet that had been common till then. As a result, the number of films produced during the war was substantially lower than in previous years. Nonetheless, before the ban, an important shift occurred in the industry: Independent studios formed, actors and actresses were signed to contracts limiting whom they could work for, and films moved from social themes to folklore legends. Ghantasala Balaramayya, has directed the mythological ''Seetarama Jananam'' under his home production, Prathiba Picture, marking veteran Akkineni Nageswara Rao's Telugu screen debut in 1944.

Classical cinema and Golden Age

''Malliswari'' is the first Telugu film which had a public release with thirteen prints along with Chinese subtitles at Beijing on 14 March 1953, and a 16 mm film print was also screened in the United States.Eenadu