R. Nataraja MudaliarRangaswamy Nataraja Mudaliar (1885–1971), was an Indian film director. Popularly known as the father of Tamil cinema, he was a pioneer in the production of silent films. Starting his career as an automobile spare parts merchant, he started the "Indian Film Company Limited" in Madras. In 1917, Mudaliar made Keechaka Vadham, South India's first silent film.
Tamil cinemaSegment of Indian cinemaTamil 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 is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam—a Chennai neighbourhood with a high concentration of film studios, and Hollywood. The first Tamil silent film, Keechaka Vadham, was directed by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1918.
South IndiaSouth India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area (635,780 km2 or 245,480 sq mi) and 20% of India's population. It is bound by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south.
DraupadiDraupadi (Sanskrit: द्रौपदी, romanized: draupadī, lit. 'Daughter of Drupada'), also referred to as Krishnā, Panchali and Yajnaseni, is one of the central characters of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata (c. 400 BCE – 400 CE).
TamilsDravidian ethnic groupEthnic groupThe Tamils ( ), also known by their demonymTamilar, are a Dravidianethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. Tamil is one of the longest-surviving languages, with over two thousand years of written history, dating back to the Sangam period (between 300 BCE and 300 CE).
Indian epic poetryIndian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya (IAST: Kāvyá). The Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which were originally composed in Sanskrit and later translated into many other Indian languages, and the Five Great Epics of Tamil literature and Sangam literature are some of the oldest surviving epic poems ever written.
Silent filmA silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible spoken dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when necessary, be conveyed by the use of intertitles. The term "silent film" is something of a misnomer, as films were almost always accompanied by live sounds.
KichakaKichaka (Sanskrit: कीचक, romanized: Kīcaka) is a character in the Mahabharata, who served as the commander-in-chief of King Virata's army in the Matsya Kingdom. He was the son of Sūta king of the Kekaya and Malavi, and had 105 younger brothers known as the Upa-Kichakas. His sister, Sudeshna, was married to King Virata, and Kichaka lived in the Virata palace after her marriage.
MahabharataThe Mahābhārata ( mə-HAH-BAR-ə-tə, MAH-hə-; Sanskrit: महाभारतम्, IAST: Mahābhāratam, pronounced [mɐɦaːˈbʱaːrɐt̪ɐm], 'Great Bharata') is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered in Hinduism, the other being the Ramayana. Both are considered smṛti and itihasa texts.
Virata ParvaThe Virata Parva ("Book of Virata") is the fourth of the eighteen parvas (books) of the Indian epic Mahabharata. Virata Parva traditionally has 4 parts and 72 chapters. The critical edition of Virata Parva has 4 parts and 67 chapters. It discusses the 13th year of exile which the Pandavas must spend incognito to avoid another 12 years of exile in the forest. They do so in the court of Virata. They assume a variety of identities.
Release printA release print is a copy of a film that is provided to a movie theater for exhibition.
Lost filmA lost film is a movie in which the original negative and all copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. Early films were not thought to have value beyond their theatrical run, so many were discarded afterward. Nitrate film used in early pictures was highly flammable and susceptible to degradation.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.