50 Fun Facts About Tamil Cinema

Before becoming a film star, Rajinikanth held which job with the Bangalore Transport Service?

Bus conductor came after several other jobs, including work as a coolie. A co-worker, Raj Bahadur, urged him to enrol at the Madras Film Institute and helped pay his way.

Rajinikanth's film Muthu became a surprise hit in which country, where it was retitled The Dancing Maharaja?

Japan got the film after a critic found it in a Singapore video shop and loved it even without subtitles. It stayed the country's highest-grossing Indian film for 24 years.

Kamal Haasan's Avvai Shanmughi, whose hero disguises himself as a woman, is often likened to which Hollywood comedy?

Mrs. Doubtfire reached cinemas in 1993, but Kamal Haasan said he had the idea six years earlier and guessed that both films had drawn on the same source.

Tamil cinema's nickname Kollywood blends Hollywood with the name of which studio-filled Chennai neighbourhood?

Kodambakkam packed in so many film studios that its name came to stand for the whole Tamil industry, much as one Los Angeles district stands for American film.

Which viral 'Tanglish' song, written and sung by Dhanush for the 2012 film 3, was composed in about ten minutes?

Why This Kolaveri Di became the first Tamil film song to premiere on MTV India, and its singer was invited to dinner by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Suriya's 2005 revenge thriller Ghajini borrows its central idea from which Christopher Nolan film?

Memento gave director A. R. Murugadoss the forgetful hero he wanted: he said he had written half his story when he saw it, and he remade his own film in Hindi in 2008.

In which film does Rajinikanth play both the scientist Vaseegaran and his creation Chitti, built for the Indian Army?

Enthiran was the most expensive Indian film made up to that point, and it brought the Hollywood make-up and animatronics studio Legacy Effects to Indian cinema.

Which Bollywood star made his Tamil debut as Pakshi Rajan, the bird-loving villain of Rajinikanth's 2.0?

Akshay Kumar played a dead ornithologist whose spirit turns swarms of mobile phones on their owners, blaming mobile radiation for the deaths of birds.

Which Mani Ratnam film, about a woman whose husband is kidnapped in Kashmir, marked A. R. Rahman's debut as composer?

Roja won its first-time composer a National Film Award, and Time magazine later listed the album among the ten best soundtracks of all time.

Which star of the 1991 hit Chinna Thambi became the first Indian actress to have a temple built for her by fans?

Khushbu also lent her name to the menu: the Kushboo idli, a rice cake, is the best known of the Tamil Nadu dishes and products named after her, from saris to coffee.

In which 1995 film does Rajinikanth play Manikam, a humble auto-rickshaw driver hiding a dark past from his family?

Baashha travelled well: it was remade in Kannada as Kotigobba and in Bengali as Guru, and a digitally restored version returned to cinemas in 2017.

Which Mani Ratnam film, starring Kamal Haasan as a Bombay crime lord, made Time magazine's list of 100 greatest films?

Nayakan is loosely based on the real Bombay underworld don Varadarajan Mudaliar and on The Godfather, and it was remade in Hindi a year later as Dayavan.

Which Rajinikanth horror comedy, based on the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu, ran 890 days at one Chennai theatre?

Chandramukhi overtook Haridas, the 1944 hit that played through three consecutive Diwalis at a theatre in Broadway, also in Chennai.

Which Rajinikanth gangster film was promoted with an AirAsia jet wrapped in its title and an image of its star?

Kabali was filmed mostly in Malaysia, and its teaser drew 10 million views in three days, the most for any Indian film teaser at the time.

Which Kalki Krishnamurthy novel about a Chola prince did Mani Ratnam adapt into a two-part film epic?

Ponniyin Selvan, a 1955 novel, follows Arulmozhi Varman, the prince who became the emperor Rajaraja I. The first film won the National Award for Best Tamil Feature.

Which film stars Suriya as a lawyer, modelled on Justice K. Chandru, fighting for a woman of the Irular tribe?

Jai Bhim draws on a 1993 case from Cuddalore, in which a tribal man disappeared from a police station after his arrest and his wife went to court to find him.

Which Suriya film is inspired by Simply Fly, the memoir of low-cost airline founder G. R. Gopinath?

Soorarai Pottru took director Sudha Kongara more than ten years of research, and its hero sells plane tickets at railway stations and petrol pumps.

Which Lokesh Kanagaraj thriller, told over a single night, has no songs and no female lead?

Kaithi follows a newly released prisoner who drives poisoned policemen to hospital while dodging criminals, all in exchange for a first meeting with his daughter.

Suriya's surprise cameo in Kamal Haasan's Vikram (2022) introduced which ruthless drug kingpin?

Rolex is the boss the film's villain answers to, a buyer who threatens him and his family with death if the missing drug containers are not delivered.

Which director gave Rajinikanth his stage name, borrowed from a character in the earlier film Major Chandrakanth?

K. Balachander picked the new name to avoid confusion with the established star Sivaji Ganesan, then launched his discovery in Apoorva Raagangal (1975).

Which actress played both the vengeful Neelambari in Padayappa and Queen Sivagami in the Baahubali films?

Ramya Krishnan took Neelambari after a four-year break from Tamil films, and one critic wrote that her villain stays vicious to her dying breath.

Which Vijay blockbuster, a remake of the Telugu hit Okkadu, casts him as a kabaddi player from Chennai?

Ghilli returned to cinemas in 2024, twenty years on, and became India's highest-grossing re-release until Tumbbad passed it months later.

In which 2005 film does Vikram play a meek lawyer whose other identities are a fashion model and a murderous vigilante?

Anniyan's vigilante punishes the corrupt with methods taken from the Garuda Purana, an ancient Hindu scripture that details the punishments of hell.

Which Atlee film casts Vijay in three roles, as a village wrestler, a doctor and a magician?

Mersal was the hundredth production of Thenandal Studio. Its doctor charges patients only a token fee, while his brother, the magician, takes revenge for crimes in medicine.

Lokesh Kanagaraj called Leo, his Vijay thriller about a café owner with a hidden past, a tribute to which film?

A History of Violence is David Cronenberg's 2005 thriller. The Tamil film it inspired became the third instalment of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe.

Dhanush made his Hollywood debut as a mercenary code-named Lone Wolf in which Netflix action thriller?

The Gray Man was produced by the Russo brothers' company AGBO and adapts Mark Greaney's 2009 novel as the first film of a planned franchise.

Which Rajinikanth film retells the Mahabharata friendship of Karna and Duryodhana as a modern gangster story?

Thalapathi came about because Mani Ratnam wanted a story its star could not refuse. At its release it was the most expensive South Indian film yet made.

Dhanush won the National Film Award for Best Actor for which drama about rooster fighting in Madurai?

Aadukalam won six National Film Awards in all, matching Kannathil Muthamittal for the most any Tamil film had won up to then.

Which Vetrimaaran film, an Oscar entry for India, is based on a novel by an auto-rickshaw driver from Coimbatore?

Visaranai adapts the novel Lock Up by M. Chandrakumar, and it was produced by the actor Dhanush through his banner Wunderbar Films.

Which film follows two brothers from a Chennai slum who are desperate to taste the pizza sold at a new shop?

Kaaka Muttai began when Vetrimaaran saw one of M. Manikandan's short films at a festival and asked him to develop a feature script.

Which star of Rickshawkaran, shot near the ear by fellow actor M. R. Radha in 1967, later founded the AIADMK party?

M. G. Ramachandran survived, but the shooting permanently changed his voice. He served as chief minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987.

Which actress, who made her Tamil debut in Vennira Aadai (1965), later served six terms as chief minister of Tamil Nadu?

Jayalalithaa had hoped to become a lawyer and was ready to start college when her Kannada debut film became a blockbuster. Her supporters knew her as Amma.

Which actress took her first adult lead at 13 in Moondru Mudichu and was later hailed as India's first female superstar?

Sridevi had been on screen since childhood, with a lead in the 1969 mythological film Thunaivan, and went on to work in five Indian languages.

Which actress, often called Tamil cinema's Lady Superstar, made her Hindi debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Jawan?

Nayanthara played an NSG officer in the Hindi action thriller. Away from acting, she owns a production house called Rowdy Pictures.

Which Tamil star, nicknamed Thala, raced in the 2010 Formula 2 Championship alongside two other Indian drivers?

Ajith made fewer films from 2003 to 2005 as motor racing took over, and in that period he turned down the hits Saamy, Kaakha Kaakha and Ghajini.

Which actress played Jaanu, reunited with her school sweetheart Ram after 22 years, in the Tamil romance 96?

Trisha's film grew out of its first-time director's own school reunion. He wrote the whole script in 20 days during the Chennai floods of December 2015.

Which beauty queen made her first screen appearance in Mani Ratnam's Tamil political drama Iruvar?

Aishwarya Rai, Miss World 1994, played two characters in the film. Its director praised the newcomer as a tremendous dancer with a lot of potential.

Which comedian, nicknamed Vaigai Puyal after the river of his hometown Madurai, starred in Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei?

Vadivelu was launched in 1988, when the duo of Goundamani and Senthil ruled Tamil comedy. The 2006 comedy was his first film as a lead actor.

Which composer of the 1976 film Annakili premiered a full Western classical symphony in London in 2025?

Ilaiyaraaja got his name on that first film. Its producer added Ilaiya, meaning younger, because A. M. Rajah was already a popular music director.

Which composer, a nephew of Latha Rajinikanth, made his debut with the 2012 Dhanush film 3?

Anirudh Ravichander is the great-grandson of the 1930s film-maker K. Subramanyam, and he has called his college degree a backup in case music did not work out.

Which Kamal Haasan film opens in the 12th century and climaxes with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami?

Dasavathaaram has its star in ten roles, though some critics felt only four or five of them mattered to the plot.

Quentin Tarantino reportedly said an animated scene in Kamal Haasan's Aalavandhan inspired which of his films?

Kill Bill: Volume 1 came out in 2003, two years after the Tamil thriller. The director Anurag Kashyap has said Tarantino told him about the debt in person.

Which director's debut, 16 Vayathinile, was the first Tamil film to be shot predominantly outdoors?

Bharathiraja shot the village drama around Mysore and Kollegal with no sets, on a budget too tight to hire a camera that could film in slow motion.

Which unfinished Kamal Haasan historical epic was launched in 1997 with Queen Elizabeth II as chief guest?

Marudhanayagam brought the Queen to a Chennai film set for 20 minutes, a visit arranged through the British Deputy High Commission in the city.

Which Rajinikanth film, directed by his daughter Soundarya, was India's first photorealistic motion capture feature?

Kochadaiiyaan was shot with motion capture at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom, and it gave Deepika Padukone her Tamil debut.

Which 1931 film, shot in eight days on the Bombay sets of Alam Ara, was the first sound film in Tamil?

Kalidas mixed Telugu dialogue with Tamil songs and a little Hindi, and despite its ancient setting it included songs about Mahatma Gandhi.

Which 1948 S. S. Vasan spectacle is famous for dancers performing on rows of giant drums outside a palace?

Chandralekha had the most expensive publicity campaign yet mounted for an Indian film, and it opened in more than 40 theatres across South India at once.

Which 1952 film, scripted by future chief minister M. Karunanidhi, gave Sivaji Ganesan his first screen role?

Parasakthi paid its newcomer 250 rupees a month, and his first scenes, which studio boss A. V. Meiyappan disliked, were reshot.

Sivaji Ganesan won Best Actor at the 1960 Afro-Asian Film Festival in Cairo for playing which South Indian ruler?

Kattabomman was an 18th-century chieftain who rebelled against the East India Company. The film about him also won Best Film and Best Music Director in Cairo.

Which comedienne, known to fans as Aachi, entered Guinness World Records in 1985 for acting in over 1,000 films?

Manorama, born Gopishantha, kept working long after the record: she is credited with more than 1,500 films and 5,000 stage performances.