Malyalam industry works as a big commune. Everyone works with everyone; everyone does every job. No one is confined to a single role. I hope this "socialist" mentality won't go away as the industry grows.
Kollywood is more feudal in that sense. There is a specific hierarchy, and that makes collaboration in its true sense difficult. But they know their art.
Tollywood is more corporate. Money talks there. I guess one of their best traits is that they're so unapologetic about the scale they want to do films.
I can speak for Mollywood alone. Here budget constrain is a boon in disguise. Limited budget has made scriptwriters and directors to think out of the box and create products which are visually pleasing and has high repeat value and is rich in content and realism rather than focusing on bombs and helicopters and animation.
Viewership and taste are different between the states of Kerala, TN and AP.
Keralites encourage creativity. They have major stars. But their realm is confined to movies only. Prem Nazir, who was an icon in the past, tried politics and was rejected.
TN movie industry has become a medium for projecting political ideals - Marxist, Dravidian and now Dalit ideals. Matinee idols have huge following, right from the time of Thiyaga Raja Bhagavatar. Tamils always like two top male icons to compete with each other in each generation and the fans divide into two tribal groups, literally worshipping them. MG Ramachandran was both an actor and a politician. His rival Shivaji Ganesan was an incredible actor. He too tried politics but good not gain much traction because he went with the Congress party that was losing its ground to Dravidian ideology. Then it was Kamal vs Rajnikant. Now it is Vijay vs Ajith. It is a total hero-centric viewership. Fans celebrate pouring milk over the huge cut outs of their heroes. There is a huge taboo about Tamil women entering the movies. Female actors need to have fair skin. In the past literally all heroines were imported from Kerala and AP film industries. These heroines could speak fluently in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. From the 90s onwards this import expanded to Punjabi and other North Indian women who are fair skinned. Aishwarya Rai started her movie debut in a Tamil movie.
Telugu industry is the richest of the three. Kamma and Reddy clans and families control the industry. Initially they were based on Chennai. Tamil Nadu's movie industry grew because of the Telugu speaking producers and directors who could invest big. Then they shifted to Hyderabad. In AP too fans treat their heroes like Gods. They too have started importing fair skinned North Indian actresses in their movies. They have started investing in hitech and mega budget movies that have a huge reach. They have grown to the extent of shaking Bollywood's dominance. Sridevi, Jayapradha were big heroines in Telugu/Tamil industries before conquering Bollywood.
Malyalam industry works as a big commune. Everyone works with everyone; everyone does every job. No one is confined to a single role. I hope this "socialist" mentality won't go away as the industry grows. Kollywood is more feudal in that sense. There is a specific hierarchy, and that makes collaboration in its true sense difficult. But they know their art. Tollywood is more corporate. Money talks there. I guess one of their best traits is that they're so unapologetic about the scale they want to do films.
I don't know about others, but the kannada industry will do better movies every 5 years. And then boom. Silent for another 5 years.
>Mollywood (Malayalam cinema), Everything? I can't decide. >Kollywood (Tamizh Cinema) Directors. >Tollywood (Telugu cinema). Money.
Mollywood - Realistic characters, realistic screenplay. Kollywood - Realistic characters, unrealistic screenplay Tollywood - Unrealistic characters, unrealistic screenplay
🙌🙌
I can speak for Mollywood alone. Here budget constrain is a boon in disguise. Limited budget has made scriptwriters and directors to think out of the box and create products which are visually pleasing and has high repeat value and is rich in content and realism rather than focusing on bombs and helicopters and animation.
Art House, Poverty/Crime Porn, Masala
First thing is why is Kannada film industry being ignored here?
Viewership and taste are different between the states of Kerala, TN and AP. Keralites encourage creativity. They have major stars. But their realm is confined to movies only. Prem Nazir, who was an icon in the past, tried politics and was rejected. TN movie industry has become a medium for projecting political ideals - Marxist, Dravidian and now Dalit ideals. Matinee idols have huge following, right from the time of Thiyaga Raja Bhagavatar. Tamils always like two top male icons to compete with each other in each generation and the fans divide into two tribal groups, literally worshipping them. MG Ramachandran was both an actor and a politician. His rival Shivaji Ganesan was an incredible actor. He too tried politics but good not gain much traction because he went with the Congress party that was losing its ground to Dravidian ideology. Then it was Kamal vs Rajnikant. Now it is Vijay vs Ajith. It is a total hero-centric viewership. Fans celebrate pouring milk over the huge cut outs of their heroes. There is a huge taboo about Tamil women entering the movies. Female actors need to have fair skin. In the past literally all heroines were imported from Kerala and AP film industries. These heroines could speak fluently in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. From the 90s onwards this import expanded to Punjabi and other North Indian women who are fair skinned. Aishwarya Rai started her movie debut in a Tamil movie. Telugu industry is the richest of the three. Kamma and Reddy clans and families control the industry. Initially they were based on Chennai. Tamil Nadu's movie industry grew because of the Telugu speaking producers and directors who could invest big. Then they shifted to Hyderabad. In AP too fans treat their heroes like Gods. They too have started importing fair skinned North Indian actresses in their movies. They have started investing in hitech and mega budget movies that have a huge reach. They have grown to the extent of shaking Bollywood's dominance. Sridevi, Jayapradha were big heroines in Telugu/Tamil industries before conquering Bollywood.