Coimbatore: The Forgotten Cradle of South Indian Cinema

 

Coimbatore: The Forgotten Cradle of South Indian Cinema

V.R. Ajith Kumar

Although Madras, which later became the cradle of South Indian cinema, earned the nickname “Kollywood” through Kodambakkam—the lucky land of filmmakers—the title originally belonged to Coimbatore, fondly called “Kovai” by Tamils. It was here, in the 1930s, that artists and industrialists came together and nurtured South Indian cinema.

Indian cinema first took shape in Bombay. It was in 1913 that Dadasaheb Phalke made Raja Harishchandra, regarded as the first Indian feature film. Around the same period, Hiralal Sen and others were experimenting with short films in Calcutta. In the South, Nataraja Mudaliar, a car dealer turned filmmaker, became the first pioneer. In 1917, he established the India Film Company and in 1918 produced and directed the silent film Keechaka Vadham. He later made Draupadi Vastrapaharanam and Lava Kusha, but due to financial troubles and a devastating fire in his studio, he had to retire before 1930. Still, Nataraja Mudaliar is remembered as the father of Tamil cinema. Though his ventures were based in Madras, it was Coimbatore that became the real hub of South Indian film production in the decades that followed.

On March 14, 1931, Ardeshir Irani released India’s first talkie, Alam Ara, in Hindi. Later that year, H.M. Reddy directed Kalidas, the first South Indian sound film, with dialogues in both Tamil and Telugu. Though shot in Bombay, film production soon shifted to Coimbatore. The establishment of Central Studios and Pakshiraja Studios in the 1930s and 1940s firmly planted the roots of cinema in Coimbatore. Landmark productions such as Sathi Leelavathi (1936) and Thyagabhoomi (1939) marked the beginning of this golden era.

Sathi Leelavathi, directed by Ramakrishna Chettiar of Krishna Pictures and based on a novel by S.S. Vasan (later the founder of Gemini Studios in Madras), holds a special place in Tamil film history. It was the debut film of M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), who would later rise to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The film was produced at Central Studios in Coimbatore and directed by Ellis R. Duncan, a Hollywood filmmaker. Later, the blockbuster Malaikkallan, also starring MGR, was produced in Coimbatore.

Among the visionaries who shaped the industry, S.M. Sriramulu Naidu stands out. Active from 1935 to 1976, he revolutionized South Indian cinema. The son of railway station master Munisamy Naidu, Sriramulu joined his father’s bakery, Davy & Company, in 1932. His association with the Cosmopolitan Club of Coimbatore industrialists eventually steered him into filmmaking. He initially worked with R. Rangaswamy at Premier Cinetone Studio in 1934. When Premier folded, a consortium including Ramakrishna Chettiar (brother of R.K. Shanmukham Chetty, India’s first Finance Minister), B. Rangaswamy Naidu, C.N. Venkatapathy Naidu, S. Bhimiya Chetty, P.A. Raju Chettiar and Samikannu Vincent founded Central Studios, with Sriramulu as a working partner.

On 17 acres at Singanallur, Coimbatore, Central Studios thrived from 1936 to 1955, producing 47 films, including Bhakta Tukaram (1936) starring Carnatic musician Musiri Subrahmanya Iyer. The studio’s last production was Town Bus (1955), directed by K. Somu.

In 1945, Sriramulu acquired the former Premier Studio, renaming it Pakshiraja Studio. Its 1950 production, Ezhai Padum Paadu, directed by K. Ramnoth, became a milestone. Adapted from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, it was a massive hit and is one of the ten Tamil films preserved by the National Film Archive of India. The film featured S.V. Sahasranamam, T.S. Balaiah, S.D. Subbulakshmi, P. Bhanumathi, and N. Seetharaman—who, after playing Inspector Javert, came to be popularly known as “Javert Seetharaman.”

Pakshiraja also produced Malaikkallan (scripted by M. Karunanidhi), later remade in Telugu as Aggi Ramudu with N.T. Rama Rao. The remarkable fact that MGR, Karunanidhi, and NTR—associated with this single film—each went on to become Chief Ministers, remains a unique historical coincidence.

Pakshiraja Studio, located on Puliyakulam–Sungam Road, was a state-of-the-art facility. Spread across four acres, it included star apartments, 30 rooms, carpentry workshops, a beauty salon, a film lab, a canteen, and even a mini-zoo with a tiger. Its emblem featured Garuda standing on a globe, subduing a serpent. Bollywood stars Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari stayed here during the making of Azad (1955), a Hindi remake of Malaikkallan. Other celebrated films shot here included Kannika Pavalakodi, Maragatham, Kalyaniyin Kanavan (starring Sivaji Ganesan and B. Saroja Devi), and the Malayalam classic Sabarimala Sri Ayyappan (1961).

Sriramulu Naidu is remembered as a pioneer who modernized set construction, editing, and sound design, moving cinema from mythological themes to socially relevant subjects. His vision, technical brilliance, and commitment to quality left an indelible mark.

Parallel to film production, Coimbatore also became a hub for film exhibition, thanks to the efforts of Samikannu Vincent. A Southern Railway employee, Samikannu purchased a projector and silent films from a Frenchman named DuPont in 1905 and began touring South India with his screenings. In 1917, he established Variety Hall, South India’s first permanent cinema theatre, at Town Hall in Coimbatore. Variety Hall (later renamed Delight) ran for over a century before being demolished in 2024. Notably, Samikannu was the first to introduce printed cinema tickets. He also electrified his theatre with a European generator at a time when the Coimbatore municipality had only one street lamp. His pioneering spirit laid the foundation for cinema exhibition across South India. The last screening at Delight was held in June 2023, featuring the 1980 Rajinikanth film Manithan.

By the 1940s and ’50s, however, the film industry shifted to Madras. Its rapid urban growth, better transport facilities, distribution networks, and political clout ensured that Kodambakkam, with giants like AVM and Gemini Studios, became synonymous with South Indian cinema. Coimbatore, despite its glorious start, gradually lost its prominence.

Sriramulu Naidu later acquired the Bobbili Raja Palace in Bangalore and established Chamundeshwari Studios in 1970. He passed away in 1976. Central Studio and Pakshiraja Studio, once the pride of Coimbatore, have since been repurposed for commercial ventures. Today, the Coimbatore era of cinema remains a fond and fascinating memory of the golden beginnings of South Indian film.