TRIGGER WARNING: This episode will explore some themes that viewers may find distressing.

The Tamil cinema industry’s equivalent to Hollywood is …“Kollywood”. And in today's episode we will be taking you on a trip to Kodambakkam, Chennai; the birthplace of Tamil Cinema.

Our episode today is split into two halves and is separated by an intermission; just like a Tamil film. In the first half we share some of our favourite Tamil movie moments and how they may or may not have influenced our lives growing up.. we ask one another our most memorable villains, family castings and storylines.

The plot thickens in the second half where we deep dive into areas, we feel, the Tamil cinema industry could do better. To name a few; we touch on the long lasting impacts of colourism, casteism and the disparity in how female Tamil actors are cast. Acknowledging the good with the bad, we go on to talk about how storylines are evolving and how the space being held for hard hitting plots versus the commercial hits are ever changing. Please join us as we share some insights into our thoughts on Tamil cinema, where of course, you’ll be also hearing from our AOT focus groups.

As always we’d love to hear from you, so please let us know where you think we can do better as a film industry and where we’re making strides. Leave us a comment or drop us a DM and we’ll share it on our social media to keep the conversation going! Grab yourself some popcorn and tune into the AOT Podcast’s second episode…Made in Kollywood!

Ungal,

Nishani & Thanusha

Timestamps:

0.00 Intro

02.39 Actor entrances & Mass movies

07.59 Comedians

14.25 Villains

24.24 The best storylines and strong female leads

34.33 Atypical romancing in Tamil movies

39.58 The evolution of Tamil movies (female leads, taboo topics, discussing homophobia/ transphobia)

45.07 Devolution of Tamil cinema

50.48 Directors with unique ways of storytelling

56.36 Appreciating cinematography

01.06.00 Tamil movie music

Resources:

https://www.ttff.ca/screenings-schedule-2022/

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/sillu-karuppatti-wins-award-at-toronto-tamil-film-fest/articleshow/78002872.cms

Find us: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAOTpodcast

Instagram: @theasianothertamilpodcast

TikTok: @asianothertamilpodcast