Nationalism and National Integration in Tamil Films 1920s-2009

Tamil cinema occupies a prominent position in the annals of Indian cinema. The reach of Tamil films extends beyond Tamil Nadu and India. They find their market wherever the Tamil Diaspora exists. So much so, 'worldwide release of Tamil films' has become the norm of the day!

Nationalism is a very strong sentiment and co incidentally Indian films too thrive on sentiments of various hues. Films in various languages of India have featured nationalistic sentiments right from the very early stages. The Indian film makers of pre-independence era strived a lot to create a nationalistic wave in colonial India. Indeed, some of them waged a war for independence through celluloid. And Tamil film makers are not an exception to this trend.

This book documents how the nationalistic trend in Tamil cinema started with the silent film era and continues till date. The documentation starts with 1920s, by describing about 'Baktha Vidur', a silent film that got released in 1921. The book discusses nationalistic traits of different decades and ends with the decade following the arrival of new millennium. While there are books available on history of cinema in general and Tamil era in particular, a book exclusively concentrating on the contribution of Tamil cinema to nationalism is not available. Hence this book is written to benefit film and media students, faculty, researchers, film critics, film makers, film journalists and enthusiasts and also general public.

Dr.M.Neelamalar is Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Sciences, Anna University, Chennai. She has about 12 years of teaching experience. Dr.M.Neelamalar has published research articles in various national/international journals and has presented papers in national/international conferences/seminars. Her specializations include 'Media Law and Ethics', 'War and Media', 'Women and Media' and 'Children and Media'. Her other published books include 'A Cricketer's Tale', 'Kargil Revisited: Images and Perceptions of Kargil War After Ten years' and 'Media Coverage of 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks: A Study on the Print Media Coverage and its Impact on the People'.

**Contents and Sample Pages**