CinemaNational and Dravidian movements

Chintamani runs for a year in a single theatre

· Chennai

Chintamani runs for a year in a single theatre
Screen shot from 1937 Tamil film chintamani produced by Royal talkies, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, Chintamani was the first Tamil film to stay a full year in one theatre.

Adapted from a well-liked stage play, Chintamani was directed by Y. V. Rao with M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar in the lead. No Tamil film before it had run for a year in a single theatre, and the success turned Bhagavathar into a top star. Ambikapathy, his other film of 1937, directed by Ellis R. Dungan, likewise played for over a year. Together these hits demonstrated how profitable Tamil talkies could be.

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