Tamil Nadu Timeline

CinemaNational and Dravidian movements

Kalidas, the first Tamil talkie, released

· Chennai

Kalidas, the first Tamil talkie, released
Imperial Film Company, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Released in 1931, H. M. Reddy's Kalidas was the first Tamil film with sound and opened the era of Tamil talkies.

H. M. Reddy directed Kalidas, with Ardeshir Irani as producer, and it came out in 1931. T. P. Rajalakshmi played the lead role. Although some of its dialogue was in Telugu, it is counted as the earliest sound film in Tamil, and it began the age of Tamil talkies. In the decades that followed, Tamil cinema became a powerful influence on the culture and politics of the state.

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