Tamil Nadu Timeline

CinemaMadras State (Congress era)

Veerapandiya Kattabomman released

· Chennai

Sivaji Ganesan's historical film opened in cinemas and went on to earn him Best Actor at Cairo's Afro-Asian Film Festival in 1960.

Directed by B. R. Panthulu, Veerapandiya Kattabomman opened in Tamil Nadu on 16 May 1959 with Sivaji Ganesan playing the title character. It told the story of the Panchalankurichi chieftain of the eighteenth century who defied the East India Company. In 1960 the Afro-Asian Film Festival at Cairo honoured it with three awards: Best Film, Best Actor and Best Music Director. Ganesan's prize is said to have been the first international acting award ever won by an Indian actor.

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