I gave a talk last year on Chennai as a backdrop in Tamil Cinema and have taken a few clips of Chennai from early Tamil films – circa 1940s…..Enjoy them.

This is an Advertisement from the Hindu of February 1915.

The first “Electric” Theatre in the South was in Mount road as it was then called .
This was built in 1900 and it was this theatre’s centenary that I celebrated with Mr.Sivaji and Mr. Kamal attending the Special Cover release for Tamil Film Pioneers. Happily the bulding still stands in the Anna Road Post Office Complex as the Philatelic Bureau – Bang opposite the Shanthi Theatre..Oh, how we yearn for those good old days when we could watch a movie for 1 Re and get change to go home by Bus…….after buying some peanuts and an ice cream.