SOUTH INDIAN MOVIE INDUSTRY DAZZLES EVEN IN ECONOMIC LULL

BY P.Vijian

CHENNAI, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- The South Indian movie industry continues to
dazzle, regardless of the financial crunch that has clipped other sectors, says
a recent study.

Be it Kollywood in the state of Tamil Nadu or Tollywood, the Telugu-language
based film industry in Andhra Pradesh, or colloquially known as Sandalwood in
Kannada (Mysore) and Malayalam movies in Kerala, all are raking in millions of
dollars.

South Indian superstars like Rajinikanth, Kamal Hassan, Kerala's Mammoothy
and Telugu heartthrob Chiranjeevi -- all known for their stylish acting --
continue to enthrall their fans and ramp up India box office collections,
despite the sullen economic conditions at home.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Ernst
& Young in a joint study, disclosed that the South Indian film industry
generated a staggering 17.3 billion Indian rupees (US$372.15 million) in 2008
and 2009 to date.

The figures, contained in the study, "Indian entertainment Down South: From
Script to Screen", was released in Chennai on Wednesday could easily dwarf the
more glamorous Bollywood, as the industry is known in North India.

"The industry has constantly been evolving, with new faces, directors and
input of technology. The South Indian movie business continues to do well
despite the recent financial crisis.

"We are confident it will improve further and be even able to challenge
Bollywood," Tamil Film Producers Council president, Rama Narayanan told Bernama.

Last year alone, the 230 Telugu films released contributed RM570 million
(US$168.32 million) and second largest was the Tamil segment, with 152, with
similar earnings, said the report.

The overall Indian film industry, according to an earlier FICCI-KPMG
estimate, was pegged at US$2.2 billion in 2008.
--BERNAMA