ABOUT KOLLYWOOD

Many people know what Bollywood is, but it's also mistaken to be the only music industry in India. There are many music types in India, each language having its own type of music for its movie industry.  Most music that is composed in India is for the movies. For example, movies that speak in Hindi and have songs in Hindi are called Bollywood (that's what Hindi cinema is called.) For Tamil cinema, it's called Kollywood. So what is Kollywood? Well, Kollywood is Tamil music. It's popular in Tamil movies that there would be a song or a soundtrack for that movie. Tamil movie songs are released to market the movie and gain more popularity and attention to the certain movie like a teaser. 

HISTORY

Kollywood got its name from the mix of two places, Hollywood and Kodambakkam, a neighbourhood in Chennai. Kollywood started way back when movies were silent. No music, no voice, just actions.  Kollywood isn’t a type of music, it is music made for Tamil Cinema or music that is sung in Tamil.

1916-1930s: Kollywood is said to first start way back to the early 20th century when the first Tamil silent film and south India's first movie, “Keechaka Vadham” released in 1916 by R. Nataraja. Also said to be the father of Tamil cinema.  That was the start of the big industry Kollywood was going to become.

1950s-1960s:The growth of the Tamil film industry with more film studios entering like AVM productions. Rising Actors and Filmmakers creating big movies and music that makes you move to the beat. This was the golden age of Tamil cinema (Kollywood)

1970s-1980s: This was when there were technological advancements. From black and white, there was colour added and new instruments and sound technologies. Like synthesizers 

1990 - Now: Around this time, Tamil cinemas were getting popular around the world, getting more recognition. Many actors and filmmakers also became widely known around the world. 

The songs are produced by mostly Indian producers. They have a variety of instruments that range from early carnatic music days (using traditional south Indian instruments) or western style music with synthesizers. Songs are sung by artists from India or from around the world! Fun fact, a very popular bollywood song was sung in Hindi by an American artist called Akon.