The making of local Tamil-language films is actively growing in Malaysia with many filmmakers wanting to make their mark.
Malaysia's first Tamil film is known to be Ratha Paei, starring Kalaikkumar Chinnasamy, Susheela Devi, Sivaji Raja, M. Baharudeen, Mukesh, Jaya Gowri and Malaysia Vasudevan. It was shot in Golden Studio, Chennai and directed by Mooban. Music and background score of the film was composed by G. K. Venkatesh. Shooting of the film began in 1968 and it was released on 14 January 1969.
Centered in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor Bahru, the industry remained relatively small with fewer films produced. The industry is growing and faces strong competition from Tamil films from Indian Tamil cinema.
Below is a list of Tamil language films produced in Malaysia. The total grosses of the films are in Ringgit Malaysia, and the source is FINAS. This list consists mostly of theatrical releases alongside a few telefilms.
The following films were also released, though the release date remains unknown.
Out of the 26 movies Malaysian Tamil films that were theatrically released from 2001 to 2011, 10 were chosen to be screened at the festival including Panja Muni and Ethirkalaam. The festival took place at the former Sree Devi Preview Theatre in T. Nagar, Chennai. Radha Ravi, Saranya Ponvannan, Vagai Chandrasekhar, Subramaniam Sinniah and Haanii Shivraj attended the event with Manobala, Charle, and Fathima Babu choosing the films for each category. R. Sarathkumar presented the awards.
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