R. Nataraja Mudaliar facts for kids

Rangaswamy Nataraja Mudaliar (1885–1972) is often called the "father of Tamil cinema". He was a very important person in making early silent films in India. He started his career selling car parts. Later, he created the "Indian Film Company Limited" in Madras. In 1917, Mudaliar made Keechaka Vadham. This was the first silent film made in South India. People really liked the film. After that, he made other movies like Draupadhi Vastrapaharanam (1918) and Lava Kusa (1919). Sadly, his son died in a fire accident in 1923. After this, Mudaliar stopped making films.

Early Life and Business Beginnings

Rangaswamy Nataraja Mudaliar was born in Vellore, India. His family was wealthy, and his father was a successful trader. After finishing school, Mudaliar moved to Madras (now Chennai). He wanted to start his own business there.

He first opened a bicycle shop called "Watson & Company" with his cousin. This business did very well. In 1911, they bought a foreign company. This new company imported American cars and car parts. Before this, only one other company in Madras sold American cars. Mudaliar became the first Indian to sell these cars. He was also very interested in photography. This interest later grew into a love for "moving pictures," which are movies!

Starting a Film Career

Mudaliar became very interested in movies after watching films by Dadasaheb Phalke. Phalke is known as the father of Indian cinema. At that time, filmmakers from Britain were making a documentary. They were filming Lord Curzon, who was a very important leader in India.

Mudaliar met Stewart Smith, one of the filmmakers. He learned a lot about how to film and make movies from him. This helped Mudaliar start his own film company. He called it "India Film Company" in 1917. He got some of his business friends to invest money in it. They built South India's first film studio in Madras.

Making South India's First Silent Film

In 1917, Mudaliar began working on a film called Keechaka Vadham. He did many jobs for this movie. He wrote the script, filmed it, edited it, and directed it. He also managed the whole production.

The film was very long, over 6,000 feet! It was special because it was the first silent film made in South India. When it was released in January 1918, people loved it. It was a big success. The words on screen (called title cards) were in English and Tamil. A famous doctor and a college principal helped write them. Even Devdas Gandhi, the son of Mahatma Gandhi, wrote some of the Hindi titles.

The success of Keechaka Vadham made Mudaliar want to make more historical films. However, he later had disagreements with the people who invested in his company. A sad fire accident happened at his studio, and his son died. After this, Mudaliar decided to stop making films and closed his studio.

Mudaliar's work inspired other filmmakers. He inspired Raghupathi Prakasa and J. C. Daniel. Daniel later became known as the father of Malayalam cinema. Rangaswamy Nataraja Mudaliar passed away on May 2, 1971.

Filmography

Here are some of the films Rangaswamy Nataraja Mudaliar made:

• Keechaka Vadham
• Draupadi Vastrapaharanam
• Mahi Ravana
• Lava Kusa
• Kalinga Mardanam
• Rukmini Satyabhama
• Markandeya

See also

In Spanish: R. Nataraja Mudaliar para niños