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About the BookAbout the Author

THEODORE BASKARAN weaves the magic and matter of South Indian films into a rich tapestry of readable essays. They cover such topics as early cinema in the south, trade unionism in South Indian film industry, and the need for historicizing southern cinema. Baskaran also investigates how Tamil cinema is struggling to get free from the legacy of company drama and the persistence of stage features. While his sharper focus rests on Tamil cinema, this collection will interest historians and students of Indian film, and the general readers who look for a sprightly introduction to the world of South Indian films. Chapter titles include.

Cinema as a source material for history
Cinema house as public space
Adaptations from literature

A prolific writer and film historian, Theodore Baskaran has published in scholarly journals and has authored influential books on Tamil cinema. His book The Eye of the Serpent (1997) won the Swarna Kamal award from the President of India. He has lectured in universitites in Australia, the UK and USA. He was director of Roja Muthiah Research Library, Chennai, for three years where he documented source material on South Indian cinema. Baskaran writes in Tamil also.