Malayalam films have a smaller box office
when compared to other south Indian industries but they have been recognized in
world cinema for their technical finesse & craft. Malayalam films have gone
to several top level film festival inclusion Cannes and Oscars. In 1982, Elippathayam won
the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival, and Most Original Imaginative Film of 1982 by
the British Film Institute. Rajiv Anchal's Guru (1997)
and Salim Ahamed's Adaminte Makan Abu (2011)
are the Malayalam films to be sent by India as its official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards.
Since its inception Tamil cinema has a
profound influence on other film making industries in the country. Based
in the Kodambakkam area
of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, the industry is colloquially
referred to as Kollywood, the term being a portmanteau of
the words Kodambakkam and Hollywood.
Tamil
films from Chennai have been distributed to various overseas theatres in
Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Malaysia, Japan, Oceania, the Middle East,
Western Europe, and North America. Tamil films have enjoyed consistent popularity among populations in South East
Asia. Since Chandralekha, Muthu was the second Tamil film to be dubbed
into Japanese (as Mutu: Odoru Maharaja) and grossed a
record $1.6 million in 1998.
In 2010, Enthiran grossed a record $4 million in North
America.