RAJ TV to showcase 75 years of Tamil cinema

Chennai, Apr 2: To celebrate 75 years of Tamil cinema, ''Raj TV'' would organise a 75-day film festival from April five to June 19 to showcase the best Tamil films.

The festival would screen ''Kalidas'', released in 1931, in dual language -- Tamil and Telugu. The films would range from the period March 1931, when the first hindi talkie Pesum Padam ''Alam Aara'' was released.

The grand finale of the festival would be a star-studded award function to be held here on June 24, in which 75 veterans, who have contributed to the Tamil cinema would be honoured.

The prominent personalities of the Tamil film industry would be present on the grand star nite, in which Big B Amitabh Bachchan is expected to be the chief guest.

Mr M Ravindran and Mr M Raghunathan, Directors of Raj TV, told newspersons here last night that the festival was a tribute to the Tamil film industry which had provided entertainment, enjoyment and happiness to the Tamil speaking viewers in India and abroad.

''This will be a film festival with a difference as the channel will screen 75 best films (from 1931 to 2006) and showcase some of the actors, actresses and directors who had worked for these films, taking them to a trip down the memory lane.'' Starting from April five, the films would be screened in the 2100 hrs slot on Raj TV, which would also contain a ten minute curtain raiser on the making of that particular film. The curtain raiser would also include celebrity chats and interviews.

Mr Raghunathan said to attract viewers, the order of the films would be changed. Raj TV would install giant screens at Marina and Besant Nagar beach and screen tamil classics for 15 days from June 10, as a build up to the June 24 mega show. This would be done to sport a festival look in the city ahead of the grand finale.

The channel has said to introduce a best achiever award from 2007, on the lines of the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award.

The award would be instituted in memory of Nataraj Mudaliar, producer of the first silent movie ''Keechaka Vadham'' in 1916.

The film was released in 1917.

The annual award would be given to the best achiever in Tamil Film Industry and the awardee would be selected by a panel from the film fraternity and other walks of life.

The channel would also present an award of Rs one lakh each to 12 low-budget films every year, the directors added.

UNI