Pakshiraja Studios was a motion picture movie studio in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, established by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu in 1945. The studio predominantly produced movies in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam languages, also having made one Kannada film. The studio had major releases in the 1950s and early 1960s and is well known for some blockbusters of the times.

Pakshiraja Studios
Company typeManaging agency, later partnership firm
IndustryMotion pictures
Founded1945
Defunct1972 (de facto)
HeadquartersPuliakulam- Sungam Road, Ramanathapuram, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Key people
S. M. Sriramulu Naidu
Pakshiraja Studios outside
Pakshiraja Studios inside

History

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During the early 1930s, Coimbatore became a hub for some of the south Indian language movies, especially Tamil and Telugu, when the director Naidu and other industrialists started Central Studios. Naidu became the creative head and started making his own movies under the banner of Pakshiraja Films. By the early 1930s, another movie studio, Premier Cinetone Studio[1] was under operation in Red Fields, Coimbatore. In 1945, Naidu left Central Studios and took over the Premier Cinetone Studio located in Puliyakulam Road, Red Fields, Coimbatore. He constructed new floors and infrastructure and made it a fully-fledged movie studio with in-house processing lasoratories.

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The most popular films from that studio was Malaikkallan (1955), starring M. G. R and P. Bhanumathi, and Azaad (1955) starring Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari, which was the highest grossing film in Bollywood for that year, as well as Kumar and Kumari's first in lighter roles as against their tragic roles in most other movies. Malaikkallan was M. G. Ramachandran's first major box office hit.

Present status

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Movie production in the studio slowly declined since mid 1960s. With Central Studios going out of movie industry some time earlier and declining production at Salem Modern Theaters, Chennai has become the de facto capital for the south Indian movie industry. In 1970, Sriramulu relocated his studio facilities to establish Chamundeshwari Studios in Bangalore.

The studio premises and structures still remain more or less intact with several other establishments housed inside.

List of movies

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Movies listed here are partial list only.

Year Title Language Cast Director Music composer Others
1947 Kannika Tamil M. S. Sarojini, T. E. Varadan, M. R. Santhanalakshmi, D. Balasubramaniam, N. S. Krishnan, Kali N. Rathnam, T. A. Madhuram S. M. Sriramulu Naidu Papanasam Sivan Story and dialogue by Elangovan
1949 Pavalakodi Tamil T. R. Rajakumari, T. R.Mahalingam, T. E. Varadhan, M. S. Sarojini, N. S. Krishnan, T. A. Madhuram S. M. Sriramulu Naidu C. R. Subburaman Story and dialogue by Elangovan
1950 Ezhai Padum Padu Tamil V. Nagayya, Serukulathur Sama, T. S. Balaiah, V. Gopalakrishnan,
T. S. Durairaj, Lalitha and Padmini, Kumari N. Rajam. (a.k.a. Thanjavur N. Rajalakshmi)
K. Ramnoth S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Lyrics by Papanasam Sivan, dialogue by Elangovan
1950 Beedala Paatlu Telugu V. Nagayya, Serukalathur Sama, T. S. Balaiah, V. Gopalakrishnan,
T. S. Durairaj, Lalitha and Padmini, Kumari N. Rajam. (a.k.a. Thanjavur N. Rajalakshmi)
K. Ramnoth S. M. Subbaiah Naidu
1952 Kanchana Tamil] K. R. Ramasamy, Lalitha, Padmini, Duraiswamy, Miss Kumari, Aranmula Ponnamma, T. S. Durairaj S. M. Sriramulu Naidu S. M. Subbaiah Naidu
1952 Kanchana Telugu K. R. Ramasamy, Lalitha, Padmini, Duraiswamy, Miss Kumari, Aranmula Ponnamma, T. S. Durairaj S. M. Sriramulu Naidu S. M. Subbaiah Naidu
1952 Kanjana Malayalam K. R. Ramasamy, Lalitha, Padmini, Duraiswamy, Miss Kumari, Aranmula Ponnamma, T. S. Durairaj S. M. Sriramulu Naidu S. M. Subbaiah Naidu
1952 Puratchi Veeran (dubbed from Hindi movie Badal) Tamil Madhubala, Prem Nath, Purnima, Agha Amiya Chakravarty Shankar Jaikishan Distribution only
1953 Ponni Tamil Sriram, Lalitha and Padmini A. S. A. Sami and C. S. Rao S. M. Subbaiah Naidu
1953 Oka Talli Pillalu Telugu Sriram, Lalitha and Padmini A. S. A. Sami and C. S. Rao S. M. Subbaiah Naidu
1954 Malaikkallan Tamil M. G. Ramachandran, P. Bhanumathi S. M. Sriramulu Naidu S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Story based on the novel by Namakkal Kavignar Va. Ramalingam Pillai. The movie
was the first blockbuster hit for Ramachandran, establishing him as a major star.
1954 Aggi Ramudu Telugu N. T. Rama Rao, P. Bhanumathi, R. Nageswara Rao S. M. Sriramulu Naidu S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Story based on the novel by Namakkal Kavignar Va. Ramalingam Pillai
1954 Azaad Hindi Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Pran, Om Prakash S. M. Sriramulu Naidu C. Ramchandra Story based on the novel by Namakkal Kavignar Va. Ramalingam Pillai, Hindi lyrics
by Rajendra Krishen. The film was the top grossing Hindi film in the year of its release, and one of the biggest Hindi films in the 1950s.
1954 ..Thaskaraveeran.. Malayalam Thikkurisi Sukumaran Nair S. M. Sriramulu Naidu S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Story based on the novel by Namakkal Kavignar Va. Ramalingam Pillai.
1957 Bettada Kalla Kannada Kalyan Kumar S. M. Sriramulu Naidu S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Story based on the novel by Namakkal Kavignar Va. Ramalingam Pillai.
1959 Maragatham Tamil Sivaji Ganesan, Veenai S. Balachander, Sandhya, Padmini, T. S. Durairaj,
T. S. Balaiah, J. P. Chandrababu, C. Lakshmi Rajyam
S. M. Sriramulu Naidu S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Dialogue by Murasoli Maran, cinematography by Sailen Bose, art direction by A. K. Sekhar
1960 Vimala Telugu N. T. Rama Rao, K. Savithri S. M. Sriramulu Naidu S. M. Subbaiah Naidu
1961 Sabarimala Ayyappan Malayalam S. M. Sriramulu Naidu S. M. Subbaiah Naidu National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam: Certificate of Merit for
Third Best Feature Film in Malayalam
1963 Kalyaniyin Kanavan Tamil Sivaji Ganesan, B. Saroja Devi, M. R. Radha S. M. Sriramulu Naidu S. M. Subbaiah Naidu

References

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  1. ^ Guy, Randor (29 January 2017). "Sathi Anusuya (1937)". The Hindu.
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