The Eye of the Serpent

Book excerpt: This is a quintessential book for Cinema buffs and particularly those who are passionate about Tamil cinema, which has the distinction of having played a significant role in history of films in India. Tracing the evolution of Tamil films from the time of pre-independence, when it was anathema for local Congress leaders to be associated with the celluloid, to the arrival of an American, Ellis Dungan, who made masterpieces like Meera, the book showcases vignettes about every important milestone in the vast canvas of Tamil films. In the almost ten decades of its evolution, Tamil cinema has grown to exert a dominant influence on the social and political life of Tamil Nadu in a manner that is unparalleled elsewhere in the world. This seminal volume is an analytical study of Tamil cinema both as an art form and as a socio-political force. Theodore Baskaran traces its history, and presents the achievements of many filmmakers with colourful insights. For the film buff as well as the serious student of film studies, The Eye of the Serpent is a handy reference book on several aspects of Tamil cinema - its character and evolution, the songs and songwriters, filmmakers and script writers, the beginnings of the unique nexus between cinema and politics in Tamil Nadu and much more.