Acknowledgements

The seed for this project was sown when Ashish Rajadhyaksha persuaded me to write for Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema published by the British Film Institute in collaboration with OUP, India. The many delightful conversations I had with my friend C S Lakshmi (“Ambai”) gave me valuable insights into Tamil cinema. I cannot fail to acknowledge my debt to Satish Bahadur, formerly professor of Film Appreciation at the Film and Television Institute, Pune, who opened my eyes to the many splendours of cinema through a Film Appreciation course.
P K Nair, former Director of National Film Archives, Pune, supplied me with video cassettes of films and books whenever required. Randor Guy willingly extended help and shared information whenever I called. Filmnews Anandan supplied the stills. The British Council gave me a grant to visit the India Office Library, London, thus facilitating access to records pertaining to Tamil cinema of the pre-Independence era.

P Sankaralingam, Director, Roja Muthiah Research Library, Chennai, helped in preparing the index for the first edition.
I am thankful to V A K Ranga Rao who pointed out some errors in the book and helped me to correct them. Thilaka, my wife, viewed the films with me, shared her observations and provided an atmosphere of love and warmth in which I could pursue my interests.

S Theodore Baskaran