Sri Lankan Tamil cinema
Tamil filmmaking industry in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Tamil cinema is a small filmmaking industry based in Sri Lanka, which has made under 100 Tamil language films as of 2013. it is separate from its Indian counterpart, the Tamil cinema of Kodambakkam in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, as many Sri Lankan Tamil actors work in Sri Lankan films or independent Tamil films overseas, although a few noted Tamil actors in India were born in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Tamil cinema's growth has largely been stalled due to the Sri Lankan Civil War.
History
Tamils contributed significantly to Sinhala cinema as well as Indian Tamil cinema. The earliest ever Tamil films were mostly destroyed or unrecovered during wartime. The first known Sinhalese film dubbed in Tamil was released on 29 December 1951. The Sri Lankan Tamil film Samuthayam (transl. Society), an adaptation of C.N. Annadurai’s Velaikkari, was made in 16 mm and technicolor. It was shown in 1962 and 1963. Thottakkari (Plantation Woman), released on 28 March 1962, was the first Sri Lankan Tamil film in the standard 35 mm format.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Sri Lankan Tamil cinema” as tamil filmmaking industry in Sri Lanka. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as tamil filmmaking industry in Sri Lanka. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7586047. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2013, 1951, 1962 and 1963.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Sri Lankan Tamil cinema”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Sri Lankan Tamil cinema primary sources, Sri Lankan Tamil cinema archive and Lankan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sri Lankan Tamil cinema”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Sri Lankan Tamil cinema” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.