The Tamil language film industry, known as Tamil cinema, is the second largest film industry in India, and is based in the Kodambakkam district of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Tamil films are screened by the Tamil diaspora all over the world and people of all states of South India. Tamil films have good portrayal of Tamil culture, which has subdued sexual expressions and moderate glamour, unlike its northern counterpart. Tamil cinema has been a force in the local politics of the Tamil Nadu state with some of the industry\'s personalities, such as M. G. Ramachandran, M. Karunanidhi, and J. Jayalalitha, having held political offices. With the establishment of the Madras film Institute the quality of Tamil cinema improved during the 1980s and it further gained international exposure with the works of filmmakers like Mani Ratnam. In 1993 the Tamil industry\'s net output was 168 films. Tamil stars such as Kamal Hassan have been successful nationally while others like Rajnikanth have had a global fa ...more