Visual History of the Tamil Film Industry through a Photographic Collection of R.N. Nagaraja Rao

Mr. R.N. Nagaraja Rao (1950-1985) was a well-known still-photographer of the film industry in South India. He was particularly engaged in Tamil cinema and photographed hundreds of films during his career. The collection includes thousands of black & white and color negatives in 120mm and 35mm formats. These images depict actors, film locations, studios, lighting and make-up. Due to the breadth of the collection, the images capture the visual history of both cinema and politics in the State of Tamil Nadu during this period. This project will survey and document his collection, preparing the material for future digitization.