# M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute

The M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, popularly known earlier as Madras Film Institute, is Asia's first-ever film and television training institute. Established in 1945 as Adyar Film Institute, it is one of the pioneer film institutes in India. It is in Tharamani, Chennai, and is run by the Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Tamil Nadu.
The diplomas are approved by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), while the certificates are awarded by the Department of Technical Education, Government of Tamil Nadu.
The incumbent president of the Institute is Trotsky Marudu, who was appointed by the Government on 11 November 2024.

## History

The institute was established in 1945 as Adyar Film Institute and was a part of the Central Polytechnic. In 1965, it moved into its present campus in the Tharamani area of Chennai. At the time, the campus was spread over 54 acres, which has reduced over the following decades, due to rapid urbanisation. Parts of land were given to the IIT Madras and many IT companies, bringing it down to the present 10 acres.
M.G.R. Film City is situated in Taramani. It is an Indian Film and TV Training Institute run by Tamil Nadu State Government under Information and Public relation.
In 2006, it was renamed M.G.R. Film and Television Training Institute, after former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987), who was a prominent actor in Tamil cinema.
In 1994, the government started MGR Film City to make more filmmaking facilities in the city. On 16 October 1997, Queen Elizabeth II visited MGR Film City and watched the filming of Kamal Haasan's Tamil movie Marudhanayagam. The acting course that started in 1971, at the behest of M.G.R., was discontinued in 2002. Talks to revive the course have been on for many years.

## Courses

It offers four-year bachelor's degree courses
* Bachelor of Visual Arts (Cinematography)
* Bachelor of Visual Arts (Digital Intermediate)
* Bachelor of Visual Arts (Audiography)
* Bachelor of Visual Arts (Direction and Screenplay Writing)
* Bachelor of Visual Arts (Film Editing)
* Bachelor of Visual Arts (Animation and Visual Effects)
Screenplay and Direction, Cinematography, Sound Recording and Sound Engineering, Film Editing and Film Processing, and functions of the government. Only 14 students are admitted in each course.

## Notable alumni

| Artist | Category |
| K. S. Prasad | Cinematographer |
| Mankada Ravi Varma | Cinematographer |
| Ashok Kumar | Cinematographer |
| P. S. Nivas | Cinematographer |
| Keyaar | Film director |
| Aabavanan | Film director |
| RV.Udayakumar | Film director |
| Rajinikanth | Actor |
| Hema Chaudhary | Actress |
| G. V. Narayana Rao | Actor |
| Mohan Babu | Actor |
| K. Natraj | Actor |
| Ramki | Actor |
| C. Rudhraiya | Screenwriter, Film director |
| K. Rajeshwar | Screenwriter, Film director |
| Jose | Actor |
| Maniyanpilla Raju | actor |
| Rajendra Prasad | Actor |
| Sujatha Vijaykumar | Producer |
| Chakrapani | Actor |
| Sudhakar | Actor |
| Chiranjeevi | Actor |
| Nassar | Actor |
| Sreenivasan | Actor |
| P. C. Sreeram | Cinematographer |
| Suhasini Maniratnam | Cinematographer |
| Raghuvaran | Actor |
| Archana | Actor |
| Yugi Sethu | Film director |
| R. V. Udayakumar | Film director |
| Rajiv Menon | Cinematographer |
| G. P. Krishna | Cinematographer |
| Ayananka Bose | Cinematographer |
| V. Manikandan | Cinematographer |
| Boopathy Pandian | Director |
| Sakthi Saravanan | Cinematographer |
| Anand Raj | Actor |
| Shiva Rajkumar | Actor |
| S. Saravanan | Cinematographer |
| M. V. Panneerselvam | Cinematographer |
| Raveendran | Actor |
| Kumar Bangarappa | Actor |
| Ajayan | Cinematographer |
| N. Harikumar | Sound editor |
| U. K. Senthil Kumar | Cinematographer |
| Jeeva | Cinematographer |
| S. Saravanan | Cinematographer |
| M. V. Panneerselvam | Cinematographer |
| Vijay Milton | Cinematographer |
| R. Rathnavelu | Cinematographer |
| Saravanan | Actor |
| E. Ezhilbabu | Cinematographer Cameraman, ISRO, Ahmedabad |
| Alberrt Antoni | Film director |
| Vaidy S. | Cinematographer |
| R. Diwakaran | Cinematographer |
| P. V. Sunilkumar | Cinematographer, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO |
| Chandru Manickavasagam | Writer, Film director |
| R. T. Neason | Director |
| N. K. Ekambaram | Cinematographer |
| Siva | Director |
| Vetri | Cinematographer |
| Nandha Durairaj | Actor |
| Mohan Raja | Film director |
| Bommarillu Baskar | Film Director |
| Azhagam Perumal | Director, Actor |
| P. S. Vinod | Cinematographer |
| Arivazhagan Venkatachalam | Director |
| M. Anbazhagan | Director |
| Narain | Cinematographer, Actor |
| E. Krishnasamy | Cinematographer |
| Manoj Paramahamsa | Cinematographer |
| Gnanam Subramanian | Cinematographer |
| Arul Sakthi Jayam | Underwater DOP/ Cinematographer |
| Mahesh Narayanan | Film editor, Screenplay writer |
| Manush Nandan | Cinematographer |
| K. G. Venkatesh | Cinematographer |
| Sooraj Nallusamy | Cinematographer |
| Magesh Raj | Cinematographer |
| E.Subamohan | Cameraman, Tamilnadu Films Division. |
| Sampath Alwar | Sound Engineer, Sound Designer |
| Vishnu Govind | sound engineer, sound designer |
| Vijay Ulaganath | Cinematographer |
| Dinesh Krishnan | Cinematographer |
| Sujith Sarang | Cinematographer |
| Anbusathiyan R. | Cinematographer |
| Richard Prasad | Cinematographer |
| Srihari | Actor |
| Bakkiyaraj Kannan | Director |
| Gopi Krishna | Editor |
| J. Dharmendra | Television Presenter, Actor |
| Kavin Raj | Cinematographer |
| Suriya | Editor |
| Sistla VMK | Cinematographer |
| Adith Gopal A P | Animation & Visual Effects (VFX) |
| B.Sakthidoss | Cinematographer |
| Adam Ayub | Actor |