Tollywood

The area of Indian cinema known as Telugu cinema, or Tollywood, is devoted to the creation of films in the Telugu language, which is mainly used in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is located in Film Nagar, Hyderabad, India. The moniker Tollywood is a combination of Telugu and Hollywood. By 2021, it has grown to become the biggest box office-grossing film industry in India.

Filmmaker Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu has been making short films since 1909 and travelling to several Asian countries to market his works. He made Bhishma Pratigna, a silent movie that is typically regarded as the first Telugu feature film, in 1921. As the "father of Telugu cinema," he is revered. The 1933 2nd Venice International Film Festival awarded honorary diploma to C. Pullayya's Sati Savitri.

The only South Indian film shown at the inaugural India International Film Festival was Pathala Bhairavi (1951). Among CNN-"100 IBN's Greatest Indian Films of All Time" are Pathala Bhairavi (1951), Malliswari (1951), Devadasu (1953), Mayabazar (1957), Nartanasala (1963), Maro Charitra (1978), Maa Bhoomi (1979), Sankarabharanam (1980), Sagara Sangamam (1983), and Siva (1989).