Telugu cinema, also known by its sobriquet Tollywood, is a part of Indian cinema producing films in the Telugu language, centered around the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, based in the Hyderabad neighbourhood of Film Nagar. Since 1909, filmmaker Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu was involved in many aspects of Indian cinema's history, like producing short films and travelling to different regions in Asia to promote film work. In 1921, he produced the first Telugu silent film, Bhishma Pratigna. He is cited as the father of Telugu cinema.
In 1933, East India Film Company produced its first Indian film, Savitri, in Telugu. Shot in Calcutta on a budget of ₹ 75 thousand, and based on a popular stage play by Mylavaram Bala Bharathi Samajam, the film was directed by father of the "Telugu Theater Movement" Chittajallu Pullaiah and cast stage actors Vemuri Gaggaiah and Dasari Ramathilakam as "Yama" and "Savithri" respectively. The blockbuster film has received an honorary diploma at Venice Film Festival. Multilingual actor Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya was known as the Paul Muni of India, and one of the influential actors of Telugu cinema.