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

The M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, formerly known as the Adyar 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 Tamil Nadu State Government under the Department of Information and Public Relations.

It offers four-year bachelor's degree courses 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.

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 chief minister of Tamil Nadu, M. K. Stalin, appointed actor Rajesh as the Head of the Institute in September 2022.

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.