First Tamil classic film streaming platform Cneemaa launches today

Columbia Video Films (M) Sdn Bhd is launching the world’s first over-the-top media service (OTT) platform created for classic Tamil film fans called Cneemaa today.

Films that will be available go back as far as those produced in the 1930s to more recent masterpieces that were released in the early 2000s.

Columbia Video Films was founded by Joseph Michael Benedict Thomas in the early 1970s and is the world’s largest copyright owner of Tamil films. 

The OTT platform is called Cneemaa because that is how the word cinema is pronounced in Tamil.

The idea of Cneemaa was conceived by Christopher Ravin Thomas, the managing director of Columbia Video Films, along with his elder brother Gerard Thomas and younger sister Elena Thomas.

Cneemaa has been a dream project for the trio since 2017 and will take off with subscription plans starting from RM9.90.

“Cneemaa is about relieving timeless memories for family entertainment. We have now evolved from linear to the internet with a fully digitised content library that has been preserved in its original format, maintaining its sound and picture quality for the best viewing experience,” Christopher said in a statement.

The journey started in 2003 when Christopher was advised by a well-known corporate figure to invest in future copyrights (Internet) for their movie content.

“But the idea of Cneemaa, to launch an OTT platform came about in 2017 as the demand for viewing content online increased globally and locally. 

“Cneemaa is our next step and dream in distributing evergreen Tamil movies to the global market,” Christopher told Malaysiakini.

He said the service was the first of its kind, a platform dedicated to Tamil classics via video streaming.

"Our market research has indicated that even older generations are now familiarised and comfortable using mobile devices and the internet, thanks to Covid-19 lockdowns, which have created a new norm.

“The classic movies bring back nostalgic memories of when yesteryear stars were considered legends and became larger than life.

“Their fans are not just those from the older generation. These movies have many young fans too,” he added.

Christopher said they will start with 250 titles for the soft launch on Sept 16 and this will eventually grow to 1,500 by the end of 2023.

He said that the movie library will keep expanding beyond that number to create value and a larger content offering, with a focus purely on Tamil classic films with no plans to diversify to other languages.

The Phase 1 launch will be for Malaysia and Singapore, while the company is targeting the Middle East in the first quarter of 2023 and going global by the end of 2023, with a targetted subscriber base of eight million.

Christopher said that Cneemaa's target audience ranges from those aged 35 and above.

“We believe the late MGR (MG Ramachandran) and the late Sivaji Ganesan have a fan following even among the younger generation.

“Not to mention Rajinikanth, 71, and Kamal Hassan, 67 who still have a large fan following despite their age,” he said.

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