| Kodambakkam | |
| Settlement Type: | Neighbourhood |
| Pushpin Map: | India Chennai#Tamil Nadu#India |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Kodambakkam கோடம்பாக்கம் (Chennai) |
| Coordinates: | 13.0535°N 80.2255°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Tamil Nadu |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Chennai District |
| Subdivision Type3: | Metro |
| Subdivision Name3: | Chennai |
| Subdivision Type4: | Zone |
| Subdivision Name4: | ZONE 10 – Kodambakkam Zone |
| Subdivision Type5: | Ward |
| Subdivision Name5: | Ward No. 127,130,131,133,134 |
| Parts Type: | Talukas |
| Parts: | Mambalam Taluk |
| Governing Body: | Greater Chennai Corporation |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Elevation M: | 63 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Tamil |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | PIN |
| Postal Code: | 600024 |
| Registration Plate: | TN-09 |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Lok Sabha constituency |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | Chennai South |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Legislative Assembly constituency |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | Theagarayanagar (T Nagar) |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | Planning agency |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | CMDA |
| Blank4 Name Sec1: | Civic agency |
| Blank4 Info Sec1: | Greater Chennai Corporation |
Kodambakkam (also known as K-Town[1] or Kollywood) is a business and residential neighbourhood in Central Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The neighbourhood is served by Kodambakkam railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. Kodambakkam has a high concentration of film studios and has been known for its status as the hub of the Tamil film industry, lending its name to the industry's monicker Kollywood.[2]
Kodambakkam is situated at 13.0481 N latitude and 80.2214 E longitude. It is one of the westerly located neighbourhoods of Chennai city. It is bounded by the neighbourhoods of Nungambakkam to the east, West Mambalam and T. Nagar to the south, Vadapalani to the west, Choolaimedu to the north and K. K. Nagar and Ashok Nagar to the south-west.
Kodambakkam is located at a distance of 8 kilometres from Fort St. George.
It is believed that the name "Kodambakkam" itself might have been derived from the Urdu word Ghoda Bagh meaning "garden of horses".[3] Another version says that "Kodambakkam" derives its name from "Karkodagan Pakkam".[4] Karkodagan is the name of a famous snake in Hindu mythology. It is said that the snake worshiped Lord Shiva here. There is still a temple for Lord Shiva by the name Vengeeshwarar in Kodambakkam. Several sculptures and images of the snake Karkodagan can be seen in the temple, even today. There is another etymology for this name from Soundarya Lahari according to Sudha Seshayyan. "Kodu-am-bakkam" Kodu means hill, am – denotes arrow. The place is associated with lord Shiva using the meru mountain as bow for destroying Tripura.
The neighbourhood of Kodambakkam has a history going back to about 2,000 years. During the period of the Pallavas and the Later Cholas, the western part of Kodambakkam formed a portion of the historically important temple town of Vadapalani. One of the oldest temples in Kodambakkam is the Bharthukesavar temple which is over 500 years old.
Present-day Kodambakkam originated in the 17th and 18th centuries CE, when it supposedly served as source for the horses of the stable of the Nawab of the Carnatic.
Under the British, Kodambakkam was administered as a municipality in Chingleput district till the draining of the Long Tank in 1921, when Kodambakkam was incorporated into the Madras city and formed the Kodambakkam-Saligrammam-Puliyur district of Greater Madras along with other localities to the west of the now extinct Long Tank, with a population of 497 people in 1939. Kodambakkam also played an important role in the Anti-Hindi agitations of 1938 when Maraimalai Adigal presided over a conference denouncing the imposition of Hindi in the Madras Presidency on 3 June 1938.[5]
The first movie studio was established by Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar in 1948. Since then, a number of other movie studios have been established, notable among them being L. V. Prasad Studios and Vijaya Vauhini studios. Liberty theater which was the oldest movie theater in Chennai was based here too, it was the place to be seen in the 1950s for movie premieres. However, the theater been demolished in the year 2010 and been replaced by a hotel and condos.
The neighbourhood got one of the city's first flyovers in 1967.[6] It is 623 m long and 12.8 m wide and connects the localities of K. K. Nagar, Vadapalani, and Ashok Nagar. The district is also home to the Meenakshi Sundararajan Engineering College, which is affiliated to Anna University.
There are old temples dedicated to Lord Shiva namely Vengeeswarar Temple and Bharadvajeswarar (Valeswarar) Temple belonging to 13th Century built during Chola Period. One of the oldest mosque in Chennai named Puliyur Juma Masjid is situated here.
Kodambakkam is the centre of the Tamil film industry known as Kollywood, a portmanteau of Kodambakkam and Hollywood. A. V. M. Studios established by Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar was the first movie studio to be established in Vadapalani-Kodambakkam. The Vijaya Vauhini Studios was established a little later followed by Prasad Labs in 1974. Today, many Tamil movie studios are located in and around Kodambakkam.
Residences of many film and television stars are located in and around Kodambakkam due to proximity to the movie studios. A film directors' colony situated in Kodambakkam is the home of many Tamil film directors and producers.
Indian music director A. R. Rahman's house and his AM Studios is located in the same street.
Some of the important localities of Kodambakkam include: