Our Picks: 2015 Tamil Films

2015 kicked off with the Pongal releases & right in the middle of the mix was Shankar’s Vikram starrer I – arguably, the most expected film of the year that received mixed reviews but performed well at the box-office with Vikram receiving unanimous praise for the toils he had taken for the role! GV Prakash’s litmus test as an actor came in the form of Darling & the maverick S. J. Surya got back after a hiatus through his Isai that focused on a fictitious rivalry between Raja and Rahman. Then came another heavyweight film in the form of the collaboration expected by many for years – That of Ajith & Gautham Menon. Gautham’s comeback vehicle of sorts, Yennai Arindhaal , also received average reviews but did reasonably good business as the roles played by Ajith, Trisha, Arun Vijay & Harris‘ music clicked with the audiences. What followed right after in February was K. V. Anand‘s Anegan, which was too ambitious and pretentious in style. With the new commercial star Siva Karthikeyan’s Kaaki Sattai releasing later in the month and a convincing science film in the form of Tamizhuku En Ondrai Azhuthavum, February was a month which set the cash bells ringing at the box office. The all too familiar problem of a flurry of ‘blink and you miss’ releases marked the month of March & of that lot, Siddharth starrer Enakkul Oruvan, a refreshingly impressive Rajathandhiram and two other small films in Kallappadam & CSK were the ones talked about. The other major highlight of the quarter was the fanciful release of the album of Kamal’s Uttama Villain whose music by Ghibran received rave reviews from purists and fans alike.

The Kollywood summer saw a stint of high quality offerings. There were releases from two of the most respected upper-echelon members of the fraternity – Kamal Haasan (whose Uttama Villain was loved by a few, hated by many and became a box-office debacle) & Mani Ratnam (whose O Kadhal Kanmani showcased his vintage self and worked mighty well business-wise). The biggest hit of the summer and probably the most profitable film of the year, Raghava Lawrence’s Kanchana 2 was a reminder of how catering well to the B & C Centres was still an option in the era of bludgeoning growth of multiplexes! The biggest disappointment of this leg of the season was the performance of Suriya‘s collaboration with Venkat Prabhu in Massu. What started off well as a fresh Zombie outing took to pedestrian path with the dated flash-back. The period also came close to seeing the release of two National Award winning films. One (Kaaka Muttai) released & did its part in making Tamil Cinema a global commodity. There was also a train of the earlier-said blink-and-you-miss releases, which has become the k-town norm. The other highlights were the Horror/Horror-comedy genre getting even more popular with releases such as the successful Demonte Colony and the hope for more Sci-fi outings in future with the success of the highly likeable time travel tale from R. Ravi Kumar, Indru Netru Naalai. It would be unfair if we were not to mention the comeback of Jyothika with the nobly-intended 36 Vayadhinile!

The month of July began with reassurance to the industry & the hero of Papanasam, the remake of the popular Malayalam film Drishyam, which turned out to be a wholesome treat. Close on its heels came SS Rajmouli‘s epic Baahubali (whose Tamil version was more of a remake than a mundane dub!). With the two films setting the quarter engine revving, there had to be a few big duds to bring the heat down and those came in the form of the drab trio of Maari, Vaalu & VSOP. Then came the surprise film of the year – Thani Oruvan – which helped Jayam Ravi wash away the sins of his other pedestrian outings thus far in the year & we can’t thank Raja enough for getting us the ever-so-charming Arvind Swamy back in an uber cool villainous avatar. The quarter ended on a sound note with critics lapping up the National Award winning Kuttram Kadithal & the fans giving their thumbs-up to the awkwardly titled adult comedy Trisha Illana Nayanthara whose whopping collection would have surprised its hero GV Prakash himself! Two others made impressive debuts with releases in September. Ashwin Saravanan, through Maya which was emphatically embraced and touted to be the best pure horror movie to emanate from the Tamil film industry, was one. Anucharan was the other, whose contagious Kirumi was talked about for the detailing in characterization of its prime characters.

The final quarter of the year started off with the much-expected experimental Vijay film Puli which tamed timidly thanks to the lack of conviction in Chimbu Deven‘s screenplay. A flurry of small releases over the next few weeks meant the weekend that saw the release of Vignesh Shivan’s Vijay Sethupathy starrer Naanum Rowdydhaan & Goli Soda fame Milton’s 10 Endrathukulla a prominent one. While the dark-comedy in Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, that traversed genres comfortably, got a positive verdict, the Vikram starrer failed to arouse the Box office. Then came the traditional Deepavali festival weekend which saw Kamal’s Thoonga Vanam & Ajith’s Vedalam release both catering to its own set of target audiences, with Vedalam setting a new box-office record for Day-1 opening in the state. Towards the end of the year, the films that created the buzz were small ones big in heart and ambition – Eetti, Uppu Karuvadu, Pasanga 2 and 144. Jayam Ravi capped off a memorable year with his Bhooloham which, despite average reviews, had a good opening at the box office. If you were to bet on one hero who is set to go a league up in 2016, Ravi could be a safe bet! The year ended though with the jaded and uninventive Thanga Magan, an unpleasant reminder that Tamil Films have not completely come of age. Let’s look forward to a nice 2016 where we might get to see more of the biggest stalwarts of our state – Kamal & Rajni!