Our Picks from Q3 2016 : Tamil Films
The third quarter of 2016 saw quite a few critically acclaimed performances pitted against just the one blockbuster candidate - Superstar Rajni's Kabali which despite being a brilliant attempt that deserved more recognition, failed to live up to the misleading pre-release hype and set a sobre tone for the rest of the quarter that largely served quantity over quality! Notable disappointments included biggies Thodari and Irumugan while the low-key releases like Andavan Kattalai and Kutrame Dhandanai hogging the limelight. Joker turned up the heat big time and proved to be the ultimate dark horse that had a unanimous positive response in stark contrast to many other movies that led to polarizing opinions among both critics and the general public. Now lets walk through those deserving movies that made it to our top-picks
Our Picks from Q2 2016 : Tamil Films
The summer quarter of 2016 has been refreshingly good for Kollywood, continuing the momentum that Q1's top quality films provided. We had two star vehicles in form of Vijay's blockbuster hit Theri and Suriya's experimental, yet wholesome 24. Those apart, the surprises came either through small films of smart film-makers whose films (Metro, Uriyadi etc.) garnered attention through word-of-mouth or through people with a repute changing paths in a way that pleases us - Udhayanidhi's Manithan & Karthik Subbaraj's women-centric Iraivi for instance. There were a number of ambitious and over-ambitious duds too, which made K-town hit the 100 mark a little earlier than previous years. Is that a good or bad sign? Trend will take care of giving us an answer to that. Before we get to our top picks, time to congratulate Vikram, Nayanthara, Mohan Raja, A. R Rahman & others on their Filmfare award wins!
Gender Stereotype Inversion in Indian Cinema
Just like how Cricket has always revered its batsmen more than its bowlers, Cinema in general has always been Hero-dominated rather than give space for the Heroines. There have however been quite a few instances across the world where few women have risen above the men to have scripts solely based on them and their ability to shoulder the film, a Meryl Streep for example. And of course, there are quite a few filmmakers who do not go by the agenda of hero or a heroine but rather let the script dictate the choice of the protagonist’s gender.
Our Picks from Q1 2016 : Tamil Films
This year kicked off with low key releases until the festivities began with four movies squaring off on Pongal Day aimed at catering to different audience. With Gethu and Rajini Murugan falling prey to cliches, Kathakali edged ahead for its absorbing content but the darker Tharathappattai from Bala remained etched in memory for the terrific acting and enchanting music from the Maestro Illayaraja. When the wave subsided, comedy-horror-glamour was back with Aranmanai-2, but the boxing drama Irudhi Suttru starring a beefed up Maddy stole the limelight for its honest attempt. The best phase was seen around the release of the much anticipated Visaranai which was hard hitting and liked by hard code cinephiles. Jil Jung Juk started another wave of ambitious movies including the first zombie flick in Tamil - Mirudhan which missed out to Pichaikaran,Sethupathi and Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum that made to our list of best flicks this quarter.
13th Chennai International Film Festival 2016: A round-up
The 13th Chennai International Film Festival originally scheduled in December 2015 had to be postponed due to the floods in Chennai and it was finally held between 6th and 13th of January 2016, across seven screens within the city