Our Picks from Q3 2014 : Tamil Films
Over the first three months of the second half of 2014, there were a lot less stars on the Kollywood skies but it did shine bright as ever, nevertheless! If it was Dhanush's Velai Illa Patadhaari which kick-started the quarter pleasing the masses, the increasing significance of Content over the Star in a slow-but-sure shift in valuation of films by the general audience was evident when Karthik Subbaraj's Jigarthanda was the talk of the town in August & Ranjith's Madras took the honour towards the end of the Quarter. This was also the quarter that can be fondly remembered for the money-muscle Kollywood has that brought Schwarzenegger to Madras for the launch of 'I''s music.On the flip side, the biggest star outing of the quarter, Anjaan turned out to be a Box office disaster & took some toll on the public image of its director Lingusamy. Off to the SIX K-town films that were our picks from the quarter that flashed by.
Birthday Wishes to a Rebellious Storyteller & a Multifaceted Singer
Today, Sep 10th marks the birthdays of two members of the film fraternity who contribute to it in quite different ways. What unites them is that they stand-out in some ways from their peers in their respective fields. The point of this Birthday tribute is to bring to your notice some unique things that make make them inimitable.
Our Picks from Q2 2014 : Tamil Films
With summer vacations offering free time in abundance & the Air-conditioned theatres offering solace from the scorching heat, the quarter from Apr-Jun used to be the one when a lot of Big films release but this is all a matter of the past. In these days of split ACed & LEDed homes and IPL action on screen with Pizzas giving company, films involving huge budgets consider it a risk to release films during the sporting carnival. Due partly to this & also because of delays in films like Ai, Vishwaroopam 2, this year, we didn't have any mainstream commercial extravaganza but the caricature of the Superstar came to the quarter's rescue! More on the films that fared well over the quarter below.
Why Thalapathy deserves what he gets?
The last time I watched a Vijay movie back home, I heard him nonchalantly utter the words – “I am waiting” and the whole theatre ruptured, creating a huge frenzy not just among his boisterous, most ardent and zealous fans but also among those quiet movie watchers who just went about soaking in that atmosphere. Though Vijay had a couple more releases after Thuppaki, that dialogue does still stand out. I guess you wouldn’t disagree with me. It isn’t ingratiation that the actor-director duo that gave us an enthralling experience in ‘Thuppaki’ is joining hands to give us another weapon. As you are reading this right now, Team ‘Kaththi’ would be basking in the release of Vijay’s first look in this flick and these days it isn’t a coincidence that teasers & trailers of huge films see daylight on the birthdays of the lead protagonists.
Celebrating the Raja and Ratnam of Tamil Cinema
Often have we seen people who follow the footsteps of others; others who they look up to; who are their role-models. As time progresses, those people take to supporting their idols very religiously, thereby putting their weight on them even during adversities, thereby offering a simple show of support. How does one manage to win such confidence from the masses, let alone become a role model of them? They tell and we listen without batting the eyelid; they preach and we practice; last of all, they train and people who train under them become gems of their respective fields.