There is typically one trend that dominates Tamil cinema each year and in 2009, it was rawness and realism. Subramanyapuram showed us how much of a trendsetter it was as movies began to follow its raw approach. Renigunta, about a young protagonist pulled into a life of violence, and Yogi, that followed a hard-hearted rowdy as he became a reluctant father, were the most obvious followers. But movies like Nadodigal, a story of how friends suffer because of their act of friendship, Sindhanai Sei, a twisty tale of double crosses between friends, Madurai Sambavam, a tale of a rowdy, and Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puraavaum, a doomed romance, also had similarities to it with their downbeat stories and realistic style.
But the best thing about 2009 was not this realism but the number of genres that Tamil cinema tackled. Horror movie fans had 3 films to choose from – Yaavarum Nalam, which exploited the unique plot point of a TV serial imitating life but did the job without blood or gore; Eeram, which took the same approach as it told the tale of a vengeful woman taking a watery route to get revenge; and Arundhati, a blood-soaked, visceral film about a battle between a queen and a sorcerer. The sparsely-populated sports film genre had a wonderful entry in Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu, that presented a familiar story with humor but resorted to an unnecessarily downbeat climax. Pasanga, which narrated the story about a bunch of kids delightfully and Vannathu Poochi, which used a kid’s story as an excuse to deliver an indictment of city life compared to village life, were two entries in the genre of children’s films. Pazhassi Raja was a period epic about a king who was one of the earliest freedom fighters. And finally, it could be argued that Jaganmohini belonged to the fantasy genre though it ended up being only for those who had had fantasies about Namitha.
Thrillers are a popular genre but even here, there seemed to be more entries than usual. Psychological thrillers seemed to be topic of choice for NRI filmmakers as seen in Meipporul, which had a good plot but poor production values, and Achamundu Achamundu, which started strong by capturing life in the USA but weakened when it entered thriller territory. Newtonin Moondraam Vidhi was homegrown and freshened up a familiar revenge tale by adding a real-time element. Inspirations from Hollywood led to thrillers like Indhira Vizha (based on Disclosure) and Vaamanan (which copied a lot from Enemy of the State). Ennai Theriumaa disappointed us though after its Memento-like start and Muthirai, though not directly based on a Hollywood film, reminded us of many with its plot and style. Peraanmai, with a few Hollywood actors, took us close to a real action-adventure film with its single-minded focus on action once we got past its agenda of highlighting the caste divide.
And then there were the films that didn’t really fit into any genre, familiar or otherwise. Kamal adapted A Wednesday as Unnaippol Oruvan with minimal changes to the screenplay and though his stature diluted its impact somewhat, the story and complete lack of commercialism made it a solid film. Bala stuck to his dark tone and bleak storyline as he focused on the sorry life of beggars in Naan Kadavul. TN-07-AL-4777 was a unique character-based drama that didn’t have a conventional romance but was let down by its slow pace while Laadam put a fresh spin on the rowdy movie but didn’t have any place to go once the story became clear. Pasupathi turned hero with Vedigundu Murugesan, which wasn’t sure about its tone and so ended up trivializing a serious topic.
Ofcouse, masala was still the most popular genre. The year’s biggest hit, Ayan, belonged to that genre though it almost made us forget the fact as it presented the masala with style and smarts. K.S.Ravikumar made no such attempts for Aadhavan, that was saved by Vadivelu’s comedy. Vijay, the flag-bearer for the genre, opened the year with Villu, a messy mix of silly technology and old-fashioned sentiments, and closed it out with Vettaikkaaran, that had a sweet romance but was brought down by an ineffective villain and weak action. Aarumugam saw Suresh Krishna trying to recapture his past glory by recreating scenes from old Rajni films. Malai Malai finally gave Arun Vijay a break but Thoranai, lowered the stock of its hero Vishal. 1977 was a masala film hidden in the garb of a period film while Eesa was a masala film trying to become a psychological thriller. But Rajadhi Raja, a loud, violent and vulgar revenge tale, was the best reminder of why the genre has a negative connotation today while Perumal and Thee, both from Sundar. C, weren’t too far behind.
The romance genre too was popular and boasted of a few entries as always. Kanden Kaadhalai retained a little of the charm of its original, Jab We Met, though Bharath wasn’t a complete fit. Though it had a cast of unknowns, Madurai To Theni caught our fancy with its simplicity and realism. Sarvam tried to jazz up a simple story with some screenplay machinations while Vaalmiki made a familiar story seem fresh with interesting characterization. Maasilaamani seemed like a retread of several other movies while Modhi Vilaiyaadu saw Saran once again try his hand at romance but fail because of weak characterization. Aanandha Thaandavam made Sujatha turn in his grave with its interpretation of one of his popular stories while Manjal Veyyil and Anthony Yaar seemed to be stuck in the 70s, both their stories and their execution. Paalaivana Cholai seemed simplistic and old-fashioned as it regurgitated the story of the original and Naan Avanillai 2 seemed unnecessary as it simply presented episodes of its womanizing hero cheat a bunch of women. Both Solla Solla Inikkum and Saa Boo Thiri might’ve seemed ambitious on paper but on screen, they were cheap, amateurish efforts that never conveyed what they attempted to say. Gnaabagangal saw the acting debut of lyricist Pa.Vijay but the amateurish screenplay and his wooden acting reminded us that people should stick to what they do best.
But in most cases, romance was served up with something else. Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru successful guided a romance through comedy and thrills with consistent humor. Guru En Aalu, about love winning over the materialistic hero, focused on comedy while Kandha Koattai, was evenly split with romance in the first half and action in the second. Ninaithaale Inikkum added a murder mystery to a campus romance and got the former to work but not the latter.
Families were a little less popular than usual. Maayaandi Kudumbathaar had an old-fashioned story that sang praises of the joint family but its notable point was that its cast was primarily composed of directors. A Aa E Ee and Mariyaadhai seemed like megaserials with their regressive storylines and tacky production values while Aindhaam Padai and Azhagar Malai had heroes who were devoted to their brothers and got into trouble after defending them.
The biggest casualty as a genre though was probably the ‘message movie’ though this was more due to the quality of the films themselves rather than viewers getting bored of the preaching. Kandhaswamy was a costly misfire as it came off looking like a cheap knock-off of a Shankar film with its anti-corruption stance. Sooriyan Satta Kalloori made everyone except the hero look bad to convey its message of the law being supreme while Malaiyan took on the important issue of the conditions of the workers in fireworks factories but then abandoned it. Even Cheran gave up trying to convey a message and concentrated on an inter-religious romance in Pokkisham.
Looking back, 2009 was another average year at the movies. While the advent of realism and the excursion into many new genres were exciting, the average quality of movies remained on par with recent years. But as every new year dawns, we always look forward to better things ahead and its the same when it comes to movies too. So here’s to an exciting and satisfying 2010…