Balaji's Thots

Combining the names of a yesteryear romantic hero and a comedian(from a different era) who is fondly remembered for his unique and distinctive style does lead to a catchy title that is suitable for a romantic comedy. But director Ilavarasu Odam apparently used up all his creative energy in coming up with the title for his film since […]

Meesaya Murukku is the semi-autobiographical tale of Hiphop Tamizha, the musical duo of Adhi and Jeeva that pioneered hiphop music in Tamil. The group initially had a small, niche audience before one of their tracks went viral and its popularity eventually led to full albums and then film music composing gigs. This path is traced […]

When I wrote about Maragadha Naanayam, I said that most horror comedies in Tamil cinema followed a standard template with stock elements like a haunted mansion, ghostly apparitions making sudden appearances and a group of comedians evoking laughs by being frightened by the scary images. I might have as well been talking about Sangili Bungili Kadhava […]

After the thriller Achamundu Achamundu, director Arun Vaidyanathan switched both language and genre as he made the Malayalam political comedy Peruchazhi. Now he’s back in Tamil with another thriller. The tropes of the serial killer genre are done quite well to make the film entertaining but a few more twists would’ve made it rise about […]

Cops and gangsters have long been two of the most popular and dependable roles for our heroes to play because these roles offer an easy way to package all the necessary ingredients – heroism, action, romance, sentiments, comedy – needed for a well-rounded masala movie. You can pick any  of our leading stars and they will have […]

So far this year, the problems in TN’s college education system seem to be providing the most fodder for our filmmakers. After Bairavaa and Yeidhavan, Kannan’s Ivan Thanthiran also deals with the same subject. Shakthi(Gautham Karthik), who owns an electronics store, is also a ‘reverse engineer’ – he reverse engineers expensive gadgets and builds cheaper versions. […]

Recent horror comedies in Tamil cinema have tended to look alike with stock elements like a haunted mansion, ghostly apparitions making sudden appearances and a group of comedians evoking laughs by being frightened by the scary images. Maragadha Naanayam,  which mostly revolves around the search for the titular item, does things a bit differently and […]

Jayam Ravi seems to be at the forefront of the movement to make Tamil cinema tackle hitherto unexplored genres. His Miruthan was Tamil cinema’s first zombie movie and his upcoming Tik Tik Tik is apparently set in space. His Vanamagan brings Tarzan to Tamil cinema as he plays a tribal who calls the forest his home, […]

Yeidhavan follows the Bairavaa route in exposing the seedier side of our education system. But instead of a superstar like Vijay, its Kalaiarasan who has to fight the system. This works well initially since the lack of image-enhancing songs and fights allow the network and the way the system works to be shown better. But Kalaiarasan does turn […]

Director Ezhil started off working with stars like Vijay and Ajith but had a long break in his career after 2007’s Deepavali. He returned in 2012 with Manam Kothi Paravai and has since found success on a smaller scale with rural comedies headlined by actors with much less star wattage. I was not a fan of Manam Kothi Paravai or his next […]