Balaji's Thots

After spending the last few years peering in from the sidelines, we took baby steps into the Navarathiri and golu scene this year. We were glad we did because it was a fun 9 days. Considering we were first-timers, the golu was a makeshift, 3-step one built using a shelf(part of a 5-shelf storage rack) […]

Puli Urumudhu…, which sounds like it will play in the background to kickstart some action sequences, starts off energetically with the continuous first few lines but then the energy level drops off. The lines ofcourse extol Vijay with lines like Ivan varalaatrai maathidum varungaalum taking on extra meaning because of the recent rumors about his […]

Kavya has been learning Bharatanatyam for a few months now. On Monday, her dance school performed at the local temple, as part of their weeklong Navarathiri celebrations. This was Kavya’s first performance in front of an audience and so it was pretty exciting to see her up on that stage. For her part, Kavya seemed […]

A Wednesday seemed like a strange choice for a Tamil remake. Unlike Hindi cinema, Tamil cinema is still plagued by masala aspects like the image constraints of its stars and forcibly inserted commercial elements and the lack of those was exactly why the Hindi film was so effective. But the decision made sense once we […]

Reviews for Eesaa, Ninaithaale Inikkum and Eeram are now available on the reviews site.

For anyone who wishes that Tamil cinema should venture in new directions and break existing barriers, the release of a Kamalhassan film will always be cause for celebration. The actor, who recently completed 50 years in Tamil cinema, is ready with his next film Unnaippol Oruvan, which also stars Malayalam superstar Mohanlal. An acknowledged remake […]

As director, Shankar is known for his extravagant ventures that highlight a social problem in a commercial format. But as producer, he has gone in the opposite direction, producing smaller films and introducing fresh directors. With a string of good films that tackled many genres like romance, drama and social fantasy, his S Pictures has […]

Horror movies in Tamil have been, for the most part, weak, uninvolving ghost stories. Recent entries like Sivi and Yaavarum Nalam have bestowed legitimacy and respect on the genre but even those were more creepy than scary or horrific and relied on time-tested plotlines. Arundhathi, dubbed from Telugu, is a no-holds-barred horror flick that stands […]

I think I’ve mentioned earlier that comedy ages the least among cinema’s facets. Advances in technology and changes in viewer sensibilities have brought about changes in the way romance, sentiments and action are picturized and the way we view them but comedy is almost timeless in that the same things that made us laugh several […]

After lamenting about the slim pickings for Tamil cinema in the National Awards for both 2005 and 2006, the awards for 2007 have finally given us some reason to cheer. South Indian cinema in general has had a strong showing, scooping up most of the major awards and Tamil cinema has fared very well, picking […]