Balaji's Thots

I’ve mentioned a few times already that 2013 looks to be a banner year for Tamil cinema with respect to the release of films from all our top stars and leading directors and proof of this is available just a month into the year. Last Friday saw the release of Kamal Haasan’s ambitious Vishwaroopam and […]

After many trials and tribulations, Kamalhaasan finally released his Vishwaroopam worldwide except in Tamil Nadu. Global in scale and canvas as it deals with terrorism, the ambitious film is a slow thriller that aims to be – and succeeds in being – more than your average shoot ’em up while portraying the good guys vs […]

When Vishal and director Thiru first teamed up, they gave us Theeraadha Vilaiyaattu Pillai, a half-baked mix of romance and action that did neither of those aspects well. They have learned their lesson well and that shows in their latest film Samar. Jettisoning romance in favor of thrills, they have delivered an entertaining thriller that […]

With both Rajnikanth and Kamalhassan drastically cutting down on their film assignments, seeing movies from both of them in the same year is turning out to be a cause for celebration. In that sense, 2010 was a truly star-studded year in which we had movies from both of them(Endhiran, Manmadhan Ambu). Initially 2012 looked like […]

As the 2013 movie season gets into high gear, its time to look back for the last few times and wrap up the 2012 recaps. The first Top 10 list, as always, is the list of my favorite song sequences of last year. As always, the selection process is completely subjective and totally unscientific as […]

After a promising start with varied fare like Paruthi Veeran and Aayirathil Oruvan, Karthi’s interest in becoming a mass hero was pretty clear from his recent choice of films like Siruthai and Saguni. While that in itself wasn’t surprising, his choice of director Suraaj, whose recent films Padikkaadhavan and Maappillai were crass affairs put together […]

When 2012 started out, it looked like it would match 2010, a stellar year in terms of both star power and quality since films from all our big stars(i.e. Rajni and Kamal) and best directors(i.e. Mani Ratnam and Shankar) were slated to release during the year. With many of these movies getting pushed to 2013, […]

As always, Pongal kicks off the movie year this year too. After an exciting run-up that pitted Kamalhassan against the theater owners and seemed poised for a showdown as thrilling as the climax in one of the actor’s movies, Vishwaroopam has been taken off the Pongal roster. While the film’s no-show has considerably weakened the […]

Reviews for Saattai, Thuppaakki, Podaa Podi, Aarohanam, Neerparavai, Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom, Neethaane En Ponvasantham, Kumki and Sattam Oru Iruttarai are now available on the reviews site. This update wraps up 2012 at the reviews site after 46 reviews. That is 1 less review than last year and a considerably fewer number of reviews compared […]

The ‘mother sentiment’ is one of the most popular sentiments in Tamil cinema but the phrase usually raises visions of crying, long-suffering moms and sons spouting dialogs praising them. Director Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, who played a radically different kind of mother in 2011’s Yudham Sei, brings to screen another equally memorable mother in her directing debut […]