Bheemaa, Kuruvi, Dasaavathaaram, Kuselan... With films with big stars and established directors turning out to be disappointments at best and disasters at worst, 2008's been a rather bad year for Tamil cinema. It has finally taken a debutant director and a new cast to give us a reason to cheer. Rousingly realistic and constantly gripping, Subramanyapuram is a daring, confident film from a director who knows his cinema.

After a short but intriguing start in the present, the scene shifts to the town of Subramanyapuram in 1980 where we meet Azhagar(Jai), Paraman(Sasikumar) and Kasi('Ganja Karuppu), three unemployed friends. They double as henchmen for an ex-councilor Somu, who dreams of making it big in politics and Somu in turn helps them out when they land in hot waters. Jai and Somu's daughter Thulasi(Swathi) have eyes for each other though they haven't exchanged as much as a word. When Somu's political plans are dashed by another politician, the three friends step in and life isn't the same for them after that.

Subramanyapuram's story is not fresh or unique. The story of friends being used as pawns by people in power and getting caught up in a spiral of violence has been seen in films like Pattiyal and Naalai and the underlying theme of "violence begets violence" has been explored in several films like Pudhuppettai. But Sasikumar sets the bulk of the story in Subramanyapuram in 1980 and the location(with the distinctive slang and the local customs) and the time period(with the dresses, the television set, the movie posters, the old cars) add a new dimension to the story, which by itself is timeless and has nothing to tie it to that era.

Subramanyapuram is one those movies(Kaadhal is another that comes to mind) that seems like the result of the director training his camera on a particular set of people going about their lives rather than on a bunch of actors acting out a script. It feels like a series of events unfolding in real time rather than a predetermined story. That makes us care about the characters and lends a sense of unpredictability to the proceedings, both of which create a level of involvement that rarely happens in a Tamil film. Subramanyapuram keeps us pinned to our seats throughout its running time.

The biggest reason for the above is that the film is completely natural. Everything, from the dialogs to the gestures to the environment to the progression of events, feels real. Take the scene where a couple of friends visit Jai and Sasi in jail. This is usually a familiar scene where the visitors have long, uninterrupted conversations with the inmates, brush or clasp fingers longingly through those tiny squares in the barricade and finish whatever they are saying just in time for the jailer to say "Time's up" with a couple of swats of his lathi. But here the place is chaotic with the friends barely able to hear each other above the din created by all the conversations and when they do get to talk, the conversation is surprisingly brief and matter-of-fact. Almost every scene reinforces this sense of realism and when the characters, their conversations and the setting feel real, our reactions and emotions don't have to be forced either.

The film's second half contrasts sharply with the first as Jai and Sasi are sucked into a whirlpool of violence. The film pulls no punches when it comes to portraying the violence and it is quite brutal and visceral. But it is the shots of the non-violent kind - those delivered through words and actions - that always hit harder and that is illustrated vividly through the developments. The impact - both positive and negative - that these developments have on us is proof enough of our involvement in the lives of the film's characters. The finish is a little open-ended though and a little more explanation about the events that led up to it would've helped.

Director Sasikumar understands that cinema is a visual medium and convey things visually rather than making his characters spell them out(which is how it should be). So, when we see Jai and Sasi jump into the fray(without asking for a reason) when they see some people hitting 'Ganja' Karuppu, we know they are good friends who will stand up for him. We don't need a sermon about friendship to understand that. Its the same when Jai calls out to his mother when he leaves after visiting him. What he says is not a lot but it manages to convey exactly what he's feeling. That's not to say Sasikumar goes for unnatural silences or makes the characters speak in those Manirathnam-style clipped sentences. The characters, whether its Kanagu prodding Jai and Sasi into action, Ravi talking about the tragedy that befell his family or Swathi's uncle revealing his knowledge about her romance, speak naturally and what they say and the way they say it sound just perfect.

From a purely technical perspective too, Sasikumar shows himself to be a director who knows his craft. He puts his stamp on several scenes but not in a way that overwhelms the film itself. From those interesting transitions in the first sequence to the deliberate tracking shots to the exhilarating segment after Jai and Sasi lay their hands on some money, Sasi displays a wonderful eye for his shots.

Jai's diction is a little suspect but he conveys both the shy, carefree side and the fiercely faithful side of his character. Sasikumar doesn't take any wrong steps in front of the camera either and provides able support to Jai. Swathi overdoes the romantic look and shy smile bit somewhat but that is what the role requires her to do. 'Ganja' Karuppu utters a few very funny one-liners but shows us that he can do more than that. The rest of the film's cast fit their roles perfectly. Kangal Irandaa... is a wonderful melody from debutant music director James Vasanth. The Subramanyapuram... bit that plays in the background in one sequence is quite catchy too.