It is time now to reward the best of the fare that was offered during 2000. The awards here will be along the lines of the Academy Awards presentation in the US, with five nominations followed by declaration of the winner. The nominees will be listed in alpabetical order. There are a few new categories this time when compared to the awards presented last year.
Note: As was the case with the yearly recap, these awards deal only with the movies that I watched between 1/1/00 and 12/31/00 (even if they were released in 1999). Deserving candidates that may have been released in 2000 but which I was able to watch only in 2001 will therefore not be considered. Ofcourse, they will make it to the awards presented in 2002.
BEST PICTURE
| The nominees : |
Alaipayuthey Hey Ram Bhaarathi Rhythm Sethu |
| The Winner : | Sethu |
| With its skilful mix of laughs and tears, Sethu deserves to become a modern classic with its sensitive portrayal of how a rowdy, playful man is transformed by love. The scenes at the Ashram were harrowing and realistic without being manipulative and the climax was as touching as it was surprising. | |
BEST DIRECTOR
| The nominees : |
Bala ( Sethu ) Charan ( Paarthen Rasithen ) Manirathnam ( Alaipayuthey ) Kamalhassan ( Hey Ram ) Vikraman ( Vaanathai Pola ) |
| The Winner : | Bala |
| Bala exhibited directorial brilliance in his handling of Sethu, be it in the romance or in the scenes at the Ashram. The picturisation of scenes like the one where Vikram proposes to Abitha was unique and touches like the reaction of the lead pair to the use of the peacock feather at various points were beautiful. | |
BEST ACTOR
| The nominees : |
Ajith ( Mugavari ) Kamalhassan ( Hey Ram ) Shayaji Shinde ( Bhaarathi ) Vijay ( Kannukkul Nilavu ) Vikram ( Sethu ) |
| The Winner : | Vikram |
| Vikram, who has been on the fringes of Tamil cinema for a long time, showcased his talents with a heartful performance as the helpless lover in Sethu. His transformation from college student to mental patient was stunning and he brought tears to our eyes with his plight at the Ashram. | |
BEST ACTRESS
| The nominees : |
Devayani ( Bhaarathi ) Meena ( Rhythm ) Shalini ( Alaipayuthey ) Simran ( Paarthen Rasithen, Priyamaanavale ) Tabu ( Kandukonden Kandukonden ) |
| The Winner : | Simran |
| Simran's transformation from glamour queen to first-rate actress, which started with 1999's Vaali, continued this year. She came up with a stellar performance as the jealous friend in Paarthen Rasithen where her expressive eyes matched her stirring dialog delivery. She followed this up with another strong role in Priyamaanavale, where she matched Vijay step for step, especially in the 'Seemandham' sequence. | |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
| The nominees : |
Mammootty ( Kandukonden Kandukonden ) Raghuvaran ( Mugavari, Uyirile Kalandhadhu ) Satyaraj ( Puratchikkaaran ) T.P.Gajendran (Bhaarathi ) Naseeruddin Shah ( Hey Ram ) |
| The Winner : | Naseeruddin Shah |
| The most difficult task for an actor is to portray a well-known figure with an easily identifiable image that is imprinted in people's minds. Naseerudding Shah passed this test with flying colors by playing Gandhi in Kamal's Hey Ram. The actor disappeared behind the greasepaint as his gestures, body language and voice brought the Mahatma alive on the screen. | |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
| The nominees : |
Jyothika ( Rhythm ) Rani Mukherjee ( Hey Ram ) Srabhani Mukherjee (Snehithiye ) Swarnamalya ( Alaipayuthey ) Uma ( Vaanavil ) |
| The Winner : | Uma |
| As was the case with Vasuki in Aanandha Mazhai last year, Uma played a chirpy, lovable sister in Vaanavil without overdoing it and irritating us. Her bubbly personality succeeded in making her segment in the movie, the most memorable and makes the sad ending quite touching. | |
BEST COMEDIAN
| The nominees : |
Charlie ( Kannukkul Nilavu ) Dhamu ( Paarthen Rasithen ) Manivannan ( Kandukonden Kandukonden ) Vivek ( Paalayathu Amman ) Vadivelu ( Unnaruge Naanirundhaal ) |
| The Winner : | Vivek |
| This is easily the most lopsided of the contests this year as Vivek blew everyone else away in movie after movie. Among comedians who mistook raving and ranting for being funny, Vivek's routines were both hilarious and socially conscious as he attacked people's superstitions. The fact that he wrote most of his routines only added to his glory. | |
BEST MUSIC DIRECTOR
| The nominees : |
A.R.Rehman ( Alaipayuthey, Kandukonden Kandukonden, Rhythm ) Bharadwaj ( Paarthen Rasithen ) Deva ( Mugavari ) Vidyasagar ( Snehithiye ) Ilaiyaraja ( Bhaarathi, Hey Ram, Kannukkul Nilavu, Sethu ) |
| The Winner : | Ilaiyaraja |
| Unlike last year, when A.R.Rehman had little competition, this turned out to be a tough category this time. Ilaiyaraja bounced back with memorable soundtracks in the most talked-about movies of the year. His background music in Sethu played a big part in the movie's effectiveness as did his songs for Bhaarathi. Though flops, Hey Ram and Kannukkul Nilavu had some memorable songs too. | |
BEST DIALOGS
| The nominees : |
R.Selvaraj-Manirathnam ( Alaipayuthey ) Balakumaran ( Mugavari ) Vasanth ( Rhythm ) Gnana Rajasekharan ( Bhaarathi ) Saran ( Paarthen Rasithen ) |
| The Winner : | Bhaarathi |
| The clever play of words marked the dialogs at several places in Bhaarathi and lent able support to the story of the great poet's life. The way a young Bhaarathi turned around an intended put-down and his linking of tear gas to the tears in the eyes of a friend were only a couple of places where the dialogs of Gnana Rajasekharan sparkled. | |
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
| The nominees : |
Jeeva ( Snehithiye ) P.C.Sreeram ( Alaipayuthey, Mugavari ) Ravi K. Chandran ( Kandukonden Kandukonden ) Thiru ( Hey Ram ) Vinod ( Rhythm ) |
| The Winner : | P.C.Sreeram |
| P.C.Sreeram's magical camera brought scenic spots alive as we've never seen them before in both Alaipayuthey and Mugavari. Pachai Nirame... was easily the best picturised among the year's songs as his camera captured the bright colors dotting the scenery. | |