2001 was a disappointing year for Tamil cinema qualitywise and was definitely the
worst year for Tamil movies since I started writing reviews on a regular basis. The
year was dotted with average and subpar movies that rarely even attempted to be
fresh and provide something new. And the few that did failed to find box-office
success. The sad state of affairs is evident from the fact that just three movies
managed to break my two and a half star barrier by earning three or more
stars. The only silver lining(if you can call it that) to this dark cloud
is that none of the movies earned a 'bomb' either. Even the worst of the
movies contained some redeeming feature that lifted them to atleast half-star
status. So, here is a brief recap of Tamil cinema in 2001.
Note: This article will cover movies that were available for my viewing between Jan 1, 2001 and Dec 31, 2001. Since I live in the United States and the availability of a movie (either on the big screen or on video) varies anywhere from 1 day to more than a month, the list may contain leftovers from 2000 which I managed to see only in 2001. For the same reason, I have left out movies that were released in 2001 but which I saw in 2002 or still have not seen.
Cheat Sheet
If surprise endings were the flavor of 2000, the beginning of 2001 made us believe
that deceptions were going to be the order of the day.
Minnale, where Madhavan impersonated his lover's
fiance, was youthful and slick and had some great music. These made it one of the
biggest hits of the year. Ullam Kollai Poguthey
had Prabhu Deva, a mimickry artist, convince a blind woman that he was her lover.
While the two movies above worked, Ninaikkaadha Naalillai,
where Parthiban asks his own lover Devayani to play his friend's lover, was brought down
by the numerous contrivances and the unconvincing way they were handled.
Lovely had Karthik tricking his
lover's father and was enjoyable because of some great comedy by Vivek.
Star was a confusing mess where Prashanth had probably
the most unique profession of the year. He goes to jail for other people's crimes!
Aandaan Adimai, one of the few message-oriented
movies of 2001, had Satyaraj shuffling between a lower caste and a Brahmin lifestyle
to keep both his adopted and biological parents happy.
Love is in the air
As always romance provided the basis for a number of movies.
Dum Dum Dum marked the advent of the next generation
with Madhavan and Jyotika as leads, Karthik Raja composing the music and
Alagamperumal, Manirathnam's assistant, behind the camera.
Anbudan had Arunkumar chase after an evasive
girl who professed love for him and had a different ending.
Ennavale, Madhavan's much-anticipated second
outing after Alaipayuthey was a damp squib and looked more like a movie
created for Murali.
Both En Sakhiye and
Love Channel had newcomers both behind and in
front of the camera and the inexperience was obvious in the shoddy nature of both
movies.
T.Rajendar took a step forward after the abysmal Monisha En MonaLisa
with the multistarrer Sonnaaldhaan Kaadhalaa.
Three's a crowd
Love triangles have long been a staple theme for Tamil cinema but this year,
the theme of two men and a woman was handled in a variety of ways.
Paarvai Ondre Pothumey turned out to be
the only traditional love triangle as Kunal and Karan battled over Monal.
12B was a whiff of fresh air as Jeeva explored
alternate timelines by analysing what would happen if Shyam caught or missed
his bus. Simran and Jyotika were the two heroines in this new triangle and
new face Shyam was impressive in his debut and immediately became a contender
for heartthrob status among Tamil girls.
Shah Jahan had Vijay reprising his role as
someone who makes sacrifices for the sake of love as he unknowingly helped
another guy fall in love with the same girl he is in love with.
Kausalya provided the twist in the love affair of Prabhu Deva and Gayatri Jayaram
in Manadhai Thirudi Vittaai while Karan tried to
usurp Rasika from Pandiyarajan in Kabadi Kabadi.
Couplehood
Marital problems of several kinds plagued couples in Tamil cinema over the
year. The most disappointing of the lot was K.Balachander's 100th creation
Paarthaale Paravasam. The movie, which
unsuccessfully tried to show that a divorced couple could be friends, was
marked by unconvincing characterizations, unsuitable song sequences and
several extraneous sequences and characters. Prabhu and Abhirami spent
the whole two and a half hours of
Middle Class Madhavan looking for a place
to spend their first night while Urvasi's performance made Visu's
Sigamani Ramamani enjoyable.
Looty proved that a movie where the wife doubts
her husband's honesty could not successfully be turned into a comedy.
Kanden Seethaiyai handled the unique
theme of a surrogate mother but was burdened by too much sentiments while
En Purushan Kuzhandhai Maadhiri
struggled to find the right tone for a movie with a man caught between
two women.
Family Business
Though youthfulness was seen in several movies, 2001 proved that families were
still valued in Tamil cinema. There was several films revolving around families
and relationships between their members.
Poovellaam Un Vaasam focussed on the love between
Ajith and Jyotika who belonged to two huge families living next to each other.
Even Action King Arjun chose a family theme for his directorial venture
Vedham where he united Vineeth and Divya Unni
by regaling them with incidents from his own picture perfect life with Sakshi.
Kalakalappu had shades of Hum Aapke Hain
Kaun with Napolean being pressured to wed his wife's sister after his
wife's untimely death. Prabhu and Roja convinced Vinu Chakravarthy that
theirs was a Super Kudumbam while Napolean
proved that being a Veettoda Maappillai
could be a good thing. Sriman kidnapped Rajasri and her children with dreams
of having his own perfect family in Asokavanam.
There were the usual clutch of movies focussing on the relationship between family members too. Director Bala of Sethu fame tried to bring freshness into the mother-son relationship with Nandhaa. The movie gave a change of image to Surya and was a good effort but was disappointing nevertheless when compared to Sethu. Prabhu saved his father's honor in Mitta Miraasu while Vijayakanth put aside his police dress to play the respected village elder Thavasi who gave up his son to make amends for a false accusation. Manuneedhi was a little different in that it focussed on the bond between Murali and his uncle.
Band of Brothers
Among movies depicting families, brothers proved to be a favorite topic of
filmmakers in 2001. Aanandham followed the
Vaanathai Pola formula with an entertaining movie about four affectionate
brothers. The movie's scenes were natural and Mammootty as the eldest brother ensured
that there were no
unnecessary sentiments or melodrama. K.S.Ravikumar entered the race with
Samudhiram that featured three brothers
and a sister. But his trademark loudness and lack of subtlety were evident
throughout. Cheran's solid Paandavar Bhoomi
too featured a band of brothers though the movie was not focussed on their
relationship. Kamalhassan's ambitious Aalavandhaan,
which featured twins, one psychotic and one an army major, was technically
brilliant but came a cropper at the box-office. Dheena
had Malayalam hero Suresh Gopi playing Ajith's brother and had all the masala
elements needed to make it a hit. Vijay did his part with
Badri where he took on a boxing match for his
brother. Vikram had a disappointing follow-up to Sethu with the slow
and boring Vinnukkum Mannukkum, where he
went after the girl he loved at the advice of his brother Sarathkumar. Even
the much talked about wedding of Devayani and the film's director
Erajakumaran failed to salvage the film at the box-office.
A Friend In Need
Friendship was the other popular theme in 2001. Prashanth and Shalini were
childhood friends before Prashanth fell in love with her in
Piriyaadha Varam Vendum. The movie
turned out to be Shalini's last and showed clearly that she would be missed.
Dhosth was a scene-by-remake of Hollywood
hit Double Jeopardy with Sarathkumar taking on the role played by
Ashley Judd. Though substandard considering the original, movie was fairly
entertaining for those who have not watched the original.
Friends was another Malayalam remake helmed
by the same director who directed the original. Though its story was complicated,
it was successful nevertheless and was a boost for both Vijay and Surya.
Viswanathan Ramamurthy was a remake of an
old Tamil movie and alongwith Engalukkum Kaalam Varum
proved that even Vivek needed the right script if he was to be funny.
Oh God!
As always, there were the usual clutch of devotional movies that capitalised
on the devout and were inevitably successful at the box-office. The
ever-reliable Rama.Narayanan offered Nageswari
but the movie seemed more a revenge tale than a devotional movie.
Thaali Kaatha Kaaliamman had a more
prestigious star cast than similar movies with Kausalya trying to save her
husband Prabhu from Sangavi. Sri Raja Rajeswari
turned out to be just a mixture of the two above movies.
Pottu Amman, a movie dubbed from Telugu,
proved to be the most entertaining of the lot with a substantial story,
an impressive villain and better special effects.
Kuzhandhaiyum Dheivamum, another dubbed
offering, took us to several holy spots in the country. There were a couple
of fantasies too this year. Little John miniaturized
British actor Bentum Mitchley as he searched for Amman's ring while
Paappaa had Venkatesh finding divine intervention
as he returned a mysterious box to its rightful place.
A Few Good Men
Tamil cinema had its share of policemen, revolutionaries and other do-gooders
in 2001 too. Ajith's Citizen, where he donned
several roles, was the first much-publicized movie of the year but came off
as a bad Indian rip-off. Vikram played an aspiring police officer
harassed by a superior in Dhil. Ashish Vidyarthi
earned both Vikram's and the public's hatred as the superior and the movie
became the biggest hit of 2001. Vijayakanth played the cop in two movies,
Narasimma and
Vanchinathan, with the latter throwing all logic
to the winds as Vijayakanth was introduced first as a terrorist. Nasser's
Maayan as a pre-Independence Robinhood as he
stole from the rich to help the poor.
Kunguma Pottu Goundar was one of the few
movies with a message as it tried to stress the importance of education while
Sarathkumar played a gold-hearted assassin in Rishi,
which copied scenes from a multitude of English movies.
Barring a few bright spots, 2001 was a forgettable year for Tamil movies. But the new year is always the time for new hopes and fresh beginnings. And we already have a couple of movies like Manirathnam's Kannathil Muthamittaal and Kamalhassan's comedy Pammal K Sammandham to look forward to early in the year. So lets cross our fingers and hope that 2002 brings us more quality fare.
© 2000 Balaji Balasubramaniam