Here, are the 10 best Tamil movies of 2004.
10
Shock
Director Thiagarajan's biggest accomplishment was that he managed to be faithful to the original
Bhooth without making any changes under the excuse of maintaining Prashanth's image.
Technically sound and bolstered by a good performance by Meena, the movie offered some nice chills,
inspite of the slow second half and unimaginative climax.
9
Gilli
This unabashedly commercial movie was made with the same skill that director Dharani exhibited
in his last two hits Dhool and Dhill. We were treated to a thrilling first half as
Vijay rescued Trisha from Prakashraj and then some good, clean comedy as he hid her in his house.
Prakashraj added a new dimension to his villainy as he turned into a lovelorn man professing love
whenever he met Trisha.
8
Manmadhan
Simbhu, responsible for the story and screenplay apart from playing the lead, surprised us with
both his performance and his writing skills in the slick romantic thriller. Though the romance
was average, the thriller portions made up for that and a wicked twist ended the movie on a
high. Simbhu kept a rein on self-praise and instead, came up with a terrific performance,
especially in the flashback.
7
7/G Rainbow Colony
One of the most eagerly awaited movies of the year, Selvaraghavan's follow-up to Kaadhal
Konden suffered from a cliched, predictable story but was rescued by his
earthy style and directorial skill. Complex but realistic characterization made the romance
seem natural and believable and made several small moments where the characters' interact,
quite memorable. The final scenes, which were both unpredictable and emotionally strong, ensured
that we walked out of the movie with the scenes firmly entrenched in our minds.
6
Azhagiye Theeye
This small, unpretentious and simple film stole our hearts with its charming characters
and funny script. Inspite of the potentially downbeat story revolving around a group of
youngsters trying to make it big in cinema, almost all its dialogs had a vein of humor
running through them and its digs at other movies were funny without seeming mean-spirited.
The climax was short, sweet and clever - three words that are rarely associated with climaxes
in Tamil love stories!
5
Kudaikkull Mazhai
As expected, Parthiban's take on love was completely different from the romance we normally
see in Tamil movies. Limiting the movie to just three characters for the most part, Parthiban
focussed our attention on the hero and the effect love had on him. Though I admired the movie more
than I enjoyed it, the climax was brilliant and emotionally wrenching because of the events
that led upto it. But Parthiban displaying his familiar, smooth-talking persona in one character
got on our nerves and could have been toned down.
4
Aaydha Ezhuthu
The imaginative screenplay that moved forward and backward in time was the most impressive aspect
of Manirathnam's ode to youth. The tale of three youth from disparate backgrounds, whose lives
intersect in unexpected ways, spent a little too time on the individual episodes, making the
last third of the movie(i.e. after they meet) seem rushed and not completely satisfying. Madhavan's
love-hate relation Meera Jasmine, coupled with their raw performances, made their episode the most
memorable. As in all Manirathnam movies, the technical aspects were top-notch, with the
cinematography and set design tying for first place.
3
Perazhagan
Oddly enough, the feel-good movie of the year had a buck-toothed hunchback as the leading man
and a blind beggarwoman as the woman of his dreams! But the positive characterization of the hunchback
resulted in a wonderful entertainer built round these, and more, potentially sentimental characters.
Surya gave a career-best performance but still did not upstage the story that had some unexpected
twists. Vivek did his part with a hilarious comedy track.
2
Autograph
Cheran took a walk down memory lane - and took us along with him - in this wonderfully crafted
film that explored feelings
of infatuation, love and friendship through three women in the protagonist's life. While
Cheran's imaginative direction, as always, stood out in individual scenes, he also managed
to strike the perfect tone for the entire movie. The unspoken emotions as Cheran met Mallika
and Gopika created some subtle but powerfully poignant sequences and the emotionally charged
climax was powerful inspite of not having any twists or surprises.
1
Virumaandi
An innovative screenplay that threw in a twist in the traditional flashback technique by showing
the same events from two different points of view, was the highlight of this violent but passionate
movie from Kamalhassan. Though its intended message didn't quite come through, the film itself was a
class act. After the first half buoyed by the fresh screenplay, the second half got our pulses
racing with the sequences within the claustrophobic confines of the jail. Abhirami and Pasupathi