Here is a brief recap of tamil cinema in 1999. Let me say at the outset that this article is going to have more breadth than depth. It is not going to be a scholarly or in-depth examination of cinematic happenings during the year. It is just my impression of some trends seen during the year. Watching a movie is an intensely personal experience and the person next to you is almost certain to take away from the movie, something completely different from what you did. I'm hoping that reading about these movies will conjure up images, memories and associations in you and extend the enjoyment derived from watching them in the first place.
Note: This article will cover movies that were available for my viewing between Jan 1, 1999 and Dec 31, 1999. 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(I saw Padaiyappaa the same day that it was released in India) to more than a month(as was the case with many of the Diwali releases), the list may contain leftovers from 1998 which I managed to see only in 1999. For the same reason, I may have missed out some movies that have already been released in 1999 but which I have still not seen.
Let me start off on a good note here. One didn't have to wait for too long for one the best movies of the year. Pooveli was a simple but entertainingly told story, assisted by good performances, and catchy music. After a couple of flops, Ahathiyan reverted to his Kaadhal Koattai formula of a pair falling in love without seeing each other for Kaadhal Kavidhai and experienced success again. The movie also introduced Isha Gopikar to tamil audiences but she hasn't lived up to the promise she showed here. Gurupaarvai, which helped Prakashraj make the cross-over from villain and character actor to hero, was a well-directed crime thriller, a rarity in tamil cinema. Sarathkumar has had great success teaming up with K.S.Ravikumar, the two of them producing hits like Cheran Pandiyan, Naattaamai and Natpukkaaga. But he could not reproduce the same success with Simmaraasi, which was directed by K.S.Ravikumar's assistant.
There seem to be three principal contenders for the leading actor among the younger generation - Ajith, Prashanth and Vijay. 1998 was undoubtedly Vijay's year and he appeared to continue his winning streak with Thullaadha Manamum Thullum, where his stunt and dance abilities were on full display. Contrastingly, things were not going too well for contender Ajith. Following a disastrous 1998 where none of his films met with success, both Thodarum, which reteamed him with his Kaadhal Koattai costars Devayani and Heera, and Uyirodu Uyiraaga, turned out to be flops (Thodarum, incidentally, was directed by Ramesh Khanna, who seems to have followed in Manivannan's footsteps to establish himself as a comedian, where he has found more success). Parthiban dropped his usual image of a wisecracking guy to play a 60-year old theater owner in Housefull. The movie, revolving around a bomb planted in a crowded theater, lacked the claustrophobic atmosphere and tension associated with a thriller. But it was an admirable effort and earned him a few awards.
The big budget En Swaasa Kaatre turned out to be a colossal waste of a good cast and foot-tapping music. Prabhu Deva continued his practice of taking up roles which showcased his histrionic rather than dancing abilities with Ninaivirukkum Varai, which was a familiar story with genuine surprises towards the end. Edhirum Pudhirum, with Mammootty and Napolean on opposite sides of the law, took some risks by basing its story and characters on current happenings in Tamil Nadu. Things started looking up for Ajith with Unnai Thedi, directed by successful comedy director Sundar C. Coincidentally, and perfectly illustrating the fluctuating fortunes of stars, Vijay's downturn started at almost the same time with the disappointing box-office performance of Endrendrum Kaadhal.
There was only one event in April as far as tamil cinema was concerned. Padaiyappa. Rajnikanth's long awaited movie came two long years after Arunachalam and the salivating fans lapped it all up. It had a run of over 200 days, making it one of the biggest hits of the year. Karthik's Chinna Raja, a pretty decent thriller if you forget the disastrous romantic first half, was all but lost in the hoopla. Vaali boosted Ajith's fortunes further. As a deaf and mute older brother lusting afting his younger brother's wife, he wowed critics and audiences alike, making the movie a huge money-earner. Apart from the performances and well-handled thriller portions where the brother makes his moves on his brother's wife, the movie also had a delightful romance between Ajith and Simran and introduced Jyothika, Nagma's sister, to tamil audiences. There was also a little gem Aanandha Mazhai, dubbed from telugu, which deserved a much larger audience that what it got.
T.Rajendhar came up a cropper with Monisha En Monalisa which was everything that a movie should not be. It was loud, crude and vulgar and had no redeeming attributes. R.K.Selvamani, known for making huge blockbusters in the past, had another loser with the patriotic Rajasthan while Nilave Mugam Kaattu revisited the age-old theme of friends falling in love with the same woman and sacrificing it on learning about it. Meena, not seen for long, returned in Aanandha Poongaatre but did make any waves. Poomagal Oorvalam was another entry in the increasingly popular category of movies where anything, however unbelievable, was acceptable in the name of comedy.
Suresh Krissna, the creator of such blockbusters as Annamalai, Veera and Baasha with Rajnikanth, could not recreate the same magic with Sarathkumar for Oruvan though the movie had comedy that worked. Vijay made the mistake of acting in another of his father's movies Nenjinile which did nothing to help his career. Two movies released around the same time had the same thing happening to them. Both Sangamam and Kaadhalar Dhinam had a lot of pre-release publicity owing to the popularity of their soundtracks tuned by A.R.Rehman. But both failed to capitalise on it. While Sangamam offered nothing new and almost appeared to plagiarise old favorite Thillaanaa Mohanaambaal, Kaadhalar Dhinam was almost moronic once it got past the initial meet-in-a-chatroom scenes. The comedy in Kaadhalar Dhinam has the dubious distinction of being the worst and most idiotic of the year. At the other end of the comedy scale was Poovellaam Kettuppaar, a lightweight comedy which contained some of the best laughs of the year in the second half.The bloody and raw Andhappuram, another dubbed-from-telugu offering, was thrilling and earned Prakashraj a national award.
Suyamvaram managed to find its way into the record books by being made in 24 hours. Though the quality of the end product left a lot to be desired for, getting that many actors, actresses and directors to work together to pull it off was an admirable achievement in itself. Pooveli director Selvaa disappointed with his sophomore effort Rojaavanam while Kanave Kalaiyaadhe took us to some new spots in Punjab for a rather familiar story. Amarkkalam earned a lot of publicity owing to its lead stars Ajith and Shalini deciding to tie the knot and managed to live up to its hype by providing slick entertainment. Another reel-to-real romance, between Ranjith and Priya Raman, which happened on the sets of Nesam Pudhusu, didn't do much for the movie though. Nee Varuvaai Ena stood out among the late releases with a terrific twist and an unpredictable and classy ending while Kannodu Kaanbadhellaam provided a rather innovative story with Arjun playing an almost villain-ish role.
October alone saw no less that three movies with the same theme of lovers deciding that their parents' consent was necassary for their union. Jodi was the most successful of the three with its nice mix of romance and comedy. The failure of Minsaara Kannaa further reduced Vijay's standing. 80s singing star Mohan made a comeback attempt by writing and directing Anbulla Kaadhalukku but his inexperience showed. Sundar C made another mindless comedy with Unakkaaga Ellaam Unakkaaga but the laughs were too few.
After promise of a slew of potential blockbusters including Kamal's Hey Ram, Manirathnam's Alaipaayudhe and Kandukonden Kandukonden for Diwali, only two big movies actually made it to the screen. Shankar's Mudhalvan, showing a common man's rise to the biggest post in the state and the wrongdoings of the CM, was well-made but got into some trouble as it was seen as being critical of the present regime in Tamil Nadu. Taj Mahal, on the other hand, came a cropper with its age-old story of love between a couple from opposing villages. Kannu Padapogudhaiyaa, a smaller venture, gave Vijayakanth his first hit after a series of flops.
Overall the fare offered did not seem to be much worse that that of other years. Ajith reemerged at the forefront of the younger generation of actors at the expense of Vijay while Simran continued her reign as the undisputed queen of Kodambakkam though she ended the year with a bad note with Time. Manivannan continued to be the comedian of choice though Vijay and Ramesh Khanna made big strides. A.R.Rehman had a lot more releases compared to 1998 while Ilaiyaraja was noticeably silent with only a few low-key releases.
Here's hoping for another year of entertainment...