Tamil Cinema in 2006 - A Recap

2006 was definitely the worst year for Tamil movies since I started reviewing movies seriously. The bad feeling I got as I watched one disappointment after another was confirmed when I perused the complete list of movies. As a thumb rule, I would say movies that earned 2 ½ stars or above were movies that earned my recommendation. In 2006, only 10 movies hit that mark. In contrast, 2005 and 2004 both had 16, 2003 had 14, 2002 had 19, 2001 had 14 and 2000, a phenomenal year, had 22 movies that earned 2 ½ stars or above!

Every year, atleast in the recent past, there’s been one trend that has defined Tamil cinema. Several movies, either by sheer coincidence or as a result of attempting to replicate the success of another movie based on the same theme, belonged to one genre. In 2006, that theme was undoubtedly ‘realistic rowdyism’. While we’ve had rowdy movies in past years, they were masala movies that featured a good-hearted rowdy as hero. This time around, things were more raw, gritty, violent and realistic. The line between good and bad was all but erased as our heroes competed with each other on who could be the more heartless.

These ‘rowdy’ movies could be divided into 2 broad categories. On one hand was the more traditional story of a small-time rowdy growing to be a gang leader – the rowdy version of a rags-to-riches story. Films like Mandhiran, Pudhuppettai and Vattaaram fell into this category. The other category of films focused on the lives of small-time rowdies who remained small-time rowdies and dealt with problems they faced in their lives. Films like Aachaarya, Pattiyal, Thalainagaram and Naalai belonged to this sub-genre. Among films in this genre, Kokki was one movie that managed to be a little different since it featured a protagonist who ran away from trouble!

Personally, the biggest disappointment of Tamil cinema in 2006 was the refusal on the part of producers, directors, stars, etc. to take risks. As the glut of ‘rowdy’ films showed, everybody jumped on the same bandwagon, hoping to strike it rich at the BO. Experimentation was not popular and few movies attempted new genres or themes. This was the main reason Imsai Arasan 23aam Pulikesi was such a breath of fresh air. Director Shankar took a big risk by backing a brand-new genre – the historical comedy – and it paid rich dividends. Surprisingly, softer romances like Paarijaatham, Dishyum and Unakkum Enakkum, and movies with strong, emotional storylines, like Chithiram Pesudhadi, Emttan Magan and Veyyil, were successful at the BO. But producers and actors still favored action-oriented, masala movies for the most part.

Another reason why 2006 seemed to be a very dull year was the lack of movies with big stars. While big stars don’t guarantee good movies, they do bring excitement to the movie scene and last year was pretty low-key in that aspect. Rajni and Vikram had no releases while Kamal, Vijay and Surya had only 1 release each (Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, Aadhi and Sillunu Oru Kaadhal respectively). The year proved quite good for Ajith, who made his umpteenth comeback. While Paramasivan, his comeback vehicle, was only an average hit, and Tirupathi was a flop, the long-delayed Varalaaru is now a superhit and has once again pushed him into the top bracket of heroes. Almost all the younger heroes like Vishal(Thimiru, Sivappadhigaaram), Ravi(Unakkum Enakkum, Idhaya Thirudan), Arya(Pattiyal, Kalaaba Kaadhalan) balanced a hit with a flop, ensuring a keenly-fought race for the top spot. Bharath, with 5 films, and Jeeva were 2 young actors who did well.

One of the few positive aspects of 2006 was the readiness of the young actors to take on different roles and avoid being stereotyped. While actors like Simbhu were still around to take ego-boosting to insane, irritating levels in movies like Vallavan, younger actors like Arya and Jeeva took on characters painted in broad shades of gray. The former, in Vattaaram, was quite selfish and cold-blooded while the latter, in E, sunk pretty low in his single-minded quest for money. The most negative leading man though, would probably be Jeevan in Thiruttu Payale – a man who blackmailed, stole and killed without compunction.

One of the positive things about 2006 being a bad year is that things can only go up from here. 2007 has quite a few biggies lined up, both in terms of stars and in terms of directors. While all the top stars, including Rajni, will have high-profile releases coming up, movies from directors like Bala and Cheran will also hit theaters. So its time to sit back, relax and enjoy the show. Here’s to a much better 2007…