2008 Tamil Cinema - The Top 10

10. Raman Thediya Seethai
One of the few mature romances that dealt with the affairs of the heart of older couples, this was a natural, feel-good film about a man's search for his Mrs. Right. Populated with characters that were good but not artificially so and made up of situations that were natural and down-to-earth, we watched the film with a warm feeling in our hearts.

9. Poi Solla Porom
With no big-name stars and none of the items(comedy track, fights and even duets) that are considered an integral part of our cinema, this was a rare film that told its familar David vs Goliath story in a simple and down-to-earth fashion. That helped us overlook its faults - like the simplistic scam and lack of tension - making the little film a big entertainer.

8. Santosh Subramaniyam
Director Raja, 'Jayam' Ravi's brother, once again proved that he had mastered the art of remaking with this retelling of Bommarillu, a film about the relationship between a son and his strict father. With winsome characters, a story that allowed the characters to develop their individualities and good humor that was integrated well into the film, the film worked as well as the original as far as entertainment value goes. And that rarely happens.

7. Vaaranam Aayiram
A heartfelt tribute from Gautham to his father, the film achieved its objective of eulogizing Dad with an ambitious story that illustrated a father's importance by keeping him in the background but showing us the pivotal role he played in his son's life. With an appealing protagonist and well-etched relationships, the film worked well at the macro level but the lack of attention to detail and the incongruous script diluted the movie's emotional impact.

6. Saroja
With 4 everyday guys as heroes, Venkat Prabhu made this a solid, engaging thriller that managed to be both believable and exciting - not an easy combination to achieve. The down-to-earth nature of the guys got us involved while the clever screenplay and visual tricks kept us engaged inspite of the story almost coming to a standstill in the second half.

5. Anjaathey
All of this film's tracks - a policeman's coming-of-age story, a tale about a friendship gone bad, a cops-and-robbers crime thriller, a son finding redemption in his father's eyes, a love story - were handled with a sober, realistic touch by Mysskin, who elevated them by never losing sight of the human side of things. His directorial touches, like a virtuoso scene where he showed only the actors' legs - were ambitious and made the film stand out as a director's movie.

4. Alibaba
Hitchcock's favorite theme of an innocent man being framed and trying to clear his name was at the heart of this underrated but very effective thriller. It had an interesting protagonist, a suspenseful story that didn't abandon logic and a fast-paced screenplay but its biggest asset was the consistently surprising screenplay that successfully combined misdirection and surprise right upto the end.

3. Kanchivaram
Priyadarshan gave us a pleasant surprise with this sensitively-crafted emotional tale that was set among the weaver community in the city of Kanchivaram in 1948. While it showed us the sorry plight of the weavers and nicely chronicled the rise of communism among them, it was essentially about a father's love for his daughter as that towered over everything else.

2. Poo
Director Sasi unfurled a new facet of romance this simple but stirring tale of a woman's dedication and commitment to a man. At its center was a very unique, rather remarkable woman who we understood fully only during the film's last act but many of its supporting characters were also developed well with surprising character arcs. Sasi's directorial skills, visual touches, unexpected comic interludes and character development transformed the simple story into a soft but emotionally strong film.

1. Subramanyapuram
Sasikumar stunned us with this daring, confident debut. While the story was a familiar one of close friends getting caught up in a spiral of violence, the setting(Madurai in the 80s) and the refreshingly natural proceedings made the movie stand out amidst other risk-averse cookie-cutter movies. But what stood out more than anything else was the debutant director's complete lack of compromise as he made the film he wanted to make and in the process, gave us a movie that was rousingly realistic and constantly gripping.