A Review of Tamil Cinema in 2021
Aaah! It’s been a while since I’ve done something like this, hasn’t it? I’m cracking my knuckles and stretching my upper body like, “How did I use to do this??” Feeling a bit rusty here!
Allright, let’s go.
So! You saw the title, I’m sure you can get a rough idea of where this is going to go. Tamil movies in 2021. Jai Bhim is currently declared as the best Indian film, it missed an Oscar nomination by *that* much. Koozhangal is just scooping up all the international recognition. Wonderful, wonderful moments. Couldn’t be prouder of the work my people put out. Now, let’s talk about the rest of the Tamil movie industry.
I can’t find an accurate number of the Tamil movies that were released in 2021. A look through the Wikipedia page shows about 120 movies or so. I don’t have the capacity to talk about all 120 but let me just take you through the more culturally important and relevant movies. Master, Annaatthe, Doctor, and Maanaadu SECURED the bags last year, with a minimum of a billion Rupees in WORLDWIDE gross each. With Rajnikanth and Nayanthara, Annaatthe featured the “oldest” hero and heroine of Tamil cinemas in 2021 – although I use the term “heroine” for Nayanthara loosely because let’s be honest, she was just the hero’s love interest. If you want to talk about being the “heroine”, Nayanthara is the heroine in movies like Netrikann. Annaatthe, featuring Tamil cinema’s most renowned hero, had a script that apparently illustrates the bond between a brother and sister. Trailers and promos that featured the dialogue “God stands by the girl who has truth and courage.” were shoved down our throats every time we channel surfed through Sun TV. Cleverly hiding the more disturbing dialogues in the movie that featured blink and you’ll miss it allusions to caste differences and honour-killing. So much hype to show a girl who is incapable of doing anything without her brother; a man. It reminds me of Vijay’s Bigil a couple of years ago. It was touted to be a women-centric script featuring songs such as Maathare and the roaring anthem of Singapenne thereby birthing the title of “Singappen” to any girl who does something remarkable. Yet, all I saw was a Vijay fest through and through. Why are these big actors so desperate to show they support women by… well, telling a woman exactly how she should live her life? A few years ago, Tamil cinema was churning out scripts that focused on farmers the way Dinamalar, Dinakaran, and Dinathanthi push out their daily newspapers. These days, it seems to be women. And caste – not that caste has never been a theme in Tamil movies but if you’re in touch with Tamil cinema, I think you’ll see what I mean in terms of caste-centric scripts now as compared to say 2010. So, what’s going to be the next trending topic that some “mass” actor is going to use to show off his gethu as a way to prove his relevance?
Speaking of actors and relevance, Vijay Sethupathi made a whopping EIGHT Tamil movies last year. Two of them were cameo appearances, yet, that’s SIX Tamil movies last year. Like Rajnikanth in the eighties. Despite a pandemic at that too, when people were barely shooting. While other actors were pressurising the Tamil government to re-open theatres so their fans could watch their movies (so they could make a name at the box office again). Anyway, about Vijay Sethupathi. Listen. Do I have my qualms about him? Obviously. But you know, he seems to be fairly decent, he literally came out of nowhere and he seems to give people the opportunity they would otherwise be denied. So, in the spirit of “positive presence in Tamil cinema”, let’s set him aside. Now, let’s talk about the actors I actually want to nit-pick. GV Prakash Kumar, composer and singer turned actor and Kalaimamani Santhanam, comedian turned hero each released three movies last year. Let’s look at the plots of the six movies, shall we?
Parris Jeyaraj: Parris Jeyaraj, a small-time YouTube singer, resorts to drinking after a heartbreak inflicted upon him by his father. He falls in love with Dhivya after meeting her at an event at her college. Dhivya, also falls for him without knowing that Parris is the son of her father with his first wife. Cool.
Dikkiloona: First of all, recycling old Goundamani-Senthil comedies – for the TITLE – is seriously scraping the barrel. Second of all, this movie was heavily criticised for using disabled people as a joke and punchline so I’m not even going to glorify it with criticism.
Sabhaapathy: A man with a speech impairment desperately looks for a job to earn a living. Again, Santhanam’s portrayal of someone with speech impairment was criticised so. Bye.
Vanakkam Da Mappilei: I found out this movie was by M. Rajesh, and surprise, it’s yet another plot with two friends and a girl who “threatens” the very existence of their chaste friendship. Someone impose a ban on M. Rajesh from making further films until he comes up with an original plot. Seriously. Or can he disappear the way Perarasu did?
Bachelor: Couple gets pregnant out of marriage, guy doesn’t want responsibility and asks girl to abort. Girl says no and instead, girl’s family fake marriage certificates and domestic violence to pin down guy. Guy decides to bribe doctors into saying the baby is not his. Oh and wait for it, guy’s lawyer suggests an idea to win the case but it will take away his masculinity, his most important pride. Riveting.
Jail: Hey, what happened to the whole tax imposition on Tamil movies with English titles? Anyway, it’s about people living in a poor area who can’t reform because of society and are forced to resort to illegal measures for a living. Clashes with a rival gang bring about a chain of catastrophic events.
Which of these is the original plot? Why are these people who are not actors able to secure a space that so many are struggling to break through? Because I truly believe there are people out there with good scripts and solid acting skills, who have been banished to the dark realms of fate, misfortune, and unluckiness because these people traded in their money and name for fame. Rather than for the respect of the art.
Other noteworthy movies from 2021 include
Aranmanai 3: someone explain the difference between Aranmanai 1, 2 and 3 to me, please? Like, what sets these movies apart other than the actors?
Naanum Single Than: whoever wrote the plot on the Wikipedia page deserves a medal of honour. Thank you for your service.
Pulikkuthi Pandi: an orphan, ruffian, petty crimes who reforms for love
Mirugaa: John, a serial killer who hunts rich, single mothers, kills their relatives who stay in her house and loots their money
Sivakumarin Sapadham: story, screenplay, direction, production, lyrics, and music ALL by Hiphop Tamizha – what’s with all these composers turning into subpar actors? Sivakumar belongs to a family of master weavers but is unemployed. However, he soon vows to revive and restore his family's lost legacy. Okay, then. இதுல ஒரு பாகுபலி reference தான் கேடு.
Nenjam Marappathillai: Girl is sexually assaulted and murdered only for her to come back as a ghost to haunt those who did her wrong.
Sulthan: I feel sorry for Karthi, I really do. Such a powerhouse of talent yet, he makes me wonder if he started acting at an inauspicious time or something. Anyway, I think Sulthan is a bit more acceptable plot-wise so I’ll leave it be.
Karnan: A movie inspired by a caste-violence act in 1995. Now, if you’re going to talk about caste and set a premise around that, why do you need a “love interest”? Why do you feature a love story prominently and then kill it when it comes to wrapping up the movie? Not even kill it. Just… abandon it altogether? Also, does anyone else feel like Dhanush seems to be doing the same village subject again, and again, andddd yet again?
I want to quote yesteryear actress KR Vijaya who once said Tamil cinema glorifies sins these days at this point. And I think she said it best. So poignant and so succinct. There is a difference between showing a flawed, complex human being, as opposed to showing a flawed person as a MAN, showing his flaws as traits of masculinity, and showing such a character as just another regular guy you would find in society. And why are so many of these plot summaries almost devoid of the lead’s love interest, only to always feature a “heroine”, i.e., an object of affection who gets four or five songs and maybe twenty minutes of screen presence? Why do these movies seem incapable of existing without a woman, only to diminish them, taunt them, and mock them? And all of these plots just home in the point that male behaviour is dependent on a female’s actions, over, and over, and over again. Tell me, what is masculinity if it is allowed to exist devoid of accountability or seemingly, agency? How is that an acceptable trait for any human being? You’re telling me masculinity is either where a guy is unable to think for himself and is only inspired to set his life straight because he fell in love or where a guy can do as he so pleases because a female was in the vicinity? Who are these messages benefiting? Truly? Are you telling guys it’s okay to be a nasty, unemployed drunk who just sits around ogling at women until he “falls in love” (stalks) with one?
And Tamil cinema is just peppered with movies centred around supernatural and “adult” comedy (read: softcore porn) lately, isn’t it? Again, no one is saying don’t do adult comedies. It’s very interesting to see a post-Tinder Tamil world. But let me ask you this, when women aren’t already “heroines”, just an object, often shy, feminine… “domesticated” (barf) in Tamil cinemas who YANK off their thavani for no good reason, or better yet, for the dream song sequences to play into the male fantasy, what exactly do adult comedies set out to do? It’s like previously horny directors who had to hide their horniness in the name of Kulture have now entered The Purge. Supernatural themes are another way to put down women once again; always a female ghost, always raped and killed, always out for vengeance. Don’t the people coming up with scripts get bored?
Historically, Tamil cinema is not without its flaws. Yet, I look at the black and white movies of MGR and think, you know what? At least these guys seem to have some sort of principle. Some values. 80s is when Tamil cinema went off the deep end of introducing “item” songs. It's so easy to praise K Balachander’s movies and wonder why we don’t have such female-led scripts anymore, when in fact, his were the exception. Regular movies in the 80s were a horror fest which featured gems such as a 29-year-old Bhagyaraj (aka, the morattu single of his days) opposite a 14-year-old Urvashi (chosen by him, no less) in Mundhanai Mudichu. What was that movie?
And age is another thing that constantly irks me. In 2021, the average Tamil “hero” was 40 years old, and the average Tamil “heroine” was 29 years old*. When you look at the box office movies, the ones that made the most in 2021 (Master, Annaatthe, Sulthan, Karnan, Doctor, Aranmanai 3, Enemy, Maanaadu), the difference is further magnified, with the average hero being 45 years old and the average heroine 28 years old. But here’s one thing, I’m very, very surprised by: I didn’t find minors – it’s not a moment of relief, it’s not giving anyone merit, but Genelia D’Souza, Lakshmi Menon, Thulasi Nair, and Amala Paul weren’t that long ago. There were even a couple of instances in my sample where the actress was older than the actor. So, in a way, Tamil cinema is changing. Not in the ways that is necessary though, because to the casual eye, it just looks like the divide is getting stronger and stronger and we have to revel in the one or two good movies that come out in the year while most is just misogynistic crap. Not to talk about Nayanthara again, but I feel like she’s the easiest way to show the divide: look at the movies she does as a heroine and as a love interest. I can’t help but wonder why she is doing this. But proving herself as a bankable star, a star who has paal abishegams for her women-centric scripts JUST like the Superstar she’s touted to be the feminine version of, has clearly paved the way for so many other actresses as well. From Trisha and Jyothika who were in the industry before her to Priya Bhavani Shankar who just joined the industry, all of them are getting scripts because she did. Meanwhile, yesteryear actresses talk of how they didn’t even have their own caravans and had to bank on the kindness of the hero to use his if they need the bathroom or something. So, things are changing. But they are not evolving – if that makes sense at all.
And yes, if you’re wondering if I had nothing better to do than to sit down and compile this post, no. I specifically chose to give up my time to do this because I don’t understand what went wrong with Tamil cinema. And as someone who pays nearly 20 Singapore dollars (around ₹1000) per person, I don’t see why I have to be disappointed again and again? It’s so easy to be someone who acts like they’re above Tamil cinema by not watching it or for someone else to say, “then don’t watch, we don’t need you” when you criticise it. And yes, I can see that. Clearly. I mean at ₹3B worldwide for Master, the Tamil movie industry doesn’t need my approval or my ticket purchases to thrive. But… I want Tamil cinema. I want to LAUGH at a Tamil joke, I want to see some Tamil insults, I want to have a crush on a Tamil actor. I am Tamil and is it not natural for me to seek validation and look for myself in the characters portrayed in Tamil cinema? No amount of binging Jurassic Park or Marvel movies is going to help with that! It’s just not the same! So, who’s going to do it? Like, where do you even start? A male actor saying, “No, I won’t act with her as my pairing, she’s a minor?” or, “No, I won’t act as an alcoholic unless there’s a reason for my alcoholism that’s explored in the movie?” A female actor saying, “No, I won’t act in this where the guy is just stalking me?” or, “No, I won’t do sexual assault scenes unless there’s a reason which DOESN’T involve my “honour” being “tarnished”? Seriously, how? Who’s going to fix Tamil cinema and how are they going to do that?
*Based on a sample of Maara, Master, Bhoomi, Eeswaran, Pulikkuthi Pandi, Kabadadaari, Kalathil Santhippom, Naanum Single Thaan, Parris Jeyaraj, Chakra, Kamali from Nadukkaveri, Mirugaa, Nenjam Marappathillai, Teddy, Sulthan, Karnan, Vanakkam Da Mappilei, Jagame Thandhiram, Laabam, Dikkiloona, Tughlaq Durbar, Annabelle Sethupathi, Kodiyil Oruvan, Naduvan, Lift, Endraavathu Oru Naal, Mughizh, Doctor, Aranmanai 3, Oh Manapenne!, Annaatthe, Enemy, Pon Manickavel, Maanaadu, Raajavamsam, Bachelor, Jail, Murungakkai Chips, Thalli Pogathey, Plan Panni Pannanum, Thanne Vandi, and Velan. Yes, I sat down and tabulated this using Excel. I need you to understand. I was SO fucking done, I made an EXCEL SPREADSHEET about Tamil movies.
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