Tamil and Malayalam Cinema in 2008-An Overview
This post is sponsored byiView Author: Sethumadhavan (Chennai/Vijayawada,India)
Email: sethumadhavan.n [at] gmail.com
Tamil Cinema in 2008-An Overview :
2008 was a mixed year for Tamil Cinema. On one hand you had movies with relatively lesser known actors and directors getting noticed and on the other hand while some of the bigger stars managed to come up with good movies, the other bigger stars brought out movies which fizzled at the box office. Given below is my personal take on the Tamil movies released in 2008-
Best Movies
1. Subramaniapuram- Directed & produced by Sasikumar, the movie starred Jai & Swati, both relatively unknown stars along with Sasikumar himself. The story had a background of Madurai in the 1980’s & dealt with a group of youngsters caught in a web of violence and deceit. The movie went on to be accepted both by the critics and the masses. Music by James Vasanth was a big asset to the movie.
2. Anjathey- This was the 2nd movie directed by Mysskin after his Chitiram Pesudhadi.Starring Narain, Prasanna,Ajmal & Vijayalakshmi, people were surprised to see such a taut action thriller in a completely natural style well showcased by Mysskin. Camerawork by the DOP, Mahesh Muthuswamy as well as music by Mysskin himself also helped the movie.
3. Dasavatharam- There has been a lot of debate among the critics and masses regarding the creative merits of the movie. Directed by K.S.Ravikumar & with story and screenplay by Kamal Haasan, there is no doubt that it was a true showcase of the talent of the genius called Kamal Haasan.Co starring Asin, Kamal went on to portray a landmark 10 roles in the movie. Music was by Himesh Reshamiyya.The movie did extremely well at the box office.
4. Vaaranam Aayiram- This Gautam Vasudev Menon flick was sincere at heart and had Surya in the two roles of a father and son. Though the pace was a bit leisurely, the brilliant visuals by the DOP, Rathnavel and the music by Harris Jayaraj ensured that the movie captured our attention.
5. Saroja- Inspired by ‘Judgement Day’, Venkat Prabhu’s 2nd directorial effort after Chennai 28 was a truly different movie for the tamil audiences. It was a well made thriller set in a race against time framework.
Decent Movies
1. Poo- Brave attempt by Sasi using the heroine as a protagonist. Parvathy’s performance was the highlight of the movie.
2. Poi Solla Porom- UTV’s remake of their successful hindi movie- Khosla Ka Ghosla, this one directed by Vijay was a faithful remake.
Major Disappointments
1. Kuselan ( Rajnikanth)
2. Kuruvi ( Vijay)
3. Bheema ( Vikram)
4. Satyam ( Vishal)
5. Aegan ( Ajith- fizzled out after a good opening)
Song of the Year-
Kangal Irundal from Subramaniapuram- a lilting melody by James Vasanth and sung by
Belly Raj and Deepa Mariam.
Album of the Year-
Vaaranam Aayiram by Harris Jayaraj – undoubtedly.
Overall a very unpredicatable year for tamil cinema, lets see what’s in store for 2009.
Malayalam Cinema in 2008-An Overview :
2008 was a very average year for Malayalam cinema. The truly artistic movies seemed to be far and few.Hindi, tamil and dubbed telugu releases continued to flood the market in Kerala. Given below is my personal take on the Malayalam movies released in 2008-
Best Movies
Malabar Wedding- It was a small movie with Indrajeet and Gopika in the lead. Based upon a tradition called- ’sorakalyanam’ prevalent among some parts of the Malabar region of Kerala, the debutant director duo,Rajesh- Faisal was able to portray the tale in a very realistic way.Music by Rahulraj was also adequate.
Thirakadha- Directed by Renjith and allegedly based upon the romance between Kamal Haasan and Srividya, Thirakadha was a poignant tale of a young director (played well by Prithviraj) trying to make a movie based on the romance between the current superstar and a yesteryear actress. Priyamani was brilliant as the actress. Overall a well appreciated effort.
Gulmohar- Directed by Jayaraj,this movie marked the acting debut of director Renjith.As Induchoodan, a former naxalite who looks back at the earlier days of the naxalite movement and then sets forth on an unfinished mission, Renjith was clearly brilliant. Unfortunately the movie was not well received at the box office.
Twenty: 20- Yes I am being a bit indulgent here in my choice. But having all the big stars like Mammooty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi,Dileep, Jayaram etc in a single movie and doing justice to them is not a joke. For this reason alone director Joshy and producer Dileep deserve all the applause. ( check out my write up http://passionforcinema.com/twenty-20-%e2%80%93-indias-biggest-movie-ever/#more-9128 for more details)
Calcutta News- While this movie is not on the same level as director Blessy’s Kaazcha or Thanmadra, the movie was still reasonably realistic and had some good performances from Dileep and Gopika. It was another take on the flesh trade in Kolkata’s Sonagachi and reminded you of Kamal Haasan’s Mahanadi.
Veruthe Oru Bharya- Jayaram made a strong comeback with this surprise hit. He played a typical nagging husband who believes that his wife ( Gopika) should just be happy enough to do whatever he says. One fine day Gopika rebels and leaves home. Though the movie did not have a landmark story, Akku Akbar the director was able to ensure that the movie brought the family audiences back to the theatre.
I am yet to watch some critically acclaimed movies like M.G.Sasi’s Adalayangal ( based on a work of Nandanar ),Akashagopuram (directed by K.P.Kumaran and starring Mohanalal based on Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s The Master Builder) and Thalappavu- (starring Lal & Prithviraj and directed by Madhupal). On the box office front, Mamooty and Mohanalal both had a good year. Apart from Twenty: 20, Mammooty had Rowdram, Annan Thambi and Maya Bazaar doing well while Parunthu was a flop. Mohanlal had Innathe Chintavishayam, Madambi and Kurukshetra doing well while his College Kumaran was a flop. Mohanalal also showed his commitment to smaller and artistic films remains intact as he did films like Mizhikal Saakshi and Pakal Nakshatrangal.
The fact remains that the rot in Malayalam Cinema continues to remain and I am sincerely hoping that we see more quality cinema emerging in 2009.
Movies
20 Responses to “Tamil and Malayalam Cinema in 2008-An Overview”
Leave a Reply
(Refer smilies)
Our Comments Policy : The following kinds of comments are troll capped, blocked and/or commenter's identity reported publicly: Verbal abuse, personal attacks, hate statements, spam, trolls, advertising. Please assist us in keeping the comments clean. Use the contact form to let us know if you find unwarranted comments on PFC. Thank you.
-
Your Ad on PFC for 99cents a day!
Subscribe to PFC eZine & Newsletter
how do I blog on PFC?
@sethu
Was just wondering if Santhosh subramaniam doesnt make it to the list of decent movies in tamil 2008.
@ Balaji
Actually Santosh Subramaniam & Yaradi Nee Mohini are both decent movies.I have not listed them since they are more or less a complete frame to frame remakes of their telugu originals
( Bommarilu & Adavari Mataluku Ardhale Verule respectively).Of course going by this logic Poi Solla Porum is a remake too- but then I’ve give some brownie points to PSP simply because its a total “non star” movie.
Malayalam Cinema has been going towards south for a quite sometime.I also hope that maalayalm movies improve and we do not have see no-brainers telugu dubbed movie .
Tamil Cinema , major disappointment you have listes some major blockbusters.Hope the niche tamil cinema like Subramaniapuram will emerge next year.
Dasavtharam i still feel personally was not Kamal,s best compared to Sivaji Dasavtharam was hands down.Vaaranam Aayiram by Gautam Menon was also a major letdown.Surya was the only grace.
@ Cinemausher
I have myself mentioned that” the rot in Malayalam Cinema continues to remain and I am sincerely hoping that we see more quality cinema emerging in 2009″.Regarding tamil cinema none of the movies in my best films is a true blue big blockbuster movie except Dasavatharam.I agree it was not Kamal’s best- but certainly had a lot of creativity in it.And its miles ahead of Sivaji by all means.Of course this is my view & you are entitled to yours.
Good list. But, the list would not be complete without a mention of J.K.Ritish’s Naayaghan , which has also been mentioned in Time Magazine as one of 8 movies to see before I die.
@ Goodlist
LOL.J.K.R’s Nayagan ( not to be confused with the Manirathnam-Kamal Haasan classic) needs a seperate write up in itself.J.K.R & Sam Anderson are truly the superstars !!!
There is no doubt that 20-20 is a crap movie.It looked like a superstar Tamil film with the usual item number,substandard comedy and heroes who can bash up 20 goondas at a time.Actually I was fooled by a review in which it was said that it was a thrilling murder mystery and i had to endure fat Mohanlal jumping from a 10 storey flat and escaping unhurt.Any way since it was for a just cause,I don’t wan’t to trash this film further.But frankly speaking i do not like to see this experiment repeated in Tamil.Just imagine watching Rajnikant,Vijay,Simbu,Vijayakant together in a movie bashing up goondas by truckloads!
@ Sharath
Twenty:20 was intended to be an entertainer & I give it brownie points for only one thing- ensuring all the biggies are in one film & giving them enough space within the same film.Its not an easy thing to do at all.It just is not possible in tamil- can you imagine Rajnikant,Kamal Haasan,Vijaykant,Ajit, Vijay, etc etc all in one movie & also getting adequate space?Thankfully the majority of the audience who went to watch Twenty:20 knew what was in store & so weren’t disappointed.But yes this is not the vintage malayalam cinema that I actually want to see.
Malayalam cinema has been on the downhill for quite some time now. Really yearning for those vintage Malayalam movies, when beautiful films were crafted out of simple plots. I saw an 80s movie recently, where Mohanlal is a man returned to Kerala from the Middle East with the dreams of entrepreneurship. He turns a bus owner and the movie chronicles the problems he faces, due to bureaucracy and communism. Simple story…yet moving. Revathy was there in it as well. Want to see those kinds of films back. I mean, whats happened to Malayalam cinema, guys? Back then, even blockbusters were out-of-the-box, like Manichitratazhu.
Tamil cinema, I feel, on the other hand is on the resurgence. The movies you mentioned Sethu are all superb movies – Subramaniapuram, Poo, Saroja, Vaaranam Aayiram..all of them. I would like to add Priyadarshan’s Kancheevaram to that list.
@ Doc Ock
The Mohnalal-Revathy movie mentioned by you is Varavelpu- even I miss all thomovies.I do appreciate & share your concern about malayalam cinema.I am banking on directors like Blessy & Shaji Karun to come up with good movies to help elevate the standards to some extent.And regarding Kancheevaram- I havent mentioned it because the movie is yet to have a theatrical release so far.
Yeah, Kancheevaram is yet to have a theatrical release; so technically it wouldn’t be a 2008 movie. Another thing I have observed about Malayalam films is that the humour keeps getting more and more crass these days. I have always felt that Malayalam films had the best humour, arguably…Kerala actors are also extraordinarily gifted at comedy. But now all you see are loud comedians getting on the nerves.
But yeah…filmmakers like Blessy and Shaji Karun are there….so all hope is not lost. Blessy is a “blessing” (literally) for Malayalam cinema. I have seen 3 of his movies…Kazcha, Thanmatra and Palunku, and they are all splendid films. Yet to see Calcutta News..
Actually malayalam cinema is getting influenced in a big way by tamil,telugu ( dubbed) & bollywood films & is losing its identity.Not only in comedy but even in song picturitions you can see the effect.I’ve seen all the 4 films of Blessy so far & he is definitely one of the better directors among the current lot.
i personally wont rate VA’s music that highly..probably cause the songs are mostly lifted.From Adiye Kolluthey to Mundhinam Partheine!Harris is a lame copycat.Sakkarakatti despite having 2 songs frm Meenaxi was a far better album.I still feel ARR deserves the best album in both hindi and tamil.Subbupuram is the beshtu movie undoubtedly.
Abhishek- Come on considering ARR’s standard, how can you even think of Sakkarakatti to be the year’s best?Atleast Sivaji saw some spark of ARR, Sakkarakatti continued to be like other recent tamil films of his like-ATM,Sillunu Oru Kadhal,Godfather, Parasuram etc- half baked at the most or plainly bad.That ways the music of Harris Jayaraj ( yes copied @ times) has been much better in movies like Ghajini, Vettaiyadu Vilayadu, Unnale Unnale etc apart from VA.
The best movie for me is a toss up between Subramaniapuram & Anjathey.
Hmm..but i don know sir..Harris..hmm don know..probably the dearth of a proper album this year..may end up handin the award to Harris..lucky bum!
Abhishek- you’ve nailed it right.Dearth of a proper album is the right issue.I mean there were less than a handful of decent albums – let alone powerpacked albums.But yes ARR did have a better year in Hindi though.Wish he concentrates a bit more in tamil also when he works.BTW the mass song of the year has to go to ” naaku mooku ” from kadhalil vizhunden
[...] Malabar Wedding- It was a small movie with Indrajeet and Gopika in the lead. Based upon a tradition called- ’sorakalyanam’ prevalent among some parts of the Malabar region of Kerala, the debutant director duo,Rajesh- Faisal was able to portray the tale in a very realistic way.Music by Rahulraj was also adequate. Thirakadha- Directed by Renjith and allegedly based upon the romance between Kamal Haasan and Srividya, Thirakadha was a poignant tale of a young director (played well by Prithviraj) trying to make a movie based on the romance between the current superstar and a yesteryear actress. Priyamani was brilliant as the actress. Overall a well appreciated effort. Gulmohar- Directed by Jayaraj,this movie marked the acting debut of director Renjith.As Induchoodan, a former naxalite who looks back at the earlier days of the naxalite movement and then sets forth on an unfinished mission, Renjith was clearly brilliant. Unfortunately the movie was not well received at the box office. Twenty: 20- Yes I am being a bit indulgent here in my choice. But having all the big stars like Mammooty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi,Dileep, Jayaram etc in a single movie and doing justice to them is not a joke. For this reason alone director Joshy and producer Dileep deserve all the applause. ( check out my write up http://passionforcinema.com/twenty-20-%e2%80%93-indias-biggest-movie-ever/#more-9128 for more details) Calcutta News- While this movie is not on the same level as director Blessy’s Kaazcha or Thanmadra, the movie was still reasonably realistic and had some good performances from Dileep and Gopika. It was another take on the flesh trade in Kolkata’s Sonagachi and reminded you of Kamal Haasan’s Mahanadi. Veruthe Oru Bharya- Jayaram made a strong comeback with this surprise hit. He played a typical nagging husband who believes that his wife ( Gopika) should just be happy enough to do whatever he says. One fine day Gopika rebels and leaves home. Though the movie did not have a landmark story, Akku Akbar the director was able to ensure that the movie brought the family audiences back to the theatre.[Tamil and Malayalam Cinema in 2008-An Overview] [...]
Honestly, this is a good list and not playing it to fan’s wishes.
But 2008 goes to Dasavathaaram hands down. You can’t deny that. I don’t think that any director could’ve tied 10 characters into the chaos theory story, that too revolving around the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. For those that compare it with Sivaji, look again. Sivaji was a film with plot-holes bigger than the ones laid in the New York Interstates.
Dasavathaaram had a story. Stop nitpicking and comparing Kamal’s previous works with Dasa. Clearly if were to make another Hey Ram! the audience wouldn’t digest it (because it was ahead of times.)
In Dasa’s case, Kamal knew the marketing stratedgy and simply wove a theory within commercial format. The story made absolute sense in the end. I suggest you re-watch it and research the chaos theory because I highly doubt Shankar or P.Vasu could direct that “actless” guy Rajni into doing 10 roles. Also, if anyone whines about Mallika Sherawat’s role in the film, can I counter with Shriya Saran’s role in Sottaji the loss?
Subramaniapuram was good, not great. But definetly in my top 10 for 08. The problem was that the plot is a lift from most of Bharthiraja’s films back in the 80s. I guess the redeeming factor here would be the treatment.
Vaaranam Aayiram was really good movie. There were flaws (minor) but the film worked well for me. Again, Surya is becoming another Kamal (he’s a big fan of him as well. Same goes with Gautham Menon.)
Harris Jayaraj can give way better music than Rahman. I’m going to miss this combo very much. Rahman’s lost his touch post 2004 and I don’t care if he experiments. If I want good music, give me good music, don’t give me nonsense. An example of this is Ghajini. Enough said.
Thirakkatha is a must watch. The story is endearing and the whole cast and crew deserve accolades for making the film work and not dragging like most bio-pics do.
Better there be two post for tamil cinema and malayalam cinema, otherwise we hv to hear this constant rant for another 20 years.
//mean, whats happened to Malayalam cinema, guys? Back then, even blockbusters were out-of-the-box, like Manichitratazhu.//
only one flim with original scripts “Subramaniyapuram”..REST??!!!