The list below are the movies which I feel deserves to be called the best in 2010 for either being a quality product, fulfilling the expectations, creating a new genre, exceeding expectations and for raking the money in the box office.
AAYIRATHIL ORUVAN
A long awaited film from Selvaraghavan. Created a few ripples in the film industry with the introduction of a totally new genre in tamizh cinema, fantasy adventure. Kudos to Selva fro exploring a totally new genre unattempted by anyone else. All the hardwork is evident through the detailing showcased in the film, from costumes to settings. Ramji did a fantastic job with the camera and it must have been days and nights of hardwork for both he and Selva to make multiple research on anciet Tamizh civilization and to bring it to the silver screen. Karthi, Reema Sen and Parthiban gave good performances.. GV.Prakash's music was an additional strength for the film with the songs and BGM being a big hit. But the movie has plenty of questionable loopholes in the storyline/screenplay, and Selva should have polished the script much better. It was a letdown from him but still a daring attempt. Deserve an appreciation but with negative remarks..
ANGADI THERU
Another classic film in Tamizh cinema history. An emotional-driven film by Vasantha Balan who has the tendecy to make films based on human emotions and struggles. The script was solid and it really captured the hearts of viewers after they were shown the dreadful life lived by the salesman/saleswoman behind the counters of posh malls in Chennai. What really made the movie pull it off was the blending of a beautiful love story of the lead pair in the miserable living condition faced by them and the bitter or we should say cold-blooded nature of fate and yet the movie teaches us of the message "Whatever happens, life has to move on".. The lead pair did a fantastic act especially Anjali. She deserves a award for this film. GV.Prakash and Vijay Anthony's music was a big hit with lovely melodies and Richard M.Nathan's camera coming in handy. Too bad Angadi Theru lost out to Peepli Live in the last hurdle as being India's official entry for the Oscars.
BOSS @ BASKARAN
Rajesh's second innings as a director was a hit as well. What made the movie click was the light hearted manner in which the screenplay was presented and it was even more light in subject compared to Rajesh's previous Siva Manasula Sakthi.. Arya, Nayanthara and Santhanam was at their best in comic timing and Santhanam really rocked the show with the catch phrase NANBEN DA!! Arya has improved his dialogue delivery and dressing sense plus Nayanthara gave out a decent performance. Sakthi Saravanan's cool camera views of Kumbakonam and Yuvan's songs was another highlight of the film especially the song Yaaru Endru becoming a big hit. Although the story line was wafer thin, Rajesh's comedic script won the hearts of viewers and proved that not movies with heavy duty themes can score big. Hopefully Rajesh continues the good work further..
EESAN
Sasikumar's second film was a dark and riveting film filled with violence especially in the climax. Although it's not in the leagu of Subramaniapuram, Eesan is a very good film showcasing the present ethical issues involving spoilt brats of the super rich and powerful people in the society. The film was tedious in the first half and should have been trimmed as the film was sailing nowhere and audiences had to wait till the second half to commence to realise the real theme the director wanted to convey on the screen. Kathir's camera was as always a great complement to the film but James Vasanth let down this time except for Jilla Vittu song and luckily he did pretty well in the BGM section. All the actors gave out commending performances especially Samuthirakani and AL Azhagappan who were too life like. Kudos to Sasikumar for highlighting the social problems occuring among the current society and for sharing the anger I have..
ENDHIRAN
The massive blockbuster of the year!! Shankar gave out another milestone film in Indian cinema when it came to the technical aspects. The costliest film made so far in Indian cinema, the film justified all the expenses procurred with the graphics, make up, set designing, costumes designing, animatronic techniques and etc. Sabu Cyril came out with wonderful sets in the songs and the labs and futuristic palace. Rathnavelu deserves an award for bringing out the correct look for the film and to share the dream of Shankar. Srinivas deserves all the accolades for managing and coordinating with the Hollywood special effects studio and bringing the maximum output from the allowed budget. Manish Malhotra showed Rajni even younger with his costumes and Bhanu deserves a big appreaciation for the make up. AR Rahman, as always delivered his best for Rajni and all the songs have been huge hits and the song picturizations were brilliant as well, although it's not on par if you compare to Shankar's previous films.. Finally the Man Rajni.. At age 60, he still wows the crowd with his style and grace and the powerful dialogue delivery of Chitti version 2.0... Although, as and actor Rajni is still sorely missed, this has been something different from him after so many years..
IRUMBU KOTTAI MURATTU SINGAM
Chimbudevan makes a decent film and he deserves a pat for bringing back the cowboy themed films back to Tamizh cinema. Besides him, the other 2 people who deserves a big appreciation is the art director and the costume designer of the film. Without their sheer hardwork it would have been difficult for Chimbudevan to bring out an Indian cowboy film. All the actors were dressed perfectly and the sets were just too good in details. GV Prakash was a big letdown as this film has no attractive songs at all. The cast did a pretty decent job especially the big cast of comedic actors such as Vaiyapuri, Mouli, Manorama, Delhi Ganesh, Ilavarasu and etc although Lawrence was not good enough as an actor for me. Script should have been a little better as some portions of the film tend to be slow and boring but Chimbudevan was brilliant in penning the dialogues and for inserting spoofs or parody of real life situation into a fantasy film. Hats off to him for that smart touch.
KALAVAANI
A cult hit film from newcomer Sargunam. Another light hearted film which showcased the easy going yet naughty and troublesome lifestyle lived by youths in villages. Vimal and Oviya gave out decent performances but Ilavarasu and Saranya was class. Ganja Karuppu was rocking in this film with his superb comedy timing especially in the climax where he tries in vain to stop the protagonist.. Truly hilarious!! SS Kumaran's music was another highlight as the Chinna Chinna song being popular. Om Prakash's camera was refreshing and captured th beauty of Tanjore's outskirts. A pleasant film which really made the film viewers light at heart. Has officially become a cult hit and gave a fresh whiff of air to the cinema industry.
MADRAASAPATTINAM
AL Vijay's next film after the low key Poi Solla Porom was a beautiful film of inter-racial love on a different canvas, that is on independence struggle. The whole unit must have worked tremendously hard on this project. Nirav Shah's camera was just top class with the right tone and GV Prakash's music was a big hit among the viewers especially the song Pookal Pookum.. Besides them the art director and the costume designers worked extremely hard in this film for bringing out the lifestyle and surroundings of Madrasapattinam during the independence era. All the small details from sets, props, costumes were top notch.. Stunts were well choregraphed especially the wrestling scenes. Arya gave out one of his best performance but the real surprise packet was Amy Jackson. For a person who is not familiar with cinema at all in the first place and to come to Tamizh cinema and give out a commendable acting was no easy task. She deserves all the accolades.. AL Vijay proved that he can come up with his own script and it was even better than his 2 previous remakes..
MYNAA
After Kokki, Lee and the debacle Laadam, Prabu Solomon came with this heart wrenching film. It was a big surprise to the viewes as Prabhu this time delivered a solid film showcasing a tender and beautiful love relationship of the two lead characters. It was a brave attempt to shoot in dense jungle and at the same time deliver a pretty good film. Amala Paul was a true revelation and she's sure to lap up the roles coming to her now. A beautiful portrayal from her. Besides her Vidharth the hero was also good in his role of a ruffian but has a soft heart for his sweetheart. Thambi Ramaiah was outstanding as the comic cop but also delivered emotional scenes pretty well. The sceneries in the film was cool and fresh as it was filled with lush green forests and hill stations. D.Imman's music was melodious and the songs slowly catched up with the audiences.. Prabhu Solomon left a deep impact on some viewers who could not accept the brutal ending leaving a lump in out throats..
NAAN MAHAAN ALLA
Suseendran proves he's no 1 film wonder after his debut Vennila Kabbadi Kuzhu. This film was a decent entertainer in the first half and a dark, disturbing and violent film in the second half. His script was solid and there were no loopholes in it. A commendable job by his for bringing out a film based on true incidents. Karthi is enjoying his success ride as he once again proved he's no lame actor with good comedy timing in the first part and showing anguish and anger of losing his father in the second part. Kajal Aggarwal has not much to do although she was cute in her role. Yuvan once again proved to be a lucky charm to Karthi especially with Iragai Pole becoming a big hit. Madhi's camera was apt with the right color tone and angles and the stunts were well choreographed with not illogical moves. Good to see Suseendran coming out with different themed films.
NANDHALALA
Mysskin's long awaited film. This time it's a road movie on the journey of two 'kids' in search of their respective mothers. It's a remake of the Japanese film Kikujiro but Mysskin has put in the correct sentiments and did the necessary changes to suit the nativity of tamil nadu. His script is a bit slow and certain scenes did not justify the emotions showed out in those particular scenes but still it was a very nice movie especially with the absence of dialogues and the takeover of Raja sir's music was absolutely remarkable. Raja sir once again proved that he's the maestro when it comes to soul stirring music and background score. Without him this movie would have been a big letdown for the viewers. Although the music was one of the important aspect of this film, the silence showed in certain portions really elevates the beauty of the film. Mysskin did a good job as an actor and the kid artist Aswath Ram was adequate as well. Mahesh's camera captured the beauty of the green natures of Tamil Nadu. Kudos to him for bringing a decent art film.
PAIYAA
Linguswamy was back after the big flop of Bheema. This time he didn't disappoint with this new genre of road movie. It had all the ingredients of a commercial film with a good hero in Karthi, a beautiful heroine in Tamannah, great songs of Yuvan especially Yen Kadhal Solla and the classic Thuli Thuli, and cool stunts from Kanal Kannan. Script from Linguswamy was racy and moved speedily althought the story line is wafer thin. The chemistry between the lead pair was great and Karthi just proved that he's an actor with great comedy timing and a will to perform well in fight scenes. The BGM was great from Yuvan as well, and Anthony's editing was a great help for Linguswamy's script. Linguswamy once again delivered a commercial hit which was stylish and casual and packed with Lingu's style.
RAAVANAN
A highly anticipated film which has the best of the best talents in Indian cinema packed into 1 film. Mani Ratnam's long in the making Raavanan was a big letdown for his fans as it's not even close in the league of his previous classic films. The script of the film did not suit the nativity of Tamizh people and it was not strong or lacked the magic of Mani. What made up for the lack of a good script was the power house acting of the cast and the world class cinematography by Manigandan and Santhosh Sivan. Visuals of the film is just too good to be true and kudos to the crew for taking the massive effort of shooting in dense forests. Acting wise, Vikram was a maniac in his role of Veera (though he was cool as the villain in the Hindi version). Aishwarya Rai gave one of her best performance although the dubbing of Rohini was not really convincing. Prithviraj was a letdown as his method of acting was not really top notch. AR Rahman once again gave his best works to Mani although it's not one of their best yet Usure Pogudgey is a classic and the BGM was great. Dialogues was a letdown but the movie portrayed deep inner feelings and emotions of mankind in certain situations. Not the best from Mani, yet a different film for Tamizh cinema
RATHA CHARITHIRAM
Ram Gopal Varma made a violent film based on true incidents although some of the storyline has been changed from the actual fact. The movie is meant only for the action and violent based film lovers as it has loads of killings and bloodshed !! The movie is quite slow and can be testing for the viewers as it looks like more of a violent documentary of a political episode rathern then a film. Certain scenes do stand out especially the court scenes and the fight in the jail scene. Stunts are superb and natural. Camera work is tight and apt for the film although the rotating view was unnecessary. Ram Gopal Varma should have discarded the idea of using songs as BGM and instead only use pure music as background score. Suriya was absolutely rocking in the film with such a powerful performance from him. His eyes delivered all the agony and hatred of his charactes towards Vivek Oberoi. Once again Suriya has proved that he's an actor of substance. The rest was apt for their roles like Vivek Oberoi, Priyamani and etc. Not a great film but deserves a place in this list for being different and showcasing true incidents.
SINGAM
Tamizh cinema's top notch commercial mass masala director Hari scored big time as he delivered a racy story with all the necessary ingredients checked.. A dynamic hero in Suriya, a good looking and glamorous actress in Anushka, peppy songs by Devi Sri Prasad, funny action oriented comedy scenes by Vivek and a jet speed storyline. It was a pucca masala entertainer for the fans of mass masala films. Hari got the storyline perfect and Suriya was just charismatic in the role of the cop with masculinity and heroism intact. A big cast of character artistes typical of Hari films were present in this film as well..Although Vivek's comedy was funny but it was more of adult oriented jokes. The script by Hari was fast and furious especially in the second half.. Suriya once again scored a hit film and cemented his reputation as a successful actor..
TAMIZH PADAM
The most innovative and outrageous film of the year!! CS Amudhan daringly made a spoof film for the first time in Tamizh cinema. Although spoofs were quite common these days but there was no film made entirely on a spoof concept. The movie made parody of all the regular cliches and hero's of Tamizh cinema and yet it had a story to tell.. Siva as the protagonist was the most apt person to do this film and the ultimate mockery must be the Oh Maha Zeeya song.. That was truly a touch of class.. Nirav's camera was an additional strength to the film as all the frames were refreshing to see. It was wonderful to see such an attempt made into a film and was a success as well.. Waiting for Amudhan's next move..
VA-QUARTER CUTTING
Another different attempt from the Pushkar-Gayathri duo.. Although there was no seriousness in the film compared to their previous Oram Po, this movie was innovative in terms of script and the making. It had the typical Hollywood style of comedy parodies but then the movie was too long and it can test the patience of the audience.. The movie was made in upper-class style and presentation but the story and target was the mass film-lovers. Nirav's camera work was laudable as the use of green color tone throughout gave the right color and feel to the film. GV Prakash's music was average though with only the Unnai Kan Theduthe song being a rocker.. Siva and SPB Charan was a good pair and had weird yet funny face reactions which elevates the comedy quotient of the film. Lekha Washington though has to improve her comedy timing. John Vijay as the father and son act was awesome and funny but then some of his jokes was crass and lewd.. A different attempt but should have been much better.
VINNAITHAANDI VARUVAAYAA
Gautham Menon proved once again that after Mani Ratnam, he's the man to make good love movies. The storyline is thin but the screenplay was engaging and can be related to real life situations. The movie is made for upper class city people as it's filled with English dialogues aplenty and no cliche Tamizh cinema sentimental dialogues. The story was a candy floss yet in the end showed the harsh reality of real life and how modern day couples end their love journey. Simbhu and Trisha obviously gave out their best acting in their career so far. It was nice to see Silambarasan minus all the style and punch dialogues and lewd jokes normally found in his films.. Trisha was looking stunning in Nalini's costumes especially in sarees and she gave a convincing performance which further helped by Chinmayee's perfect dubbing. AR Rahman found succes once again with Hosanna and Mannipaaya songs becoming big hits and his BGM totally different and subtle. The look and presentation of the film was just right with the white and blue tone maintained through out by Manoj Paramahamsa. Anthony's editing was just perfect and Rajeevan's art direction was simple yet elegant. This movie can be boring for some because it focuses entirely on the lead pair only but then for a romance genre that's gonna be the main criteria of the film.
Other noticeable films:
AVAL PEYAR TAMIZHARASI (Pluses: Jai and Nandagi's performance, Vijay Anthony's music, Meera Kathiravan's different setting of the story line)
BAANA KAATHADI (Pluses: Adharva and Samantha's good debut, Yuvan's songs)
BALE PAANDIYA (Pluses: Siddharth's unique way of story telling and production, Devan Ekambaram's music, Vishnu and Pia's performance)
GOA (Pluses: Yuvan's music, Vibrant young cast)
KATRADHU KALAVU (Pluses: Good storyline, realistic stunt scenes)
MANMADHAN AMBU (Pluses: Kamal's dialogues and poem, Kamal and the rest of the cast, Devi Sri Prasad's music)
PORKKALAM (Pluses: Bandi Sarojkumar's different approach to story telling, camera angles and color tone, Kishore's acting and sound mixing)
UTTHAMA PUTHIRAN (Pluses: Family entertainer, Genelia's cute looks, Vivek's comedy and Vijay Anthony's songs)
VAMSAM (Pluses: Pandiraj's story based on village culture, Arulnidhi and Sunaina's performance, stunts)
BY: TAMIL
machan..savadi review of the year!!
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