2019 was a better year for the business of Tamil movies than in 2018. Even with respect to content, 2019 was far better than the last few years as directors explored different genres and storylines.

The Good

A mainstream star like Ajith acting in a movie like Nerkonda Paarvai. The discussion that the film created because of the involvement of a star like Ajith is essential. The resurgence of writers in Tamil cinema and collaboration of writing like the one for Super Deluxe between Mysskin, Nalan Kumarasamy, Neelan K Sekar and Thiagarajan Kumararaja or the Game Over partnership between Ashwin and Kaavya Ramkumar should be welcomed with open hands. This year we had a lot of different stories than the previous years. The directors and producers were willing to experiment. The business that the top 3 stars made amounts to around 900 crores and some of the smaller movies have been profitable. According to trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai, 19 films have proven to be profitable for the producers (out of 200). Although the numbers are low, these figures are better than the last few years.[1]

The Bad

The story stealing accusations that were levied on various movies including Bigil, Comali, Hero, etc. and this has become a regular issue in the industry. The pseudo message “woke” movies have increased manifold — from faux feminism (Bigil) to farmers’ distress (every second movie — Suriya in NGK and Kaapan) based storylines are not good for the films and society at large.

The Ugly

The release problems for smaller movies. Except for the films of the top 3 (Rajini, Vijay and Ajith), every other film had to go through some sort of release related issues due to the mistakes made by the producer or the actor. The rift between the theatre owners, distributors and producers is expected to blow out of proportion in the New Year. The lack of Producers council and actors association is not helping the industry. Attempts made by people to whitewash “Me too” accused and the problems of victim-blaming showed (one more time) the deep-rooted misogyny and patriarchy in the industry. In fact, some of them couldn’t even accept a movie like Nerkonda Paarvai because of the strong message it portrayed.

Best Tamil Movies of 2019

1. To Let

Director: Chezhiyan

Producer: Zha Cinemas (Chezhiyan and Prema Chezhiyan)

Actors: Santhosh Sreeram, Suseela and Dharun

Cinematography: Chezhiyan

To Let Tamil Movie

To Let is an extension of Balu Mahendra’s Veedu. Probably, if Balu Mahendra had to make a Veedu like movie in this age, he would have done something like To Let. The film shows the lived experience of a lower-middle-class couple who are forced to lookout for a new house. The subtle references to class conflicts, religious and caste discriminations prick you throughout the movie. A still-life like cinematography by Chezhiyan himself and the lack of background score (there is a radio that’s playing old Tamil songs) makes the movie dense and hard-hitting. The movie has won numerous awards in various film festivals across the world and also won the Best Feature Film in Tamil at the 65th National Film Awards. It also won a special Jury mention at the IFFI, Goa.

2. Thadam

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Producer: Red Han The Cinema People (Inder Kumar)

Actors: Arun Vijay, Vidya Pradeep, FEFSI Vijayan and Tanya Hope

Music Director: Arun Raj

Cinematography: Chezhiyan

Thadam

I am glad Tamil cinema directors have started exploring Crime thrillers again like the 80s. Thadam took the usual dual role trope of Tamil cinema and turned it over its head. Wonderfully written and directed by Magizh Thirumeni, the movie worked because of the powerful performance by Arun Vijay and ably supported by Vidya Pradeep and FEFSI Vijayan. I am glad that finally, Magizh Thirumeni got a commercial hit in his kitty.

3. Super Deluxe (Movie of the Year)

Director: Thiagarajan Kumararaja

Producer: Tyler Durden and KinoFest

Actors: Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil, Samantha Akkineni, Gayathrie, Ramya Krishnan, Mysskin, Bagavathi Perumal and Ashwanth Ashok kumar

Music Director: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Cinematography: PS Vinod and PC Sriram

Although Super Deluxe deserves a longer post (there is one in the cards), take this is as a prelude. Super Deluxe for me was about moral judgements and acceptance. Note that I said acceptance and not tolerance, both are two different concepts. I enjoyed the amoral universe, references to Aaranya Kaandam and non-linear meta-level storytelling of Thiagarajan Kumararaja, but for me, the movie was beyond the form. The content struck a chord with me because of the subtle message it professed. Can we accept people without making moral judgements on people who don’t conform to our normative moral values? In a way, the movie in itself is a meta-level of the theme, if you can’t accept a film with such ideas, will you be able to accept the people that it talks about?

4. Monster

Director: Nelson Venkatesan

Producer: Potential Studios

Actors: SJ Surya, Priya Bhavani Shankar and Karunakaran

Music Director: Justin Prabhakaran

Cinematography: Gokul Benoy

Monster Tamil Movie

Monster was the surprise package of this year. Nelson Venkatesan was impressive with his Oru Naal Koothu (that was on our list in 2016), and it was a surprise that he chose to do a radically different film with SJ Surya and a rat. It takes a lot of guts to make something that hasn’t been attempted before in Tamil cinema — a full-length movie on a rodent but also making it genuinely funny feel-good film that centres around Vallalar’s (the hero is a Vallalar follower) idea that the world is for all. It was also a treat to watch SJ Surya in a different light.

5. Game Over

Director: Ashwin Saravanan

Producer: Y Not Studios

Actors: Taapsee Pannu and Vinodhini

Music Director: Ron Ethan Yohann

Cinematography: A. Vasanth

The ambiguity of Game Over is what made the movie one of the best this year. The story was open to interpretations and especially the video game metaphor in the second half did baffle people, but I think the metaphorisation makes the movie stand apart from the rest. The faceless assailants, ambivalent storytelling (Is it supernatural or Taapsee’s brain playing games) and performances of Taapsee and Vinodhini make the movie a worthy watch. What if the entire second half is just a game that she designed to overcome her fears? And thanks to the directors and writers (Ashwin and Kavya Ramkumar) for the Pacman reference.

6. Jiivi

Director: V. J. Gopinath

Producer: Vetrivel Saravana Cinemas & Big Print Production

Actors: Vetri, Monica Chinnakotla and Karunakaran

Music Director: K. S. Sundaramurthy

Cinematography: Praveen Kumar

Jiivi

What I loved about Jiivi was the way the movie was constructed. The lead characters are unapologetic about their actions, and the film doesn’t get into the moral science class. The writing (Babu Tamizh) was impeccable, and the way he had used the theory of interconnectedness (he calls it Thodarbial) was quite remarkable. The movie doesn’t adore or demonise the lead character. He takes his decisions based on the situation that he is in that’s purely human. Vetri has definitely worked on his acting from his 8 Thottakkal times, but it’s Karunakaran who takes away the cake in this movie.

7. Nerkonda Paarvai

Director: H Vinoth

Producer: Zee Studios & Bayview Projects LLP

Actors: Ajith Kumar, Shraddha Srinath , Abirami Venkatachalam & Andrea Tariang

Music Director: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Cinematography: Nirav Shah

I was sweetly surprised and was immensely happy that someone as mainstream as Ajith could take up the remake of Pink. I was worried that they would butcher the movie to suit the fans. But it was surprising that except for a fight sequence and a duet song for Ajith; the film was faithful to the original. The fight sequence did bring his fans to the theatres, and the movie created a ripple that sprung discussions and even Prime Time TV debates. It was sad to see that many couldn’t agree to the central theme of consent in the movie, but I think the audience deliberately tried to circumvent by not discussing the issue. But I believe that this movie would have been discussed in some houses and that’s the most important thing the film achieved.

8. Ottha Seruppu Size 7

Director: Parthiepan

Producer: Bioscope Film Framers

Actors: Parthiepan

Music Director: C Sathya

Cinematography: Ramji

Parthiepan is a filmmaker who loves the “What if” questions? What if there is a movie without a story? What if there is a movie with only one actor, but others are just voices? OS7 is a delight to watch. The performance of Parthiepan, the voice acting of other actors, the adequate score of Sathya, Ramji’s brilliant photography and above all the sound design of Resul Pookutty makes this one of the must-watch movies of Tamil cinema. You can witness the effort made by each technician in every frame of the film. While watching the movie, I thought that only two other actors who could have done the role, one was Kamal Hassan, and the other one was Nagesh. Yes Parthiepan, I can’t give a better compliment to you than the previous statement.

9. Asuran

Director: Vetri Maaran

Producer: V Creations

Actors: Dhanush, Manju Warrier, Pasupathy and Ken Karunas

Music Director: GV Prakash Kumar

Cinematography: Velraj

On the surface, Asuran could be seen as a movie about a father trying to save his son because he decided to take revenge for his brother’s murder. But in Asuran, the sub-texts are more interesting than the main text. An adaptation of Vekkai (novel by Poomani), the movie brings out the socio-political issues behind the conflict in a brilliant way. What makes Asuran different from other similar films is that it shows how caste divide of the past has developed into a class divide. Asuran is a bold critique of the society that we live in.

10. Sillu Karupatti

Director: Halitha Shameem

Producer: Venkatesh Velineni

Actors: Samuthirakani, Sunaina, Nivedhithaa Sathish, Leela Samson, Sara Arjun, Sree Ram and K Manikandan

Music Director: Pradeep Kumar

Cinematography: Abinandhan Ramanujam, Manoj Paramahamsa, Vijay Karthik, Yamini Yagnamurthy

Sillu Karupatti

Sillu Karuppatti is the Modern Love (a series on Amazon Prime based on a New York Times series of articles) of Tamil cinema. The film portrays four modern love stories of people in different times of their life that are wonderfully crafted by Halitha Shameem. What makes the movie special is the fantastic writing, and some of the dialogues will make you smile, laugh and get into applause instantly. The most important thing about the movie doesn’t overdo any of the emotions — be it affection, love, anger or sadness. They are just there like the way they should be. If you like to end the year with a smile, this is the movie you should watch.

Movies that just missed the cut

These are movies that I liked this year but couldn’t make the final ten because of the other movies. Again, it’s in chronological order.