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The year 2024 began for Tamizh industry with 2 big films release on Pongal. The first one was Dhanush’s Captain Miller and the other was Sivakarthikeyan’s Ayalaan. Both films even though collecting decently at the box office did not impress the critics that much. Following that Tamizh cinema did go through a drought in terms of content and success at the box office. All was not lost though as at the same time we did have movies like Lover and Garudan which were very good.
During that time the Tamizh YouTube content creators had a field day criticising the content and the industry. The one thing they realised as well was that criticising their industry actually got them new fans and subscribers. The constant videos putting down the industry and it’s content and appreciating other industries actually created a new fan base for these creators. The success of Malayalam cinema at the start of the year fueled this change among these creators. We all know how passionate Malayalam cinema fan base is and the Tamizh YouTube content creators took full advantage of that. The fact which was completely ignored during this time was that Tamizh cinema had a great 2023. Even at the end of the year a movie like Parking released to huge critical acclaim but these videos made everyone believe that the industry has been struggling for years.
The same people who posted a video a week to appreciate and promote other industries disappear completely when a good Tamizh cinema releases. This has been a trend and not something new to 2024. Even in the past few years when a good Tamizh content releases these so called experts disappear except for the movie review. There will be no follow up, no appreciation videos etc will be seen from these creators. The second half of the year has been brilliant so far from Tamizh cinema. Starting from the successful Maharaja films like Lubber Pandu, Kottukkali, Meiazhagan, Amaran, Thangalaan, Raayan, Vaazhai etc became critically acclaimed films.
Despite producing such widely accepted content in the second half the narrative of Tamizh cinema struggling is being propagated by these so called experts. Who are these YouTube experts? What is their credentials? Why do we give so much importance to their opinion? These are some questions the audience of these channels need to ask. Anyone who is reporting on something need to have some sort of journalistic ethics. Obviously none of these people have studied journalism have no clue what that means. The major cornerstone of journalism is integrity which many of these people lack. The other most important ethics of journalism is accountability, trust and truthfulness. When we look at these content being posted these days it is just done for the sake of increasing the subscribers count.
If any of these creators had integrity they would have at least posted some appreciation videos later in the year when Tamizh cinema produced some good content. The fact that there are more videos criticising and trolling Kanguva than appreciating a film like Meiazhagan shows the shallowness of these creators. The amount of appreciation videos we see of Meiazhagan, Vaazhai, Lubber Pandu etc from other language creators show how selfish and horrible Tamizh content creators are.
I am not saying don’t appreciate other language films, actually I am saying the opposite. Appreciate good content irrespective of the language and have some integrity when posting content. I agree it takes lots of effort to produce a video, edit it and publish the same and they obviously need subscribers to run a channel but what they are doing right now is unethical. Criticism is important for any industry and if you see content creators from other South Indian languages are harsh on poor content from their industry but none of them go to the extend Tamizh creators go. They don’t put down their industry to appreciate other regions to the level our creators do. Why is that I ask? Is it because we are so insecure that we are afraid of appreciating our industry? Is it because we think if Tamizh cinema is appreciated their subscribers will leave them? I am not completely sure but this needs to stop.
People who are jumping on such creators bandwagon are also to blame including other language fans who actually thing these people mean what they post. The fans and creators from other South Indian industries are way ahead of the so called experts from Tamizh. They not only appreciate other industry content but also post a balanced view of their own industry. When Malayalam cinema was doing so well earlier this year we did not see a Telugu YouTuber posting a video attacking their industry nor did we see Kannada content creators doing the same. So why are we doing this is a question we viewers need to ask as well. I don’t mind criticism as not everyone has to like a film. There are a lot of them who did not like Meiazhagan as well which fine as it is their prerogative but their needs to be some kind of fairness in the content they post on their channels. When you troll or post negative reviews of a film, appreciate good content as well. Don’t just post videos to appease fans from other industries for the sake of subscribers, it just looks bad.
I am not saying everyone is bad, there are a few good ones here and there but again when you have so many poor ones good one are hard to find. While social media has made it easier for a common man to dabble with journalism the ethics of such is role should still remain valid. While proper journalist and reviewers will refrain from trolling or posting polarising content just to increase subscribers these self proclaimed experts do it only for subscribers. I am a fan of Indian cinema and watch content from all languages if the content interests me. Never have I appreciated an industry just put down the other, even when talking with my friends. Good content comes from all industries and so do bad ones. At the end of the year every industry at the maximum will have only 10-15 films which remain in our minds. Even Malayalam industry known for its content cannot buck than trend. No one can say an industry produced 50 great films a year, that is not possible. The fact everyone knows and still we promote and support such creators who make us believe otherwise.
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Two years ago I wrote an article about how Tamizh cinema is failing the Pan-India test and how their lack of promotions causes lack of visibility of their content. The want to have a largely successful Pan-India film also has compromised quality of the well known Tamizh masala films. Tamizh cinema is not alien to Pan-Indian success. The current YouTube generation do not realise how big of a hit movies like Roja and Bombay were. These were the days before people only cared about content and did not care about how much money the movies made.
There were also Shankar’s movies like Indian (Hindustani), Enthiran and 2.0 which were pan-India success stories. So in a way Tamizh cinema was the pioneer in Pan-Indian films. Not only movies Tamizh cinema also produced first pan-Indian stars. So this is not something Tamizh cinema should be concerned about as they have nothing to prove. Tamizh cinema was never known for high budget extravaganzas like how Telugu cinema always did. Yeah Tamizh industry made mindless action films as well but again those were rarely successful. The only kind of films which actually were successful were movies with decent story line or movies with some message like the ones S Shankar made.
Now with the pressure of making films which breaks the 1000 cr barrier, Tamizh cinema has forgotten what made them tick over the years. Nothing against movies like Kanguva which is a great attempt but again the want to make a highly successful film the industry is trying to manufacture films which is never going to work. To be frank except for Telugu cinema none of the other industries are able to make movies which continuously match their own success. Kannada industry which put itself on the map with KGF 1 & 2 could not make another film with the same success. I wouldn’t include Kantara with KGF as they are not the same kind of films.
If what we have seen over the past 2 years is any indication Tamizh cinema is more comfortable in generating good content without having to try too hard to impress the wide audience. The movies which were made for local audience without the intention of going pan-India are the movies which actually went across borders and was liked by everyone. This exactly has been the template of Malayalam cinema as well. They have been concentrating on good content and while they might have not made a 1000 cr film, they don’t seem to care about the same.
What Tamizh cinema has shown over the past 2 years is the same. The industry is more comfortable creating good content and not very adept in creating this big scale put together films which other industries are more capable of. Even the big star masala films which have been successful over the past couple of years have been different content with good film making. The only star who has been successful despite questionable content has been Thalapathy Vijay but that cannot be taken as the norm. Even Vijay has collaborated with good directors and has produced movies like Thuppaki, Kaththi and Leo over the last decade. Vijay has a huge fan base which makes his films kind of “content proof” if you want to call it that.
This year we have had brilliant films come out of Tamizh cinema and has been loved by everyone irrespective of the language they speak but again none of these films were large scale films. I am not saying the industry should not try to make films for box office success but again when Manirathnam or Shankar made those films in the 90’s they did not think that they are making a pan-Indian film. They made the films for Tamizh audience but the content took the films across India. The want to manufacture a film to appeal to larger audience will never work. The reason Telugu cinema is successful is because, that has been their strength over the years.
It is okay to be known as the industry which creates good content like Malayalam cinema rather than going for glory with half baked content in the name of pan-India. The success of movies of Meiazhagan, Vaazhai, Lubber Pandu, Maharaja, Amaran etc should tell the film makers as to what kind of films the audience is expecting. Tamizh cinema has always been experimental but again it has always been with a good story and film making. I hope we go back to the roots and make the kind of films we are known for and if that becomes pan-India success then that should be a bonus.
After Thalapathy Vijay announced that his next film will be his last due to his foray into politics, there have been lots of speculation about who the next Superstar in Tamizh cinema would be. Vijay himself in is speech mentioned passing on his baton to Sivakarthikeyan (SK) but again the discussions are still on. Lots of YouTube media channels have also had discussions to analyse as to who will take over and become the next superstar in the coming years.
The discussions are hot at the moment after the grand success of Amaran recently in theatres. Funnily enough Amaran isn’t the typical Tamizh superstar film. The speculation about SK becoming the next superstar is at it’s peak though after this success. The bane of Superstars in Tamizh cinema though is that once you become one your range and options in the commercial space decreases. Even though this is not the case with Malayalam cinema, Tamizh, Kannada and Telugu cinema superstars face this fate. For example Mammootty can remain superstar in Malayalam and still do movies like Kaathal, Peranbu, Nanpakal Nerathy Mayakkam kind of films but in other Southern industries superstars cannot do that.
Lets take Superstar Rajinikanth for example, he has been trying to branch out and make different kind of films but has not been that successful. His recent Vettaiyan was a different kind of film for the superstar but wasn’t that kindly received by the audience who wanted more mass which apparently was missing in the film. Technically if you see Tamil Cinema has only had 4 genuine superstars, MGR, Rajinikanth, Vijay and Ajith. I wouldn’t place Sivaji Ganesan, Kamal Hassan, Suriya, Vikram etc in that space as they never compromised on content and always did different films through their careers. If Vikram and Surya became superstars they wouldn’t have been able to do a Thangalaan or Jai Bhim respectively.
This is the reason I feel Tamizh cinema does not need another superstar. Sivakarthikeyan, Harish Kalyan. kavin etc who are the young stars of Tamizh industry have been dabbling with some different subjects in recent times which has been refreshing. For example SK’s Maveeran is the most original superhero movie in recent times and if he does graduate to become a superstar, he would not be able to do another film like that. Even though Vijay and Ajith have tried to branch out and do something different they still have to remain inside their superstar circle and cannot experiment too much. This kind of creates sameness in the type of content they are involved in. We cannot blame the stars of these states though as the audience themselves do not want to see them in movies which do not present them in larger than life characters.
While the audience is happy to see SK now in a realistic portrayal of Major Mukund Varadharajan in Amaran, they may not be able to see him such roles if he were to become a superstar. With superstardom the budgets increase and the content takes a hit at most times. The movies might collect a lot but again it will not mean it is good cinema. Luckily so far in Tamizh cinema the current superstars have managed to dance around their superstardom to do some different roles which is due to their collaboration with some fantastic young directors but it is not the case all the time. This is the reason I do not want to see another superstar in Tamizh cinema. These young actors should take Vijay Sethupathy as an example and work towards becoming the stars who value the content and do not fear dabbling with different roles. Vikram is an example as well as he can still do a Deiva Thirumagal and Thangalaan without having to worry about his market. If you are a superstar I don’t think you can do that.
For the sake of the betterment of Tamizh cinema, I hope the young actors remain the stars they are and continue to give us fresh subjects and original content like they have been doing over the past few years. I don’t think there needs to be a desperate attempt to create another superstar in Tamizh cinema unless we can treat superstardom like how Malayalam cinema does.
The year 2022 has been really poor for Bollywood as far as box office successes go. Very few films have actually done well and majority of the big star films have tanked badly this year. Majority of the media and critics have attributed this lack of success to the “Boycott Bollywood” trend which is being run by a few on social media. While this may have a miniscule impact on the business of a film but blaming everything on it is just living in denial. It is an easy way out isn’t it? Blame it on some unknown people on Social media for your failures and then continue to repeat the same mistakes. It has not been all doom and gloom for Bollywood though, they have had their successes through “Kashmir Files”, “Gangubai Kathiawadi” and “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2”. If social media could influence people to boycott films, the above movies wouldn’t have been successful. Before people brand me as a hater, let me tell you that I grew up in Delhi and even though I am a Thamizhan, I grew up watching Hindi films more than Tamizh. Sure over the past decade or so that has changed as the content from Hindi does not excite me anymore except for few films here and there.
Here is my take though as to what is causing these failures.
Arrogance of the Bollywood Actors:
The actors in the Hindi film industry have always come across as arrogant and as someone who don’t give too much importance to their fans who support them unconditionally. Recently someone said that star power alone cannot bring audience to the theatres anymore in Bollywood, which is absolutely true. If the movies which released this year had released pre-pandemic, most of them would have been huge successes but again things have changed a lot recently. The biggest difference between the Southern stars and Bollywood is their relatability and humbleness. Something which is completely absent in majority of the current Bollywood stars. For example a statement like what Arjun Kapoor gave in his recent interview would never come out of any South Indian actor, star or not. The accessibility to more South Indian stars and their movies during the pandemic has caused this transformation in the Hindi audience which seems new to the stars Bollywood. An entire fraternity who has taken the audience for granted have now realised how important they are and why they should take them seriously. This is one of the major reasons why the Hindi films aren’t pulling in the crowd just by star power. This is the time to change and probably a change in attitude is warranted for the entire Hindi industry who has so far neglected their core audience and had started to think they are moving west with their content.
Remakes and lack of good content:
The second and most important reason for audience not coming to theatres is that most of the movies which has come out in theatres from Bollywood has been either remakes of famous South Indian movies or have been outdated content. Over the past 2 years Hindi audience have watched a lot of South Indian content on OTT and on YouTube and when you bring the same movies with just Hindi actors to theatres, the fans would obviously reject the same. When they see great content from other Industries in the country, the audience want something different from Hindi cinema as well which so far hasn’t happened this year. This is the major reason for audience to not show up in theatres as the non-remakes which have come to theatres this year have been outdated stories which the audience have seen multiple times in the past. When Bollywood starts making good content and if the word of mouth is good, I am sure the fans would rush to the theatres, “Boycott Trend” or not.
Rooted stories relatable to Indian Audience
Long time ago, Bollywood had stopped making content for Indian audience. The content made in Hindi cinema had started to cater to western sensibilities about 20 years ago. I agree that there are few directors like Anand L Rai and Anurag Kashyap who make rooted content but those are very limited. A regular movie goer will never relate to majority of movies made in Hindi cinema. The audience were accepting what was being served by Hindi cinema until couple of years ago have learnt now that you can make entertaining films while staying rooted to your region and culture. This is where South Indian cinema has always done well. The movies are always rooted in the local culture of the state which makes it easier for the audience to connect. Most of the Hindi films aren’t relatable to the audience which has made them distant from the content, no matter how good it might be
There is also some section of the audience who feel Bollywood spreads Hindu phobia which may be valid in some cases but that isn’t the major reason for the movies not doing well.
Bollywood has two of their biggest releases in the coming months. Brahmastra releasing today and Vikram Vedha releasing at the end of this month. Both these movies boast of great content and performances. The success of these two movies will further emphasize that good content will always succeed and audience will always want to watch such cinema.
The creators in Bollywood had gone into this comfort zone of not trying anything and just sticking to what they have been doing for years while all the other industries have moved ahead. They also had formed this arrogance and not caring about the viewers over the years and this year has been a reminder that audience is everything. If you disrespect them or take them for granted they will not respect or support you back. I hope this year has been that lesson for Bollywood and they will make some changes for good. Also they need to understand that just because Brahmastra or Vikram Vedha succeed doesn’t mean that they are off the hook and keep releasing substandard content. The audience will still reject that irrespective of who is starring in it.
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I grew up predominantly in the 90’s. My early tryst with movie reviews were through newspapers. We lived in Chennai and Hindu’s Friday feature was the only way to get a movie review at least till mid-90’s before satellite TV took over. Even though there were movie reviews in print in the 80’s & 90’s people went to the theatres solely based on either the cast or the director. Tamil cinema is one of the few industries where directors have the same pull as the actors. For example in 70’s & 80’s K Balachander, Mahendran, Balu Mahendra & Barathiraja had their own following and people will flock to theatres just to see their films. Even when movie reviews were prevalent in the print media in the 80’s word of mouth was still the preferred way of people finding out about the quality of a movie.
For example when a Rajini film released no one cared about reviews, you will see people standing in long queues to watch a film. Same with Kamal Hassan and other big stars. Once the first few shows were over, the audience talk will what will decide the fate of a film. Things have changed drastically over the past decade and with the advent of social media reviews are almost instant. While the audience post their reviews on Twitter while watching the film, there are 100’s of YouTube channels reviewing the movies as well. To be frank I have lots of respect for people who have their own YouTube channels. It takes courage to put yourself out there and talk about anything. There are a few creative channels while most of them are either reaction channels or movie review channels.
There are a few professional ones working for famous publications while others who have garnered subscribers through their content. I have no way of knowing credentials of any of these so called “Film experts” by just looking at their content though. It is very important for anyone who is reaching out to a large audience to understand that movie reviews are basically personal opinions. Something the experts these days seem to have forgotten. The popularity of their channel or the subscribers they have seems to have completely gotten to their head which makes for some cringe movie reviews. As a consumer of such reviews, the only thing I want to see is what the reviewer thinks about the film, what he/she likes or dislikes about the movie. I am not there to see some agenda driven rant or the reviewers trying to show off their knowledge of film making. As a common man I care a damn about some of the content of the reviews as it does not matter to me.
Also as a reviewer you need to steer clear of generalising. Everyone has the right to say they don’t like the movie but they cannot be under the illusion that they speak for others. The reason these “experts” have a huge following is because people actually respect their opinions. When that happens it also becomes the responsibility of the reviewers to stay balanced when they review the movies. Using their popularity to further their agenda or someone else’s agenda isn’t very ethical and that is the reason I steer clear of few of these channels these days.
The other irritating part about these YouTube channels is that they go looking for controversy as soon as some update on a movies comes about. A film releases it’s first single or a look or a teaser they immediately go on the streets with a mic and a camera asking people on the streets their review. Reviewing a movie is a tough art and being balanced is even tougher. I have hardly seen a few reviewers who give their opinion and let the audience make a call whether they would like to watch a film. That’s how it should be as trying to influence the audience is not why you review a movie.
The one thing everyone needs to understand is that there is nothing called a perfect film. A movie which is perfect for someone might not be for someone else. A film succeeds because there is something which keeps the viewers entertained throughout its runtime. That is exactly what the audience wants. Most of the reviews these days feel like they come right out of a film school. While it is good to show off your knowledge of film making, I feel that should be in a separate video and not in the review itself.
The biggest disappointment for me though is that while technology wise we have come a long way, the quality of movie critics has fallen in recent times. Things aren’t going to change much as in this age of competition people are ready to present controversial content to gather more views and subscribers. When that is what these channels aim for, you cannot expect them to give quality content to the viewers. The sad part is that the viewers also have gotten used to these substandard and agenda driven reviews that they seem to think that this is the norm. I have stopped watching majority of the review channels and only follow a few who I think try to provide balanced take on a film and leave rest to the viewers.
What do you think about movie reviews these days? Do you think they provide you with balanced views on a film? Or do you think they try to push their agenda on their viewers?
Aditi’s portrayal of Sameera in “Sammohanam” was effortless and graceful
Posted on: February 11, 2019
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Beautiful Aditi Rao Hydari from Sammohanam (Pic courtesy pinkvilla)
Let me start off with a confession, I haven’t watched any of Aditi Rao Hydari’s Hindi films except for Murder 3 few years ago. So, when I saw Mani Ratnam’s “Kaatru Veliyidai” last year, I started off with a clean slate. I was mesmerised with Aditi’s portrayal of Dr. Leela in Mani Ratnam’s rather confusing romantic tale between a fighter pilot and a MBBS doctor.
But watching Sammohanam last week further emphasised what a brilliant performer Aditi is. I don’t think anyone could have played the role of Sameera Rathod as brilliantly and gracefully as Aditi did in the film. I am not for once saying that Sammohanam is a classic, it was far from it. It was a feel-good entertainer which had a brilliant first half and a bizarre second half. The performances from the cast though cannot be faulted.
There were couple of scenes from the movie which lingers in my mind still, one where Sameera and Vijay have a conversation in the terrace and the other when Sameera hears Vijay say “I love you” in the climax and breaks down. Both those instances showed the range Aditi possesses as an actor and her ability to bring the right kind of emotion to every scene. Even in a space thriller like “Anthariksham”, which I watched yesterday only because Aditi was in it, he performance was brilliant and I really enjoyed her ability to speak through her eyes. Not many actors currently can do that.
Thanks to Mani Ratnam for bringing Aditi back to South Indian films. I am saying bringing back as she had begun her career down south in 2006 before moving to Hindi films. This is a fantastic time for female actors down south especially in Tamil. There are some strong characters being written for women by the young directors and the producers are now receptive to scripts with strong female leads. Even though Malayalam cinema has been doing this for a while, Tamil industry is finally catching up. Aditi Rao Hydari is a brilliant actor and I hope she gets more amazing characters to portray in the future. I also hope that she does more films down south as well as in a short career, she has managed to do some memorable roles here.
I haven’t still caught up Aditi’s Hindi films, and probably will do so in coming months. I just got done with her two Telugu films but her Hindi filmography is little longer, so will take a while for me to get to them. I also don’t normally write articles raving about actors on my blog but again Sameera Rathod of Sammohanam compelled me to write this and I am now a huge fan.
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Actor Siddharth (Left) and RJ Balaji (Right) started the relief work in Chennai with their #ChennaiMicro movement
When I first heard about the incessant rains in Chennai I had no clue about the devastation it had caused to the city I grew up in. When I later looked at the videos and photos it was really heart breaking. It really pained me that I was not there and was not able to help the people in need. This was the time I read an article and found few of the twitter posts by actor Siddharth and RJ Balaji. I do have twitter account but I hardly use it. Let me be honest, I am not a big social media fan. Even though I have Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp etc… I hardly use it.
Now when I logged on to twitter and looked at the posts and the number of people involved in making a difference I was completely inspired. I decided instead of feeling bad for not being present in Chennai during this time, I can do something worthwhile. So there began my involvement in doing something useful to help the people in need. The twitter proved that if used well social media is the most powerful tool in the current generation. I was able to help out people providing useful information or guiding them to the right contact being here in the US which would have not been possible like 15 years ago.
The other thing which was amazing was the number of young volunteers who were involved in the relief work. It was really inspiring to see how much they were working hard to help the people in need. I met lot of very good people and was able to help a few of them with their needs. It was truly amazing experience to be part of the work which was going on in full swing with their relief work in Tamil Nadu. The kind of pictures we saw of the floods meant that these volunteers braved their way in conditions which were extremely dangerous to help the people who needed food and supplies. There are not enough words to thank these countless volunteers who made the difference during these testing times for the state.
We need to thank actor Siddharth and RJ Balaji who started this movement and used the social media via their #ChennaiMicro movement to reach out to people. They have been brilliant and their team has done some amazing work in the Chennai and Cuddalore which were the most affected. The Tamil film industry in unison was completely involved in the relief work and it was brilliant to see how they were ready to help anyone who needed any supplies. I would also like to mention Khusbhu, Vishal, Vishnu, Karthi, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Karthik Kumar, Singer Suchitra, Shanthanu and countless others who joined the movement and were not only in social media but also were in the field helping people in need.
These are the real heroes. No amount of thanks can repay the efforts they put in during the time of adversity to help the people of the state. The people of Tamil Nadu have once again proven that humanity is bigger than any religion, caste or language.
I am so happy that I took to twitter a week ago as otherwise I wouldn’t have been so close to whatever relief work was happening in TN. I really want to salute all the heroes who decided to leave their homes and go on the streets and help people in need. I would also like to mention the countless brothers and sisters from all over the world (not only from India) who donated generously to help the relief work. The spirit of the people of TN has been heartwarming. Even though we were not getting much attention in the national media, the people brushed it off and helped themselves to recover from one of the largest natural calamity the state has faced since the tsunami of 2004.
I am really proud of my state and my city. I am really proud of the Tamil film industry. This has been really a rewarding experience and I would like to keep myself involved in every way possible in the state’s rehabilitation work.
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My Thoughts 