My Thoughts

Posts Tagged ‘Content Creators’

Why Tamizh YouTube Needs Ethical Content Creators

Posted by: on: December 31, 2025

Let me begin by paraphrasing something director Prem Kumar said in a recent interview:

“When I wanted to make Meiyazhagan, people advised me to make it in Malayalam and dub it into Tamil if I wanted it to succeed.”

That statement is a sad reflection of where Tamil cinema discourse finds itself today. More than the industry itself, it reflects the mindset of a section of the audience and the content creators who shape conversations around films.

Hiphop Aadhi recently remarked that unless Tamil content creators improve, the film industry will eventually suffer. There is some truth to that. Spend a few minutes on Tamil YouTube and social media, and it becomes evident that a large section of creators are driven almost exclusively by views, subscribers, and engagement. In the race for clicks, honesty is often the first casualty.

Criticism is essential for any industry. Good criticism challenges filmmakers, encourages discussion, and helps audiences engage more deeply with cinema. What we see today, however, is not always criticism. Much of it is content farming.

A section of Tamil YouTube appears to be waiting for a film to fail so that it can be roasted, mocked, and discussed endlessly. When a genuinely good film arrives, the same voices often fall silent. Where are the passionate discussions when films like Madras Matinee, Sirai, Angammal, or Paranthu Po release? Why do these films receive only a fraction of the attention that mediocre commercial failures receive?

The answer is simple: negativity sells.

A thoughtful discussion about a good small-budget film rarely generates the same traffic as a video mocking a star, director, or producer. As a result, outrage becomes the product. Some creators have even resorted to digging up old interviews, taking comments out of context, and turning them into personal attacks. At that point, the goal is no longer film criticism. It is simply content creation for engagement.

What makes the situation worse is the hypocrisy. Many of these creators routinely complain that Tamil cinema lacks quality content, yet they do very little to promote or even acknowledge films that attempt something different. If audiences and critics ignore films such as Madras Matinee, Sirai, Paranthu Po, 3BHK, or Aaryan, do they really have the right to complain that good cinema is not being made?

The problem does not lie solely with content creators. Audiences share responsibility as well. The success of negative and sensational content is driven by the number of people who consume it. Creators make what audiences reward. As long as outrage receives more attention than meaningful discussion, little will change.

Another concerning trend is the increasingly personal nature of film discourse. Criticizing a film, a performance, or a screenplay is fair game. Criticizing individuals, questioning motives, and turning every discussion into a personal attack is not. The line between criticism and trolling has become blurred, and too many creators seem comfortable operating on the wrong side of it.

Ironically, even as some channels urge Tamil filmmakers to learn from Malayalam cinema, they could benefit from following the same advice themselves. The Malayalam industry is often praised not only for the quality of its films but also for the seriousness with which those films are discussed. The focus tends to remain on the work rather than on manufacturing outrage around the people involved.

The reality is that Tamil cinema is not short of talent. New filmmakers continue to produce interesting and ambitious work. Films such as Aaromaley and Aan Paavam Pollathathu show that there are creators willing to take risks and tell different stories. The challenge is that these efforts are often drowned out by a culture that rewards negativity over substance.

If we want better cinema, we also need better conversations about cinema.

Content creators have a responsibility to be honest. Audiences have a responsibility to support meaningful discussion. Without those two things, the loudest voices will continue to be the most negative ones.

Good cinema depends on good audiences. The same is true for film criticism and content creation. Until viewers stop rewarding outrage and start supporting thoughtful discourse, this cycle is unlikely to change.

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Double standards of Tamizh content creators

Posted by: on: December 5, 2024

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 think 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 is 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 ones are hard to find. While social media has made it easier for a common man to dabble with journalism the ethics of such a 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 to put down the other, even when talking with my friends. Good content comes from all industries and so do the 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 that 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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