This article is the third in a series of random reminiscences of the recent decades of Kollywood. The first and second are here.
By Srinivasan Sundar
Chennai 600028 (2007, Venkat Prabhu)
It is surprising that a cricket-crazy city had not rolled out any memorable film based on the game until Chennai 600028 stormed the arena. The more you think of this film, the more you wonder how the project got greenlit in the first place – a film on friendship, love and gully cricket with a bunch of fun-loving, amateurish actors. But miracles do happen in the field. Venkat Prabhu had pulled off one in his directorial debut. The album by Yuvan Shankar Raja is cool and worthy of an all-day loop. Chennai 600028 proved yet again what matters is not just big names and gimmicks – but a sincere and fresh approach. This is a cult film.
Kaakha Kaakha (2003, Gautham Vasudev Menon)
Electric. Cool. Ruthless. Director Gautham redefined the Tamil cop film genre with Kaakha Kaakha. Liberally inspired by Hollywood, the creation broke many Kollywood moulds. For a sample, heroine getting killed by gangsters right in front of a helpless cop hero. Even the choice of the title for that matter. The story unfolds as a huge flashback with Maniratnamisque voiceover by the lead. Again, not common in Tamil films. Not getting carried away by its action quotient, the script also presented a beautiful romance plot performed extremely well by the Surya-Jyotika pair. KaakhaKaakha is also a study in the power of a film editor. Anthony was that invisible hand that channelised both the brute energy and the tender moments of film in a way that every part got its due and still the overall creation felt wholesome. In truly good films it is tough to decode whether the film’s goodness was independent of its music or not. This is one such film. Practically, there is no Kaakha Kaakha without Uyirinuyire… and the theme tracks. Just a shade below Vaaranam Aayiram (2008), this film is among the best works of Harris Jayaraj. A landmark film for Surya, ACP Anbuselvan continues to live in our hearts.
Paruthiveeran (2007, Ameer)
Watching this acting debut of Karthi in a small town cinema hall I could not make much sense out of it immediately. For one there was particularly nothing new about the storyline which by itself was as thin as omakuchi. Though the performance was totally riveting, there was no clear take away from the film. But the climax left you terrified. With time the lump in your throat got bigger. Even the supporting characters like chitappu and Douglas took gigantic proportions. Priyamani made it to the National Award for acting. Yuvan Shankar Raja too proved his mettle in his first outing in the hinterland. This film was a new animal that we had not seen on the screens until then. Paruthiveeran is a masterclass in film writing; Simply a milestone in Tamil film history.
Saamy (2003, Hari)
Cop stories are an evergreen material in the world of cinema. With Saamy, director Hari created a blueprint for over-the-top, small town-based, entertaining police films in Kollywood. (It is a different story that he presumed the blueprint was perfect and eternal.) There are quite a few thrilling set pieces in the film: Saamy letting a bunch of goons chase him only to teach them a lesson, Perumal Pichai (impactful role by Kota Srinivasa Rao, albeit with poor lip sync) frustrating Saamy with bomb hoaxes and so on. The film has a high drama quotient. Veteran actors like Manorama, Delhi Ganesh, Vijayakumar et al delivered an overall neat performance. But somehow the NSK-type message-comedy track by Vivek did not work for me. With some superb stunt sequences, amazing output by Harris Jayaraj and a tight script high on emotions, Saamy was a treat. An agmark commercial package Saamy launched Vikram into the stratosphere of stardom. That Vikram is still in a commanding position in Kollywood is not a wonder. But the longevity of Trisha Krishnan – it is something wonderful. An achievement for any lady actor.
Virumaandi (2004, Kamal Haasan)
Written and directed by Kamal Haasan, the blood-soaked Virumaandi was made against all odds. Right from the choice of its original title (Sandiyar) the project was subjected to multiple attacks.The Rashomon-inspired screenplay presenting a story from two different perspectives is extraordinarily written. (12B, again a film with a new way of storytelling had been released sometime earlier.) The way the background score and songs get beautifully intertwined and merged with the two different versions of the story creates sheer magic. Virumaandi is a film full of greatness – writing (special mention: dialogs), acting (special mention: ‘Gubeer Jolly’ brothers), cinematography (Jallikattu sequence and the songs), direction (crowd handling), editing, music and art. But is it a great film? Is it in the league of Thevarmagan? I am not sure. I would definitely love to see Virumaandi – the cut version; The one without the death penalty debate. Maybe that turns out to be a truly great film. Just to push the envelope, I would have loved to see a Virumaandi (cut version) with Surya or Vikram in the lead.
Other loved ones: Alaipayuthey, Kaadal, Subramaniapuram