A Decade of Kollywood

This 2000-2010 has been a memorable journey for the Kollywood industry. It has reached the heights never dreamt of before with its films reaching audiences world over. Just at the dawn of a new decade, I have put together a list of Tamil films which I felt writing about. These, by no means reflect their success at the box office or for that matter suggest that they are my most favourite. They are just a set of films which stand out in their own way.


Hey Ram ( 2000 )  

Kamal’s directorial debut, Hey Ram is an epitome of how a movie should be made according to the thoughts of the film maker and not how the audience would like it. Till date, it is one of the most mature Indian films to be made with critical acclaims for its technical prowess. Its one of the very few films in Indian cinema which overestimates its audience with its complex visual techniques. It is a feast for a discerning viewers who will relish the the gradual shifts in the views and moods of Saket Ram.






Panchathantiram ( 2002 )
The out and out comedy entertainer, according to me will go down as one of the finest works of Kamal(which is quite a compliment in itself considering his other works). Making the viewers laugh at will especially after they know that you are going to try exactly that, is an art in itself. Crazy Mohan stands out from other dialogue writers with his unique style of dialogues giving another dimension to the already comical scenarios. The film is enjoyable from the word go and has since created records for repeat viewing. This is one of the few films where the side characters match up to the performance of Kamal and have since created a standard for timing based jokes. The combo of  Kamal and Crazy have made us laugh like no other entertainers in the history and its inevitable not to sense that blackhole when one of them is absent( Manmadhan Ambu and Kola kolaya mundharika are typical examples).


Kaaka Kaaka ( 2003 )

What is Kollywood without cops. The equation which determines the kind of films that turn up in kollywood makes sure that the audience get a regular dose of these “police” films. Kaaka kaaka is here just because it is the best cop movie of the decade. In his second film Gautham Menon announced to the industry that he belongs to the top league of directors and launched Surya in to the commercial arena. It was rare occasion when the “mass” agreed with the critics.



Aayutha Ezhuthu ( 2004 )

Protagonist entering politics to fight corruption and injustice (rather aniknayam) have always been directors’ favourite when it comes to “message films”. This was a landmark film of such kind, even though the content was so enjoyable that it is unfair to label it that way. Mani Ratnam along with some of the best character performances gave the audiences a potpourri of genres into a single movie and tied them up perfectly. It emphasized the role of the students in the now corruption ridden politics. It was also one of those scarce multi starrers in kollywood which brought together some the biggest names in the industry. It finds its place in the list for being the most underrated movie of the decade.

Pudhupettai ( 2006 )



Selvaraghavan has always suggested that he has it in him to make it big. He came out full blast with this epic gangster movie which portrays the rise in the ranks of a slum boy to a gang leader. Dhanush’s depiction of Kokki Kumar is easily one the best performances by an actor so early in his career. The film goes by Darwin’s theory of Survival of the fittest and has some really powerful scenes to have a big impact on the minds of the audience. The performance of the whole cast is simply amazing and add to the dark nature of the film. The album too goes down as one of my rare favourites of Yuvan.


Paruthiveeran(2007) 

Even though not my personal favourite, Paruthiveeran undoubtedly had one of the biggest impacts on the way movies were made in kollywood. With this movie Ameer showed the way for a string of village concept movies some of which went on to characterize the Tamil movie industry in the years to come. It was such movies which provided a level ground for new directors to prove themselves. Karthi and Priyamani too deserved the accolades they received for their brillant performances.

Chennai 600028 ( 2007 ) 

Who had ever thought that a film about a local cricket league team who call themselves Sharks ( and not Socks)  and their rivalry against Royapuram Rockers will go down upon as cult film topping the box office. This breeze like film literally introduced a new genre to the 95 year old Kollywood industry giving way to similar films like Saroja and Tamil Padam. The film, with its unusually casual dialogues connected strongly with namma Chennai's youth and has since then attained a cult status.

Dasavataram(2008) 

This film features in this list for bringing out one of the best performances from an actor in the history of the industry. It was only fitting that it had to come from Kamal hasan. Yes, even though the whole point of the film was to show kamal’s prowess( as some would call it scene podrathu), it can’t be denied that no other sensible actor would have dared to take up the roles. Even though the story was compromised here and there to fit in the characters, the super fast screenplay ensured that everyone remained gripped till the end. This has to be one my most enjoyable experiences in a theatre.

Enthiran(2010) 

Enthiran finds its place in this list for being the most “wannabe Hollywood” movie of the decade. If Slumdog was a Hollywood film with an Indian flavour, Enthiran was a Namma super star movie shelled out in a silverware called “graphics”. Yes, the visual effects were the best seen so far in India but the film suffered a lot to the popular spell-out-for-the-mass Syndrome. Still the film turned out to be a pretty decent watch for everyone and the collection records were rewritten.

(click here for the full review)

Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya ( 2010 )

Here, for not only being the most romantic movie of decade but for also being an epitome of good direction and cinematography without relying much on the story. This film, all about the chemistry between a boy and a girl brought out the actors in the little superstar(even if it meant lesser work for his fingers) and the already proven Trisha. The out and out western album too stuck to the Rahman effect, where the likeability of the song increases exponentially with the number of times one listens to it.

PS: all the best for the Alagiri's, the Stalins and the Marans to take the industry forward.