It has taken almost a century for Tamil cinema to shed its drama traits, steer away from star-driven films, and head towards the kind of cinema which incorporates the grammar of filmmaking.
There have been several genuine experiments with genres over the years — some have been celebrated, while most went unnoticed... yet still retain pride of place in audience’s hearts as underground cult classics. We bring you 12 underrated gems you missed out on!
Aaranya Kaandam (2010)
Probably everyone knows about the phenomenon now that it is a part of modern-day pop culture, but the intense and raw film went unnoticed when it hit the screens. The story revolves around an ageing don, his mistress, and ambitious henchmen.
From the colour tone to the witty dialogues, everything about the film is now lauded — but Tamil audience missed relishing it when they should have. Nevertheless, the director Thiagarajan Kumararaja is now in process of making a film with Vijay Sethupathi. Let’s hope to not make the same mistake again!
Uriyadi (2016)
The commercial failure of this movie is the recent reminder that Tamil film appreciation has a long way to go. Despite being lauded by critics and getting favourable feedback on social media, the film went off-screen in days.
Directed by Vijay Kumar, the daring film deals with caste politics woven around four carefree college students. The lack of screens due to other big-budget films, was another reason for the box office failure of this indie classic.
Kubeer (2014)
One experimental-indie film which we all managed to collectively miss was Kubeer. Directed by Dileep, the film was just about a bunch of youngsters boozing and talking.
The conversational movie, despite its flaws, played out much like a Richard Linklater dramedy. Despite promotions from directors like Karthik Subbaraj, the film failed to make a mark.
Vidiyum Munn (2013)
Pooja Umashankar was last seen in this neo-noir, which dealt with the issues of prostitution, paedophilia and human trafficking. Director Balaji K Kumar, who has studied cinema, is one of the few directors in Tamil who uses storyboards for his films. A striking feature of the film is its colour tone, which imparts a gloomy aura throughout.
Madhubanakadai (2012)
Set in a village’s liquor shop that has an attached bar, the directorial venture of Kamalakannan, is a hard-hitting film that ends on a heart-wrenching note. It is one of the very few Tamil films, which was bold enough to not have a strong story. Instead, the film focuses on the character detailing, and the lives of the villagers in the society. Almost all the actors in the films were new and even the villagers were made to act in the film.
144 (2015)
The film is not relatively unpopular like rest of the films on this list, however, it is not well-known either. Starring Shiva, Ashok Selvan and Oviya, 144 is one of the few failures of producer CV Kumar, a producer with a midas touch. Partly inspired by writer Sujatha’s novel — Vasanthakala Kuttrangal, the film is a laugh-riot. The feeble and inconsistent screenplay can be forgiven for the laughter the film stirs. But, maybe the overload of the quirkiness might have backfired for the film, which was off the screen in a flash.
Sringaram (2007)
The much-raved about Aditi Rao Hydari made her acting debut with this period drama! The film, directed by Sharadha Ramanthan, though winning several honours — including three national awards — is one of those films that went back to the box only with critical acclaim. The film is set to the time when India turns a republic, and it tells the emotional story of a Bharatanatyam dancer.
Burma (2014)
Director Dharani Dharan, director of the recent box-office failure, Jackson Durai, made his debut with this comic-thriller three years back. The film is as peculiar as the names of the characters in it — Burma, Bothra Seth and Boomer.
Perhaps, the lack of a big star was the reason behind the failure of the film, which had Michael Thangadurai, Sampath Raj, Reshmi Menon and Atul Kulkarni in the lead.
Ammani (2016)
On the outset, Ammani seemed like one of the countless family dramas about filial responsibility — greedy family members who value materialism over emotions. But a closer look at the film, written and directed by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan — that also features her in the lead role — shows that it is a lot more than that.
The story of Saalamma, an ageing janitor, who takes care of her huge family was dealt with maturity. While films that deal with elderly characters are normally sympathetic and melancholy, Ammani took issues of age, property, family dysfunction and death head-on, in a practical way. The film had a limited release, and although it won rave reviews, it did not manage to attract audiences.
Bench Talkies — The First Bench (2015)
Touted to be the first-ever anthology in Tamil, the film comprised six short films, produced and curated by Stone Bench Creations. The short flicks of Bench Talkies - The First Bench, was directed by filmmakers Karthik Subbaraj, Anil Krishnan, Gopakumar, Charukesh Sekar, Monesh and Rathnakumar R M. The short films also had talented artistes like Vijay Sethupathi and Guru Somasundaram as part of its cast.
Kallapadam (2015)
Directed by Vadivelu, Kallapadam loosely fits into the genre of meta films. There are four lead characters, who aim to make it big in the film industry as a director, music director, cinematographer and editor. But after being shunned away by the industry — the gang ends up stealing money from a producer to make a film! The film also touched upon intriguing subjects like theru koothu (street plays). Again here, the script, which was solid, lacked stars on which it could have travelled places.
Sarabam (2014)
A suspense thriller by Arun Mohan about an ambitious architect, who ends up being accused for a murder, and his attempts to come out of it forms the crux of the story. However, the film, yet again played the good ol’ ‘twins twist’ which was a big let-down. Nevertheless, the film, which did away with most commercial elements, was entertaining.
— Complied by Kirubhakar Purushothaman
