From 52 weeks to 100 years

Fifty-two weeks have gone and the curtains have come down on 2013.  That’s 365 days of hustle and bustle, hopes, entertainment and buzz in the world of glam and glitz. There were a few hits and several misses, and there was no dearth of controversies or accomplishments either. Yet, it is the magic word ‘passion’ for Tamil cinema that makes these Kollywood-ers gear up for one more year of ‘Lights, Camera, Action’. DC does a rewind.

Heroes who made an impact  

Despite being dragged into several controversies, Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam which hit theatres in early 2013, was declared a huge hit, proving that the ace actor still rules the roost. Ajith, who badly needed a hit after Billa 2, re-emerged with Arrambam, directed by  Vishnuvardhan, which was a blockbuster. Suriya’s Singham 2, a commercial potboiler with Hari, though, received mixed responses from the critics and was a box-office hit. Though he had a disastrous start with the film, Settai, Arya bounced back with Raja Rani and Arrambam. His much anticipated Irandam Ulagam bombed at the box office. Vishal’s Samar released early this year. Though critically acclaimed, it did not make the cash registers ring. After a string of flops the actor arrived with Pandiyaa Naadu, which was also his maiden production venture. Sivakarthikeyan was a revelation in 2013. He made his debut with Pandiraj’s Marina. It was a moderate hit and then followed the likes of Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, Ethir Neechal and Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangham. With three hits under his belt,  Sivakarthikeyan came to centre stage. Vijay Sethupathi continued his good run of 2012. His films Soodhu Kavvum and Idharkuthanae Asaipattai Balakumara made an impact at the BO. His uncanny way of picking out-of-the-box scripts helped him continue his success run.

No Show of Rajinikanth  
Kochadaiiyaan, the magnum opus of Superstar Rajinikanth, his younger daughter Soundarya’s maiden directorial venture, was expected to hit the marquee this year, but it didn’t happen, much to the disappointment of his fans.

Glam Girls of 2013
The year clearly belonged to Nayanthara. The lady who went on a self-imposed sabbatical, returned with back-to-back hits, Arrambam and Raja Rani, and has her kitty full. Hansika was part of three hit films, Theeya Velai Seyyanum Kumaru, Singham 2 and Biryani. Her hands are full with seven films now. Having completed more than a decade in the industry, the ravishing actress Trisha, who had a bad start this year, made an impact with her year-end release, Endrendrum Punnagai. Lakshmi Menon from Kerala was considered a lucky charm — any film in which she worked turned out to be a blockbuster, like Kutti Puli and Paandiya Naadu. She is presently working in six flicks, including Naan Sigappu Manithan and Sippai, among others. Yet another Mollywood import, Nazriya Nazim, was considered the next big thing in Tamil cinema after Raja Rani’s success. But when she kicked up a controversy over her scenes in the Dhanush-starrer, Naiyyandi, it did give a jolt to her career.

For Priya Anand, who returned after a gap with Ethir Neechal, it looks like her career is going in a promising direction with four films in her kitty now.

Musical Notes
A.R. Rahman came out with two soul-stirring, romantic albums, namely Kadal and Maryan (which was also selected as iTunes’ Tamil album of 2013), but these movies flopped miserably at the box office. G.V. Prakash took on a new avatar of a producer with Madha Yaanai Koottam apart from scoring the music for Bala’s much acclaimed film, Paradesi. Though Harris Jayaraj’s songs were of average quality in Irandaam Ulagam, he completed the year on a musical note with Endrendrum Punnagai. Yuvan completed his 100th film with Biryani. The Kolaveri Di boy Anirudh saw success in Ethir Neechal and is now working on a film with Ilayathalapathy Vijay. Young faces who look promising include Ghibran, Santhosh Narayanan and K. 

Comedy not the order of the day 
The year began with the wrong idea that comedy sells.  There were many movies made along the lines of Kanna Laddu Thinna Asaiya, but only a few worked out well, clearly proving that content was king. Even the likes of M. Rajesh, after hits, like Oru Kal Oru Kannadi and Boss Engira Baskaran, had to bite the dust. His All in All Azhaguraja turned out to be a disaster.   

Controversies 
Vishwaroopam and Vijay-starrer, Thalaivaa, had to come up with a delayed release. Vishwaroopam witnessed protests from a section of a community and even legal battles were fought, until the Tamil Nadu government stepped in and ensured that all was well. Thalaivaa, for reasons unknown, couldn’t see the light of day as promised. Eventually it had a delayed release and received a lukewarm response at the box office.

New Film makers had a field day
A young breed of directors came to the fore to make some unique films that caught the attention of audiences. Hero or no hero, films like Soodhu Kavvum (Nalan Kumaraswamy) Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangham (Ponram) and Moodar Koodam (Naveen) with new narrative scripts and upcoming actors created a great deal of buzz in the industry.

Centenary Celebrations
‘100 Years of Indian Cinema’ was celebrated in a grand manner. The Tamil Nadu government, along with the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, organised a gala four-day mega event which was attended by the who’s who of the Indian film world. Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa and President Pranab Mukherjee graced the occasion.

Gone too soon
Playback singers T.M. Soundarrajan, P.B. Sreenivas, composer T.K. Ramamoorthy, lyricist Vaali, actresses Manjula Vijayakumar, Sukumari, directors Manivannan and Rasu Madhuravan passed away this year.