Films that started healthy discussions

Though Kollywood received a lot of flak this year for glorying stalking and violence, we can’t dismiss the fact that this year saw several films that touched upon sensitive topics as well. 2016 saw movies that not only brought new dimensions to several issues, but also started a healthy discussion regarding the same.

Karthik Subbaraj’s Iraivi, which had an ensemble cast, spoke about feminism — entirely from a man’s point of view and Dhanush-starrer Kodi had a subplot which was inspired by the case of mercury pollution in Kodaikanal.

We also witnessed many filmmakers touch upon politics and communal issues. Though Pa. Ranjith’s earlier films spoke about Dalit politics, with Rajinikanth coming into the picture, Kabali became instrumental in raising awareness regarding caste politics amongst youngsters. Even prominent Dalit scholar Stalin Rajangam suggested that the film could have been created as a response to the 2012 Dharmapuri caste riots.

The year’s surprise package turned out to be Uriyadi. The film boldly dealt with student politics — and how certain politicians use caste as a tool to gain votes.
Joker was a political satire on corruption and negligence of government officials in tackling the issue of hygenic sanitation in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu. Guru Somasundaram played a mentally-challenged social worker in the film.