Tamil Film Tag

Ram comes to the aid of Ram. Well! not an aid, technically speaking. He has tagged me for favourite Tamil Films and this is a topic very close to my heart. In fact, even if Ram hadn't tagged me, I would have gone ahead and written about "My experiments with Tamil Cinema" (Yes! I am shameless). Thankfully, now I can say that I wrote b'coz it was 'requested' (as if the whole wide world is waiting to know what I think of Tamil Cinema). Add to that, Rediff is asking 'Famous Personalities' their list of Top ten Indian Movies and it serves my ego that I am a part of this elite group. hhhheeeeehhheee

Naayagan
That someone can potray a young rebel to an ageing don in one movie - I still find hard to believe. Naayagan is for Kamal, even if Mani scores his points for the direction.

Iruvar
Cinema! Iruvar introduced me to the world of cinema (even though I must have watched heaps of movies until then, Iruvar was the first movie I saw - if you know what I mean). I was 'drunk' with this movie.

Hey Ram
An important milestone in my growth. Personally, I feel that its a shame that not one in Rediff put this movie on their top 10. A pan-Indian movie, painfully true, transforming in its screenplay. An almost perfect movie.

Thiruvilayadal
Shivaji was so good in Thiruvilayadal, that sometimes when you try picturising Lord Shiva in your mind's eye, you get Shivaji. It is perhaps true of also Kappalootiya Tamizhan and Veerapandiya Kattabomman as well.

Veedu
Perhaps I like my world slow and coffee cold. So??? Chockalinga Baghavadhar is my all time favourite HERO.

Alaipayuthey
Who said cinema cannot teach LIFE-CHANGING lessons? To me, Alaipayuthey was a lesson in life - giving me a trust in love, a faith in marriage. The best stroy-screenplay for the 'madly-in-love, and 'happily-ever-after' youth. Yes! the domestic quarrels were amateurish (Chalte Chalte dealt with that much better). Still...

Sethu
Bala breathed in new life to Tamil cinema with dare-to-be-different filmmaking when people were happy to do the run of the mill stuff. Stark, real and brooding.

Guru-Sishyan
Rajini at his comical best. Hilarious. Surely the super-hero Rajini was no match to the Guru. Underwear.

Thillu-Mullu
Need I say Ayampettai Aavudai Nambi Kaliapperumal Chandran was unstoppable? Thengai Srinivasan was equally good in this KB ribtickler.

EthirNeechal
The multitude of distinct and very interesting characters (the potrayals were thorough), Nagesh and KB's genius; everything stands apart from current movies where we have one-dimensional characters sloppily shown.

p.s. Pls note that the movies are not ranked in any order

Addendum
As Ranganathan pointed out, I have regrettably not included any MGR movie in the list. So...

Enga Veetu Pillai
An MGR classic which should have been in the Top 10, with right proportion of comedy (the malapropisms of Nagesh were screaming hilarious), politics (who can ever forget Naan Aanai Ittal), villainy (Nambiar, the villain of villains), and not to forget MGR's double act (of the contrast bet'n the timid and the ebullient MGR). RightO!