Drop in releases

The Tamil filmdom which had 86 releases in 1999 had only 69 films in the last year while the dubbed films released last year were 96 and the year before had only 65 films, shows how the filmdom fared. The highest box-office collection was the Vijaykanth-starrer Vanathepol which ran for 25 weeks. It was directed by Vikraman and produced by Oscar Films. The next highest box-office grosser is Kushi, starring Vijay-Jothika and directed by Surya which ran for 150 days. It was produced by AM Rathinam. Rajanikant had no release last year but got the Padmabhushan title which gave his fans an ocassion to celebrate while Kamal Hassan came with Hey Ram, his directorial debut in the real sense but it failed at the box-office though it brought him accolades from the critics all over the country. He, however, bounced back with his latest release Thenali, directed by Ravikumar. Thenali is a box-office hit and fast racing towards the 100 day mark.

Others heroes who are in the successful list are Ajith who had two films Mugavaree and Kandukondain Kandukondain that celebrated 100-days, Prabhu who has the distinction of having acted in five films, the highest for an actor last year has all his films doing well at the box-office and Tirupathi Elumalai Venkatesa which was released at the fag end of 1999 completing 100 days in 2000. Sarath Kumar had two releases and Mayee reached the 100 day mark.

Other heroes who had successful films that touched the magical 100 days were Prasanth (Parthean Rasithean), Arjun (Muthalvan), Vikram (Sethu), Parthipan and Murali co-starred in Vetri Kodi Kaatu, Prabhudeva (Ezhayin Sirpil) and Madhvan - Manirathinam film Alai Payuthe. Vijayakanth-starrer Vaalarasu too touched the 100 day mark.

Among the heroines Kaushalya topped the list by acting in eight films. The successful films that she starred in were Vanathepol and Ezhayin Sirpil while Meena had six releases with Vanthepol, Vetro Kodi Kaatu and a guest role in Thenali to her hit list. Jothika the hot favourite of Tamil filmdom starred in hit film Kushi opposite Vijay and with Ajith in Mugavaree while Thenali released last year is heading for 100 days. Roja had five releases but none were hits.

Simran who was the number one last year can take consolation of having starred in Parthean Rasithean which did well. Devyani has starred in hit films Vaalarasu, Bharathi and Thenali has managed to carve out a slot for herself as the performing actress among the glamour heroines. Divya Unni and Abirami are the two heroines who are newcomers last year.

Rambha, the one time glam doll was a washout last year with two insignificant releases. Laila is the much in demand heroine after Parthean Rasithean. The music scene was dominated by AR Rahman (he was conferred with Padmasri title, a first for a music director) whose score for Alai Payuthe, Kandukondain Kandukondain, Rhythm and Thenali were all big hits and these audio rights were with HMV. SA Rajkumar who dominated the scene in 1999 with 18 releases has slipped down to six films and of this his score for Vanathepol was the only success. Deva tops the list with 21 films and has Kushi to his credit.

Illayaraja, with seven releases, had a winner in Bharathi. Vairamuthu continued to be the most in demand lyricist by writing for 33 films. The past year witnessed the celebrated weddings of Kushboo - Sundar C and the Ajith - Shalini, both of which are love marriages. Kushboo even delivered a baby girl. Vijay turned a proud father of a baby boy and Abbas became father the second time.

Trade disputes are a common feature in Tamil filmdom and the fight between producers - stars led to stoppage of work for 47 days. An agreement was arrived and both sides claim to have won.

The notable film of last year was Bharathi which had no top names or a hot shot director but it went on reach the 100 day mark. Sayaji Shinde played Bharathi and Devyani his wife. Directed by Ganan Rajasekharan and cinematographed by Thankar Pachan, the film’s music by Illayaraja topped te charts and word of mouth publicity brought in crowds to take it to the 100 day mark. This film brought cheer to small budget filmmakers. Ramanrayanan produced and directed four films in rapid succession using the formula of a subject revolving around the powers of goddess and aimed for women audience in the rural areas.

The infux of dubbed movies has managed to fill in the gap at the theatres but none of them were hits. Malayalam and Telugu films were released without much time delay in Chennai and gave the Malayali and Andhraites a chance to see their favourite films. Video piracy continues unabated. Speculative adventures of producers last year seem to have come down. Only 21 films were not able to be released after censoring. With seven films ready for Pongal release the Tamil filmdom looks for a bright future.

Ayyappa Prasad