The 18th-century German philosophical concept ‘Zeitgeist’ translates into, “The defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.” Tamil cinema is an industry that is heavily characterised by the sociopolitical happenings from our State and to an extent, the country, and vice-versa. Here are trends you should look out for in 2020.
A recognition of #MeToo
The #MeToo movement shook the Tamil film industry to its roots with many renowned names such as Vairamuthu, Arjun and singer Karthik getting called out. Shockingly, very few from the industry stood up for the survivors, and the accusers were denied work by their respective councils. Sruthi Hariharan, who accused her co-star Arjun after working with him in Nibunan, was never seen in a Tamil film after that. She had gone on record confirming that films in Kannada, where she works predominantly, had reduced significantly.
Singer Chinmayi, who headlined the accusation along with many women against lyricist Vairamuthu, was thrown out of the dubbing union and it took a toll on her career despite her stellar work in 96. Last year’s December release, Hero, was when she got back to the dubbing scene and both its producer and director have been vocal about pulling every string possible to get her behind the mic.
The end of 2019 saw some actors receiving flak for collaborating with those accused of harassment. About 50 days back, actors Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth were criticised for sharing the stage with Vairamuthu who was present to celebrate Kamal’s 60th year in the industry. The lyricist, who was supposed to receive an honorary doctorate from a University, was not honoured following the University’s move to shelve the plan.
That move came a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh cancelled his visit as the chief guest for the event. Vairamuthu’s name has not been mentioned in the crew list of long-time collaborator, director Mani Ratnam’s next, the adaptation of Ponniyin Selvan. If true, this will be the first move that directly challenges Vairamuthu’s position in the film industry. Interestingly, another frequent collaborator of Vairamuthu, AR Rahman, has stopped working with the lyricist after 2018’s Chekka Chivantha Vaanam and has roped in Chinmayi for songs in his last two Tamil projects, Sarvam Thaala Mayam and Bigil.
A new canvas
Apart from streaming feature films, OTT platforms also regularly churn out original content. The last couple of years saw a boom in this medium causing actors and filmmakers to jump ships, without the fear of release issues and censorship. Original OTT content might have hit the shores of Mumbai earlier, but 2020 seems to be the year where Tamil content will likely prove its mettle. Tamannaah’s debut web series for Hotstar, titled The November Story, is expected to be out in the first quarter of this year.
Samantha, meanwhile, joined the bandwagon by nabbing a role in the second season of The Family Man. A Netflix anthology from directors Gautham Menon, Vetrimaran, Vignesh Shivan and Sudha Kongara, based on honour killings, will also be dropping this year. The series, said to be a gamechanger for the Tamil original content, will star actors such as Kalki Koechlin, Anjali, Prakash Raj and Sai Pallavi. Let’s also not forget the multilingual prequel to the Baahubali franchise, Baahubali: Before the Beginning. Touted to be the most expensive web series made in India, it will follow the journey of Sivagami’s rise to power in the Mahishmati kingdom.
OTT to the rescue
And that’s where OTT platforms such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hotstar and SunNXT come in. 2019 saw a few direct-to-OTT releases such as Sigai, Igloo and Kalavu, and this trend is expected to increase exponentially this year. Director Balaji Tharaneetharan’s Oru Pakka Kathai has already been bagged by Zee5. Venkat Prabhu’s production venture RK Nagar is said to be getting a Netflix release and his long-delayed Party is also speculated to follow suit. Not only have these platforms become a boon for films struggling to find theatres, but they have also become avenues for films that have had a successful run on the big screen to make more money.
The biggest hits of 2019 such as Petta, Viswasam, Bigil and Nerkonda Paarvai are all available for streaming. Kaithi was available on Prime, a mere 30 days after its release, causing a backlash from exhibitors who claimed that the film was still running to packed houses and a spokesperson from the multiplex association said in the first week of December that films can be premiered on OTT platforms only after 56 days of their theatrical release.
Be ready for lesser films
You might have been spoilt for choice in recent years when it comes to Tamil films, but note that the number of films which released in 2019 is the lowest in the last few years (apart from 2018 which saw the Producers Council strike for two months). While Tamil cinema went past the 200-films-a-year mark, in 2019, we barely made it. This is despite a market prediction of having a little more than 250 plus releases in the year.
The difference between the projected and factual numbers are not because of the lack of films being made but the difficulty involved in releasing them. Those in the trade have been constantly grumbling about smaller films never getting a solo release and multiplexes avoiding them like the plague in favour of films starring bankable actors and films of other languages. This, unfortunately, is predicted to continue this year as well.
From Chennai to Hollywood
After the recent Hollywood debut of Tamil actors such as Dhanush in The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir and Amitash Pradhan in Heartbeats, Hollywood no more feels like a distant dream. 2020 will see a few more Tamil actors working hard to bridge the gap between the two industries. This year will see GV Prakash foraying into Hollywood with the film Trap City co-starring Brandon T Jackson. Similarly, veteran actor Napolean will have two Hollywood releases this year — Devil’s Night: Dawn Of The Nain Rouge and Christmas Coupon. Interestingly, both films are produced by the same production house, Kyyba Films.
Heroes to villains
Actors who have played lead roles turning antagonists is not particularly new to Tamil cinema. Interestingly, seasoned actors such as Rajinikanth, Sathyaraj and Sarathkumar started out as villains before winning the hearts of people. But this year will see a new breed of villains — actors who have hitherto been our heroes. Vijay Sethupathi, who played a character with grey shades in last year’s Petta, is going all black for Vijay’s next in which he is playing the villain. Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty, who was last seen in the 2001 film 12B, is returning to the industry as the villain in Rajinikanth’s Darbar which is releasing next week. Cinematographer-turned-qctor Natty is also said to be playing a role with grey shades in the Sibiraj starrer, Walter. Director Venkat Prabhu, whose acting skills were recently showcased in Kalavu, will be playing the villain in Lock Up which stars and is produced by his Chennai 600028 II co-stars, Vaibhav and Nitin Sathyaa.
Pending films see the light of day
2020 will be the year when we finally see if some famously shelved movies have aged well enough. A few films affiliated to Gautham Menon were made to face the wrath of cold storage. His directorial venture, Enai Noki Paayum Thota, which was completed at the end of 2018, got released just a little over a month ago. His pet project, the Vikram-starrer Dhruva Natchathiram which went into production in early 2017 is yet to be completed and is expected to release this year. The release of Naragasooran, which was said to be co-produced by the director’s Ondraga Entertainment, was also put on hold. Selvaraghavan’s Nenjam Marappathillai, starring SJ Suryah, which allegedly was co-produced by Gautham, will also be supposedly releasing in the first quarter of this year.
Interestingly, Gautham, in mid-2018, cleared the air by releasing a statement saying that he is not connected to the film anymore. While on Selvaraghavan, his long-delayed Santhanam starrer, Mannavan Vanthanadi, which has been in the cans for a long time because of a dispute between its producers, is expected to get cleared this year. Santhanam also has two films — Server Sundaram and Odi Odi Uzhaikkanum — which have long been in the dark without a release date. Other films which hopefully should hit the screens this year after a long delay include SJ Suryah’s Iravaakaalam, Abhay Deol’s Idhu Vedhalam Sollum Kathai, Arvind Swami’s Sathuranga Vettai 2, Samuthirakani’s Kitna, Vijay Sethupathi’s Idam Porul Yaeval, Atharvaa’s Othaikku Othai, Kajal Aggarwal’s Paris Paris, Shirish’s Pistha and Prabhudheva’s Yung Mung Sung.
Curious collaborations
This year will also see some unexpected team-ups. The most surprising one must be director Vetrimaaran’s film starring comedian Soori in the main lead. Next in line is Thalaivi. The Jayalalithaa-biopic starring Kangana Ranaut will mark her return to Tamil cinema after more than a decade. Last seen in the 2008 film Dhaam Dhoom, Kangana is teaming up with director Vijay for the first time in this trilingual biographical film. After amazing us by working with Nelson last year in Monster, SJ Suryah seems to be continuing his streak in this year’s Bommai that will see him working with director Radhamohan.
While on him, let’s not forget his Uyarndha Manithan in which the director-turned-actor will be teaming up with legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan who will be making his Tamil debut this year. On the musical front, GV Prakash who has composed music for more than 65 films, had notably never worked on a Suriya film before. This will change this year as the young composer is in charge of music for Suriya’s Soorarai Pottru. Similarly, Imman, who has more than a hundred films under his name, will be working on his first Rajini film which will be directed by Siva. Ilaiyaraaja will be working with established actors such as Vishal (Thupparivaalan 2), Vijay Antony (Thamilarasan), Udhayanidhi Stalin (Psycho) and Aadhi (Clap). Speaking about the maestro, the year will also mark the first time he will be collaborating with his son Yuvan Shankar Raja for composing music for Vijay Sethupathi’s upcoming film Maamanithan.
Evolution of the Superstar
Rajinikanth will mostly have another busy year with two releases. In this year’s first release, Darbar, he will be playing the role of a cop — 27 years after his 1992 film Pandiyan. His second film of 2020, by director Siva with whom he is collaborating for the first time, will see him team up again with Khushbu and Meena after 28 and 24 years respectively.
Away from the tinsel town, 2020 is also expected to be the year when Rajinikanth will take a deeper plunge into the world of politics. When he announced his foray into politics exactly two years ago, he confirmed that his party will contest in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections in all 234 constituencies. Political analysts speculate that the actor hinted at collaborating with Kamal’s Makkal Needhi Maiam recently and that’s something only time will answer.
A rare occurrence
A little bit of research shows that 2020 will probably be the first time after 2010 that all the top stars of Tamil cinema — Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Ajith, Vijay, Suriya and Vikram will all have a release each in the same year. The last time this happened in 2010, the films that came out were Enthiran, Manmadhan Ambu, Aasal, Sura, Singam and Raavanan. This year, apart from the above-mentioned Rajini films, we will also be seeing Vijay’s Master, Ajith’s Valimai, Kamal’s Indian 2, Suriya’s Soorarai Pottru and Vikram’s Cobra and Dhruva Natchathiram. With these many biggies in the offing, 2020 looks to be an important year for the industry commercially and that thought is enough to make this New Year special.