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Unlike last year, the box office hits didn’t end up becoming the critics’ favourites this time around. Vijay’s Varisu and Leo, and Rajinikanth’s Jailer might have broken records when it came to collections, but these films are unlikely to make it to ‘best of’ lists this year. Though they were good entertainers, Tamil cinema did offer more than just two-and-a-half hours of escapism. While quality films were sporadic, there were gems like the long-delayed Koozhangal and the devastating Chittha. In no particular order, here’s a list of Tamil films that impressed in 2023.
Por Thozhil
This will be a part of almost all the top ten lists of 2023, as the film effortlessly won the hearts of Tamil audiences and critics. The buddy cop-thriller explored all the tropes of the sub-genre and still managed to stay fresh. The film, which follows a novice police officer (Ashok Slevan) and a veteran (Sarathkumar) who are on the trail of a serial killer in Trichy, features gripping moments and effective twists. Director Vignesh Raja manages to deliver the message subtly and without compromising the craft.
Jigarthanda DoubleX
Karthik Subbaraj’s return to the silver screen with Jigarthanda DoubleX has restored his position as one of the most promising filmmakers of Tamil cinema. Inspired by Spaghetti Westerns, Kartik has formed a genre of his own, which he calls ‘Pandya Western’. Despite several twists in the film, it remains captivating thanks to the excellent execution and superlative performances by SJ Suryah and Raghava Lawrence.
Viduthalai Part 1
Vetrimaaran’s Viduthalai Part 1 is a gut-wrenching tale about a remote tribal village that suffers as a police camp is set up to hunt an alleged terrorist Vaathiyar (Vijay Sethupathi). The story unravels from the perspective of a newly-appointed constable, who is not able to choose what’s right in the grand scheme of things. An anti-establishment film — a rare breed in the current political scenario in India — Viduthalai is about the oppressed and the oppressor. Never an easy watch, it makes for essential viewing.
Good Night
2022 had Thiruchitrambalam proving that a blockbuster doesn’t always need to have an action hero, huge budget and over-the-top action sequences. Good Night, directed by Vinayak Chandrasekaran, might not be as successful as Dhanush’s romantic drama, but it managed to become a brilliant box-office success story. The story of a protagonist suffering from a snoring issue that puts his marriage in jeopardy was as intriguing as it was enjoyable. With brilliant performances from Manikandan and Meetha Raghunath, director Vinayak Chandrasekaran proved that there’s more to Tamil cinema than just ‘superstars’.
Dada
Like Good Night, Dada is another small film that emerged as a winner this year. A moving tale about a single alcoholic father taking care of his son and redeeming himself was well-executed by director Ganesh K Babu. With superlative performances by Kavin and Aparna Das, the film can be accused of being bit contrived, but it manages to win you over with its emotional quotient.
Maamannan
Maamannan might not be the best film of Mari Selvaraj, but the Vadivelu and Udhaynidhi Stalin starrer deserves a place on the list. A tale of the titular hero, an MLA from an underprivileged caste, is perhaps the first film to explore the caste politics that exists inside an anti-caste party. Fahad Faasil, Udhaynidhi and Vadivelu together made this film work despite the screenplay taking an easy way out towards the end. Vadivelu as a Dalit politician stands out in an optimistic tale where good once again wins over evil against all odds.
Maaveeran
Perhaps the most ambitious film of the year in terms of idea, Maaveeran gave Tamil cinema its original superhero. A voice in the head of a coward cartoonist Sathya (Sivakarthikeyan) makes him into a superhero. The voice foretells things, which makes Sathya an invincible fighter as he can guess the next move of his enemies. Maaveeran is fun and thought-proving at the same time, like director Madonne Ashwin’s last film Mandela.
Chittha
Easily the most haunting and difficult movie to watch this year, director SU Arun Kumar’s Chittha is about victims of pedophilia and the recourse one should take. It removes our focus from punishing the monsters and directs it towards the wounded. Siddharth has given it all to this devastating story, and it is by far the most sensitive mainstream movie about the least-explored subject. The film follows the story of an uncle and his niece. When the latter goes missing, the uncle wages war against the world to bring her back. The film has the incredible pace of a gripping thriller and the heart of a brilliant emotional drama.
Ponniyin Selvan 2
Mani Ratnam deviated majorly from the source material in the second part of his magnum opus, which worked in favour of the film. While the conclusion to the epic story had a lot of shortcomings such as the fragmented screenplay and the information overload, one has to cut some slack for the director’s vision and refusal to churn out one ‘mass moment’ after the other. PS 1 and PS 2 might not be perfect films, but they lay a strong foundation for future literary adaptations in Tamil.
Koozhangal
Though the film finished its festival run and became the first Tamil film to win the top prize at the Rotterdam Film Festival, it was released to the public only this year. Directed by PS Vinothraj, Koozhangal is an indie film about the long walk of an angry man in search of his wife, as he is accompanied by his tormented son. The film would open a lot of doors to anyone who hasn’t had a taste of world cinema. Koozhangal would go down in history as not just the best film of 2023 but of Tamil cinema of all time.
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