Low Budget Movies: The first half of this year has seen a lot of exciting things happen in Kollywood. Holding on to the hope given by 'Love Today' at the end of last year, the directors have followed that formula elegantly. ‘Low Budget+ Good Content = High Profit’. Basically this is the formula of malayalam cinema. It has been made possible by tamil cinema directors especially the newbie directors in Tamil. Looking at it like that, debutant director Ganesh K. Babu's 'Tada' gave an important start. With a budget of Rs 5 crore, it grossed over Rs 30 crore. The way mantra Murthy's 'Ayodhi' spoke of religious harmony was thrilling.
Dharani Rasendran's 'Yathisai' proved that even a low budget can deliver grandeur. telugu fans celebrated the movie 'Pichaikaran 2'. 'Good Night' heralds the importance of content. 'War industry' threatened to charge Rs 50 crore. The film 'Dandati' also attracted attention due to its storyline. It should be noted here that the people who made this new formula possible are the newbie directors. This can be taken as a red carpet preview for new directors who are trying to make it in cinema with good stories.
Content Focused Films: While mass cinema is moving forward in terms of collections, films with compelling storylines have also gained attention in the last six months. That's how director Shaan's 'Pommai Naiki' Yogibabu got a new face and looked beautiful. The parody brought out a compelling performance from the popular actor. An important film that talked about sexual violence against children through caste.
R. Kannan's 'The Great indian Kitchen' can also be mentioned in this line. The reason is that the film carries a deep meaning. However, its tamil adaptation faltered. Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan's 'Talaikkoothal' was drawn in a rural setting with a well-chosen screenplay. Questioning authority, Vetrimaran's 'Liberation Part 1' talked about the pain of the hill people.
Box office hits: Vijay's 'Varisu' and Ajith's 'Thunivu' have crossed the Rs 250 crore mark at the start of this year. Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan' which came next made a record by collecting Rs 300 crores. Dhanush's 'Vaadi', despite a critical backlash, managed to cross Rs 100 crore at the box office. Apart from this, films like 'Pathu Thala', 'Viduktuy Bhagam 1' and 'Por Uyariya' have collected more than Rs.50 crores.
Director's Compaq: 'Custody' directed by venkat prabhu and starring naga chaitanya was highly anticipated. But the film was released and met with negative reviews. director Vikram Sukumaran's 'Ravanak Kottam', released after a long hiatus after giving the much-awaited work 'Madayanai Kootam', was a disappointment. Ranjith Jayakodi's 'Michael', who grabbed attention with 'Ispet Rajavum, Udiya Raniyum', was released pan india and met with negative reviews.
Female-Centred Cinema: If we take this genre, aishwarya Rajesh's name cannot be left out. He appeared in two films 'The Great indian Kitchen' and 'Soppana Sundari'. Also Varalakshmi Sarathkumar's films 'Konnaal Bhavam' and 'Maruti nagar police Station' were released. Apart from them, kajal aggarwal also stepped in and gave her two films as 'Karangappiyam' and 'Kosti'. Apart from this, Sunaina's 'Regina' and sonia Aggarwal's 'Unnal Nana' were also released.
Films with a social justice theme: 'Ravana Kottam', 'Kalvethi Murkan', 'Mamannan' were released. In this, 'Kalvethi Murkan' touched the people of Arundhati, who are not talked about much in mass cinema. The approach of 'Mamannan' from the lead character is to be appreciated.
New Initiatives: director Jagan Vijaya has taken a new initiative with his film 'Beginning' to showcase two films on the same screen. Hiphop Adi's 'Veeran' sought to address the rare domain of tamil cinema through 'superhero' worship.
All in all, the first six months of 2023 have reaped positive reviews and collections with minimal investment and focus on content. Rajini's 'Jailor' and Vijay's 'Leo' are expected to achieve huge collections in the next six months.
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