The first half of 2019 for Tamil movies was mixed, for there were times when the cash registers went buzzing and there were moments when a lull prevailed. While super-stardom and brand value attributed to the former scenario, the latter was due to distractions like IPL and World-Cup seasons, in addtion to the not up-to-the-mark content put out there.

MovieCrow’s Picks from the First Half of 2019

• Best Entertainer - Petta
• Critics’ Favourite - Super Deluxe
• Actor - Vijay Sethupathi ( Super Deluxe )
• Promising Actor - Harish Kalyan (Ispade Rajavum Idhaya Raniyum)
  
• Actress - Taapsee Pannu (Game Over)
• Music Album - Petta ( Anirudh )
• Background Score - Ron Ethan Yohann ( Game Over )  
• Singer: Sid Sriram (Andhi Maalai - Monster, Kannana Kanne - Viswasam)

• Lyrics - Vaan Thooral - Peranbu ( Vairamuthu )
• Cinematographer - Kavin Raj (Ispade Rajavum Idhaya Raniyum) 
• Editor - Richard Kevin ( Game Over)

Super start with Superstardom(s)

The year was off to a competitive start with Rajinikanth's Petta and Ajith's Viswasam raking the moolah like no other at the box office. However, the only other time this happened in the last 6 months was in the month of April, when Raghava Lawrence's Kanchana 3 and the worldwide phenomenon called Avengers: Endgame pulled the audience to theaters, despite releasing in prime IPL season.

Other Notable Films

Content-driven movies like Peranbu, House Owner, Super Deluxe, Game Over, Sarvam Thaala Mayam, To Let, Mehandi Circus, Vellai Pookkal, Monster and Jiivi received good response from the critics. Commercial entertainers like Monster, Kolaigaran, LKG, Thadam, Dhillukku Dhuddu 2, Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja, 100 and Natpe Thunai made all their stakeholders happy.

Disappointments

One of the biggest disappointments of 2019's first half (perhaps because of the brand-vaue that rode high on the film) was Suriya - Selvaraghavan's NGK, which not only added to the already existing dull state of affairs but sunk it lower than the film was expected to. Nayanthara starrer Airaa, Sivakarthikeyan's Mr. Local, STR's Vantha Rajavathaan Varuven, Karthi's Dev and Vijay Sethupathi's recent release Sindhubaadh belong to the same category.