Third Quarter 2013 Tamil Movies Report
The third quarter started with a 'mass' hit in the form of Suriya's "Singam-2" and wrapped up with a breezy romance hit movie "Raja Rani" -- only two movies that were embraced by family audience during the last quarter. The movies that got the highest critical acclaim were Mysskin's "Onaiyum Aatukuttiyum", Ram's "Thanga Meengal", Dhanush's "Maryan" and Suseenthiran's "Aadhalal Kadhal Seiveer". Unfortunately, these highly rated movies could not set the box office on fire as ratings could not translate to box office returns.
Sivakarthikeyan cemented his position within the top 10 saleable heroes as he delivered yet another hit in Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam. Vimal's Desingu Raja got poor reviews and yet went to make average collections. Another comedy-noir movie, Moodar Kooadam, was noticed for its style of making. Bharath and Shyam were noticed for their sincere performance and hardwork in "555" and "6" respectively. Vijay's Thalaivaa mired in political controversies struggled to make returns for its makers in the domestic markets.
- Film - Onaaiyum Aatukuttiyum
- Director - Mysskin (Onnaiyum Aatukuttiyum)
- Wholesome Entertainers - Raja Rani
- Actor - Dhanush (Maryan)
- Actress - Parvathi (Maryan)
- Comedian - Soori (Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam)
- Debut actors (in Tamil) - Baby Sadhana (Thanga Meengal)
- Cinematographer - Arbhindu Saara (Thanga Meenkal), Balaji V Rangha (Onaiyum Aatukuttiyum)
- Editor - R.Gopinath (Onaaiyum Aatukuttiyum)
- Music Director - GV Prakash (Raja Rani)
- Background Score (BGM) - Ilaiyaraja (Onaiyum Aatukuttiyum), Yuvan (Aadhalal Kadhal Seiveer)
- Lyricist - Na. Muthukumar (Anandha Yaazhai, Thanga Meengal)
- Male singer - AR Rahman (Nenje Yezhu, Maryan)
- Female Singer - Shakthisree Gopalan (Maryaan, Raja Rani)
Vishal's "Pattathu Yaanai" could not resurrect his struggling career despite having Santhanam providing the comic relief. For the first time in the last 2 years, many of the mindless comedy movies sank without a trace.
Downers
After Vishwaroopam, Vijay's Thalaivaa became the second big movie in 2013 that could not release on the promised date. Before the movie released, the piracy prints were widely available on the net and at stores all over Tamil Nadu. This affected the BO performance and may have wiped out an estimated amount of 25 Crores in lost box office collections. Surprisingly, many of the movie celebrities who raised their voices in support of Kamal Haasan during Vishwaroopam controversy decided to hide under the radar for Vijay.
Most Criticized Movie
The failures of Summa Nachunu Irukku, Sonna Puriyadhu and Yaa Yaa have finally made the Tamil producers think twice about making quick comedy movies with half a dozen jokes. The strong comedy/Santhanam trend that lasted over the last couple of years is finally showing some signs of slow-down.
Access the previous 2013 report cards