The fate of Kollywood Heroes in 2015

As many as 200 and odd films have released in the year 2015 and this is a phenomenal number would have been bigger if the rains had not savaged Chennai city during the first week of December. As in the previous Male superstars and heroes have been the crowd pullers of many films released in Tamil this year. But a cursory look at box office and critical performance of the films of our much loved stars and top heroes released this year would prove that every other thing including the glorious star image can just supplement the content of a film.

Rajinikanth

After two disappointments in 2014, the Superstar did not have a release this year but he has started working on two biggies - 'Kabali' directed by Pa.Ranjith and '2.0' the sequel of the blockbuster 'Enthiran' directed by Shankar.

We can expect 2016 is getting packed as a huge gift for Rajinikanth fans and movie buffs.

Kamal Haasan

This has seen the most number of Kamal films released in recent times and the probably the busiest career in the great actor's career.

'Uttama Villain' released after a last minute postponement due to financial issues faced by its producers. The film was critically acclaimed and a section of niche audience celebrated it as one of the creative and artistic Best of Kamal. Despite this the film bombed at the box office as has been the case for many other critically acclaimed films of the legend over the years.

But 'Papanasam' the remake of critically acclaimed blockbuster Malayalam film 'Drishyam' repeated the same magic in Tamil too. The film which was hailed by critics in unison turned out to be a box office super hit that reportedly grossed Rs.100 crores.

As the rarest phenomenon in his career Kamal Haasan started working on a remake after a remake. This time it was the French super hit thriller 'Sleepless Night' titled as 'Thoongavanam' in Tamil. The film was completed in a record speed and was released for Deepavali. The film was hailed as a novel attempt as far as Tamil cinema is concerned, performances of Kamal. Trisha and Prakash Raj were appreciated. But the film failed to make wonders at the box office as the content could not be related by all age groups and sections of audiences.

In 2016, Kamal will start acting in the multi lingual (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi) film to be directed by T.K. Rajeev Kumar of 'Chanakyan' fame. He is also reportedly in talks with a major production house to revive his dream project 'Marudhanayagam' and one can only hope that his long delayed 'Viswaroopam 2' releases at least in the coming year.

Sarathkumar

This senior hero who is still giving tough fight to younger heroes in terms of fitness and energy acted in 'Sandamarutham' directed by Venkatesh. Sarath has also written the story for the film which introduced Crime Novel specialist Rajeshkumar as a screenplay writer.

Despite having these big names and getting mixed reviews, the film failed to create any magic at the box office.

Vijay

This 'All-class' star acted in 'Puli' which was billed as the costliest film in his career. The film directed by Chimbudevan with a plethora of well known stars released amid humongous expectation and on a grand scale. But the film failed to live up to the expectations despite exploring the rare fantasy genre and ended up as a box-office failure.

Vijay is presently acting in 'Their' directed by Atlee and it is expected to hit the screens in summer 2016. He will next take up a film to be directed by Bharathan for Vijaya Productions.

Ajith

Ajith teamed up with Gautham Menon to give a stylish cop flick which released in February this year. Despite criticisms on notable resemblances with the director's previous cop films, the film appealed to the urban audience and Ajith fans. Ajith's performance as a middle aged cop was appreciated by fans and critics alike. The Box office performance in urban centers coupled with Ajith's opening power saved this film from becoming a flop.

Despite getting mixed to negative reviews 'Vedalam' an out and out star-vehicle mass masala film turned out to be a clear blockbuster of the year. The film's phenomenal success was mainly attributed to Ajith's characterization and performance that appealed to movie buffs of all sections and the sentiment angle that pleased the family audience especially in B and C centers.

Vikram

With one blockbuster and a flop, 2015 has been a mixed year for the highly talented actor Vikram and his fans.

Audience and critics were dumbfounded by Vikram's three stunning getups and versatile performance in this film 'I' directed by Shankar. Despite critics complaining about a run of the mill storyline of the film not expected of a Shankar film, the film managed to emerge as a clear and probably the biggest grosser of the year.

Director Vijay Milton's '10 Endrathukulla' with Vikram and Samantha released amid huge expectations not just for its lead pair but also because of the director's previous film 'Goli Soda' which was a critically acclaimed commercial blockbuster of 2014. But the film turned out to be a disappointment for fans and critics and ended up as a flop.