'Super Six' detective movies of Tamil cinema
Mysskin's 'Thupparivaalan' released yesterday amidst excitement from fans and movie lovers. 'Thupparivaalan' stars actor Vishal in a never-before-seen avatar of an independent detective who solves cases in his own eccentric way. Will Mysskin's Kanian Poongundran join the cadre of well established detective characters like the British Sherlock Holmes and the Bengali Byomkesh Bakshi?Indiaglitz ponders upon six Tamil movies that exhibits the detective genre in an exemplary manner.
Andha Naal
This golden 1954 movie directed by Sundaram Balachander has Jawar.N.Sitaraman playing the role of CID officer Sivanandam. The story revolves around the suspicious death of a radio engineer played by Nadigar Thilagam Shivaji Ganesan. 'Andha Naal' was way ahead of its time with the film's narration constantly compared to Akira Kurosawa's 'Rashomon'. Without any songs in it, the movie relied strongly on its story to win the audience.
CID Shankar
Actor Jaishankar is predominantly known for his role in this movie as it turned out to be an excellent detective thriller. The film which was released in 1970 was produced by Modern Theatres and directed by R.Sundaram. Jaishankar plays the detective while Thengai Srinivasan plays the role of his sidekick Raju as they go on to unravel the mysterious murders leading to a group of terrorists. Jaishankar acted more in investigative roles more than any of his contemporaries and carved a brand for himself as 'thennagathu James Bond'.
Naan Sigappu Manithan
Superstar Rajinikanth plays the role of Vijay who is a professor living with his widowed mother and sister. Being angered by anti-social elements and personal experiences, he and his friend take the matter into their own hands. As Vijay goes on to become the 'robin hood' creating his own brand of justice, CID Singaaram played by K Bhagyaraj embarks on a mission to find Vijay. The film which was directed by S.A Chandrasekhar released in 1985 becoming a commercial hit and later was dubbed in Telegu as 'Mr.Vijay'.
Bommalaattam
Different from Bharathiraja's usual staple of films, 'Bommalaattam' revolves around the story of CBI officer Vivek played by Arjun unravelling the murders associated to the film director Rana played by Nana Patekar. Though this film was originally filmed in Hindi under the title of 'Cinema', its first theatrical release was in Tamil which went on to receive positive reviews from critics and audiences.The film builds up the suspense gradually until the mystery dissolves in the last thirty minutes in a never-seen-before way.
Yuddham Sei
Not surprisingly, director Mysskin finds a place in this list with his 'Yuddham Sei' which portrays the story of a CB-CID detective JK played by Cheran, who has to work on an assignment before he could get the aid of his senior officer to find his sister. Unlike most of the alpha male cops that we see in Tamil films, Mysskin's detective is brooding, thoughtful and dark as the story itself. The movie received critical acclaims and positive response from the audience.
Thupparivaalan
The list wouldn't be complete without Mysskin's 'Thupparivaalan' as this is the only Tamil film to explore a private detective's working in detail. When a school boy brings the case of his pet dog killed, the trail leads to a gang of high tech assassins as Kanian Poongundran played by Vishal solve the mystery and nab the culprits. Though the film heavily leans on the character of Sherlock Holmes, 'Thupparivaalan' was unanimously welcomed with positive reviews by both the critics and the audience as this is a one of a kind movie for the Tamil film industry.
<>br Though cop stories have been used extensively in Tamil films, the detective and investigative genres has not been explored to its maximum save a very few directors. Films like 'Thupparivaalan' when received with enthusiasm, will encourage directors and writers to experiment with this creatively demanding genre as well.
'Super Six' detective movies of Tamil cinema
Mysskin's 'Thupparivaalan' released yesterday amidst excitement from fans and movie lovers. 'Thupparivaalan' stars actor Vishal in a never-before-seen avatar of an independent detective who solves cases in his own eccentric way. Will Mysskin's Kanian Poongundran join the cadre of well established detective characters like the British Sherlock Holmes and the Bengali Byomkesh Bakshi?Indiaglitz ponders upon six Tamil movies that exhibits the detective genre in an exemplary manner.
Andha Naal
This golden 1954 movie directed by Sundaram Balachander has Jawar.N.Sitaraman playing the role of CID officer Sivanandam. The story revolves around the suspicious death of a radio engineer played by Nadigar Thilagam Shivaji Ganesan. 'Andha Naal' was way ahead of its time with the film's narration constantly compared to Akira Kurosawa's 'Rashomon'. Without any songs in it, the movie relied strongly on its story to win the audience.
CID Shankar
Actor Jaishankar is predominantly known for his role in this movie as it turned out to be an excellent detective thriller. The film which was released in 1970 was produced by Modern Theatres and directed by R.Sundaram. Jaishankar plays the detective while Thengai Srinivasan plays the role of his sidekick Raju as they go on to unravel the mysterious murders leading to a group of terrorists. Jaishankar acted more in investigative roles more than any of his contemporaries and carved a brand for himself as 'thennagathu James Bond'.
Naan Sigappu Manithan
Superstar Rajinikanth plays the role of Vijay who is a professor living with his widowed mother and sister. Being angered by anti-social elements and personal experiences, he and his friend take the matter into their own hands. As Vijay goes on to become the 'robin hood' creating his own brand of justice, CID Singaaram played by K Bhagyaraj embarks on a mission to find Vijay. The film which was directed by S.A Chandrasekhar released in 1985 becoming a commercial hit and later was dubbed in Telegu as 'Mr.Vijay'.
Bommalaattam
Different from Bharathiraja's usual staple of films, 'Bommalaattam' revolves around the story of CBI officer Vivek played by Arjun unravelling the murders associated to the film director Rana played by Nana Patekar. Though this film was originally filmed in Hindi under the title of 'Cinema', its first theatrical release was in Tamil which went on to receive positive reviews from critics and audiences.The film builds up the suspense gradually until the mystery dissolves in the last thirty minutes in a never-seen-before way.
Yuddham Sei
Not surprisingly, director Mysskin finds a place in this list with his 'Yuddham Sei' which portrays the story of a CB-CID detective JK played by Cheran, who has to work on an assignment before he could get the aid of his senior officer to find his sister. Unlike most of the alpha male cops that we see in Tamil films, Mysskin's detective is brooding, thoughtful and dark as the story itself. The movie received critical acclaims and positive response from the audience.
Thupparivaalan
The list wouldn't be complete without Mysskin's 'Thupparivaalan' as this is the only Tamil film to explore a private detective's working in detail. When a school boy brings the case of his pet dog killed, the trail leads to a gang of high tech assassins as Kanian Poongundran played by Vishal solve the mystery and nab the culprits. Though the film heavily leans on the character of Sherlock Holmes, 'Thupparivaalan' was unanimously welcomed with positive reviews by both the critics and the audience as this is a one of a kind movie for the Tamil film industry.
<>br Though cop stories have been used extensively in Tamil films, the detective and investigative genres has not been explored to its maximum save a very few directors. Films like 'Thupparivaalan' when received with enthusiasm, will encourage directors and writers to experiment with this creatively demanding genre as well.
Mysskin's 'Thupparivaalan' released yesterday amidst excitement from fans and movie lovers. 'Thupparivaalan' stars actor Vishal in a never-before-seen avatar of an independent detective who solves cases in his own eccentric way
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