The 10 best Tamil movies of the decade (2010-2019)

Kollywood has made some real progress this decade. The stories have kept getting better, we have found a lot of new talent, the camera work is becoming more awesome, the CGI has really improved and our wallets are getting thinner. However, there are still plenty of areas where we can still improve, particularly in the ‘Masala movie’ department. Maybe it's just the 'post-bigil' effects that I’m currently experiencing, the entire movie I was wondering ‘Why in the world are people comparing it to Chak De?’ Another area that can either improve or an area we should consider scrapping is the whole ‘sequel’ thing. Saamy 2, VIP 2 and Sandakkozhi 2 should be important lessons. It could really be a big step-up for Kollywood if people stop commercializing and stop treating this as a business plan trying to make more money than the budget and start taking some genuine risks and give real talents more opportunities. It still looks like we’re going to take some time reaching there but here are a bunch of movies that have made me hopeful of the future.

10) Enthiran

Shankar is known for pushing that budget beyond limits, but he waited a long time to get superstar’s approval for making Endhiran who was very skeptical about this. He made Sivaji first with superstar to really prove that he deserves a shot. Endhiran had an excellent reception and was a huge win at the box office. For the first time, we saw some really good graphics and a solid sci-fi Tamil film. The concept of artificial intelligence wasn’t new even at the time Endhiran came but superstar’s performance as Chitti became an instant fan favorite along with Aishwarya Rai. All of this greatness along with an excellent soundtrack from A.R. Rahman made this one of the best films of the decade. It was made at a time when Rahman used to be consistently awesome. Most of Superstar films are purely commercial but we had quite a bit of substance in Endhiran.

9) Kaaka Muttai

Kaaka Muttai is a simple story of two slum kids who want to taste a slice of pizza. A story that focused on nothing other than the motivation of these two adorable kids. The movie doesn’t patronize slum kids or show us how sad it is to live life in a slum or the difficulties they face. It just shows their way of life and how happy they actually are and the lengths that they are willing to go to achieve a goal. All they wanted to do was earn enough money to buy a pizza, irrespective of the amount. G.V. Prakash’s score fits in perfectly with the movie. Aishwarya Rajesh took a backseat because the two kids absolutely stole every single scene they were in. Completely unaware of the political situation that has been created and ignoring the slice of pizza that was offered by the rich kid, they do everything in their power to know what a bite of pizza tastes like and the best part is that they don't want it easy nor do they have it easy. The grandmother's character was phenomenal and the whole concept of the Dosa pizza was beautiful. The ending left us in tears and the smile in their faces and the purity of their heart earned the movie a place in my top 10 favorite movies of the decade. Being a pizza fan, this movie gave hit me on so many levels on all parallel universes in which I may exist.

8) Thupparivalan

I was one of the first people to laugh at the idea of Vishal taking up the role of a detective similar to Sherlock Holmes and it was that time of the year when Vishal’s ‘Ambala’ memes were trending. I didn’t see it in theatres because I assumed it was going to be terrible. When I did get to see it because of the positive reviews I was flabbergasted. This was the biggest surprise of the decade for me because he absolutely nailed it as the detective Kanyan. Plenty of emotions kept flowing and I was at the edge of my seat till the very end. Prasanna's role was similar to Dr. Watson and did a great job as his sidekick. The simple dog murder case which kept unfolding more devastating events was just awesome and Vinay was great as the antagonist. What started as a funny meme turned out to be my biggest surprise of the decade, Vishal’s best film and quite possibly one the best thriller/detective movies of Kollywood.

7) Jigarthanda

Easily my favorite Karthick Subbaraj movie to date. I’ll get it out of the way right away, I didn’t like Iraivi and its not going to be on the list. Siddharth plays the role of an aspiring director, Karthick who wants to make a gangster movie based on a real gangster. Bobby Simha’s performance stood out and earned him great praise. This became a thriller as it kept going and that interval scene where Sethu figured out that Karthick had him bugged was pure gold. Karthick and his friend Oorani really had to struggle to get out of this one. Just at the point where Karthick was ready to say goodbye to his dream of becoming a director and just be grateful to be alive, he comes up with a genius plan to completely shift gears that change both his life and Sethu’s lives forever, putting his life in the balance. With a little bit of mercy from Sethu, he walks out of this alive. Fast-paced, with brilliant performances from Bobby Simha and Siddharth and amazing music to top it all of, Jigarthanda was as they say ‘Vera level’

6) Papanasam

Kamal Hasan is one of the best actors in the world and few have been in the industry for as long as he has. He has made some classics over the years but this decade has not been easy even for ‘Ulaga Nayakan’. Papanasam was a remake of Drishyam, when we hear the word ‘remake’ somehow in our minds we place it inferior to the original assuming ‘nothing can beat the original'. Kamal took the role of Suyambu Lingam, a cable TV operator who also happens to be a movie geek who uses movie knowledge to get out of an extremely difficult family situation always ahead and prepared for the events that are about to unfold. Throughout the movie, you’re completely rooting for his family but there comes a time when justice, in this case, his arrest becomes inevitable. This movie was filled with great performances from Asha Srinath, Nivedha Thomas, and Gautami. Obviously, it was Kamal’s torture scene and the last scene that we all loved but that performance from Kalabhavan Mani as the constable scared us the most. My favorite remake and the best Kamal movie of this decade. Hopefully, he can prove us wrong about sequels being a bad idea in Indian 2, fingers crossed.

5) Thuppaki

The top 5 is coming and starting the list is my favorite Thalapathi movie of the decade. Teaming up with Murugadoss came this blockbuster we never saw coming. Vijay movies always focus on mass entertainment than plot, wasting a lot of time establishing what a great fighter he is and his ‘Il thakka seiya skills’ taking forever to come to the real story. It all changed with Thuppaki where he stars as out favorite Captain Jagdish who comes to Mumbai on holiday. This movie was filled with iconic moments, that gun trick, making the traitor cop commit suicide, the amazing scene where he tracks down all the sleeper cells with his friends and last but not the least, Vijay’s treatment plan of fixing a fracture by jumping a few times followed by simple yoga and stretching exercises. As hideous as that last statement sounded, this movie still managed to be Vijay’s best movie to date. The movie still had time for Vijay’s trademark chick magnet scenes with Kajal Agarwal and brilliant comedy from Jayaram. This movie really made us respect our army soldiers more and is proof that we don’t always need a movie to be like ‘BIGILEEEEEEEEE’ for it to succeed. Hoping for ‘Master’ to focus more on plot than the ‘Il thakka sayas'. As Vijay na always says, "Problems will come nanba, konjam chill pannu mappi" He had his fair share of problems but he still held his head high and managed to have a very successful decade in terms of box office numbers and experimenting. He gave us horrible ones like Puli and Bairava but Thuppaki really stood out.

4) Visaranai

Vetri Maaran is my favourite director of Kollywood and has managed to earn great praise for every movie he has ever made. Visaranai was that kind of a movie where the ‘bigger picture’ took a break and there was more focus on the present. Internationally praised Visaranai was about police investigations and coverups and the current ‘system’. G.V. Prakash with that walkie talkie background music added so much more fear to the film. The cinematography was brilliant and the entire set of the Tamil Nadu police department was just genius. It really managed to keep us at the edge of our seats. Samudrakani’s performance as the only good cop who was forced to play along with the other officials was my favorite. The movie released in the Cannes film festival and was one of the few Indian films which came close to an Oscar. Vetrimaaran’s best? Let me finish the list before making fancy statements like that.

3) Vikram Vedha

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t among the first of Vijay Sethupathy’s fans. Vikram Vedha changed that because we saw Vijay Sethupathi’s best performance on screen taking on the role of Vedha, a super criminal. I guess the Dark Knight really influenced movies where the villain tries to get into the hero’s head and ends up winning our hearts. This masterpiece was directed by Pushkar and Gayatri and for the first time, audiences were introduced to Vijay Sethupathy as an antagonist who starts to make a lot of sense. This movie starts off initially as an old-fashioned cop story where the good cop chases the criminal and eventually turns out to be a movie about corrupt cops. Vikram is forced to team up with Vedha when he realises the real villain is the system. Vedha’s relationship with his brother is beautiful and turns out to be the main motivation behind Vedha’s actions and so is Vikram’s relationship with his best friend, Sam. The last scene where we have Vikram and Vedha facing off before the screen fades out with a single bullet sound is cinematic gold, allowing the audience to decide who lives and who dies. Movies involving fake cops somehow very rarely fail and often turn out to be mindblowing. Vikram Vedha was already overhyped but is one of the very few movies which exceeded its expectations.

2) Thani Oruvan

The 2nd movie in my top 5 list is also basically a cop movie but for a change, it portrays them as heroes. Thani Oruvan is a movie about Mithran, a police officer who intends to stop the most notorious criminal. Arvind Swamy played the role of Siddharth Abimanyu, a highly educated criminal who also happens to be one of the smartest minds as he has figured out all the loopholes in the system. Hip Hop Thamizha’s themes were perfect. This was one of the very few movies where the heroine actually turns out to be pretty important instead of being pointless eye candy for the audience. Nayanthara’s performance is highly underrated. The war between Siddharth and Mithran is one of the best we’ve ever seen as Siddharth continues to be one step ahead of Mithran the whole time. The scene where Mithran figures out that the bug is actually implanted inside him and manages to save Nayanthara’s life without breaking her heart amazing. But the best scene for me is Siddharth telling Mithran about the memory card. The best thing about the scene was that Siddharth actually handed over the intel to Mithran, the cop he has been trying to outsmart constantly, because of the respect he develops for him over time and Mithran is devastated because the guy he has been trying to kill has finally died. Establishing a villain’s origin and motivation is extremely important for a villain to work and both Thani Oruvan and Vikram Vedha are the best examples of it. Hoping to see more movies like this in the coming years.

Honorable Mentions

A bunch of movies that almost made the cut but deserve to be mentioned.

Mankatha

Ajith really deserves to be in much better movies than has been in most of this decade. But Mankatha is definitely worth mentioning in this list because it was really his performance that stood out. Yuvan killed it in the music department, I can still remember how crazy it was when it was the beginning of the smartphone era and people would beg for the Mankatha theme to be set as their ringtones. The plot was great just kept getting better until the very last scene of the movie and it had a great supporting cast as well. Ajith has done a lot of great movies but Mankatha will remain my favorite.

Super Deluxe

One of those movies which deserve a watch just because of the cinematography, camera work, and easter eggs, quite obvious that the director is a big Tarrantino fan. There’s no big plot, no interconnecting moment like in Ayudha Yudham or Vaanam, just constant fun, and entertainment from start to finish. Strictly not for families.

Dhuruvangal Padhinaru

An excellent murder mystery film by debutant director Karthick Naren. A great performance by Rahman, the whole concept of Karma being a boomerang works well for the movie. Kept us glued to the seats with how a murder could have happened through multiple perspectives.

O Kadhal Kanmani

Favorite Mani Ratnam film of the decade. Definitely missing those days when Rahman’s songs were actually good. Excellent chemistry between Nithya Menon and Dulqar Salman. The supporting cast were great as well, Prakash Raj in particular. One of the most rewatchable films.

Goa

They went all-in with the adult jokes and it really worked. A comedy classic that would definitely stand the test of time. Need more of these instead of pointless, vulgar movies like Trisha Illena Nayanthara, Iruttu Arayil Murattu Kuthu and movies with a misplaced sense of feminism like 90 ml.

Tik Tik Tik

First Kollywood space movie. They did more than just a decent job for the budget that they had. The right amount of comic relief. One of the few sensible Kollywood sci-fi movies, hope sci-fi can be given more priority in the coming years.

Ratsasan

A decent thriller, a bit overrated in my opinion. Ghibran’s soundtrack was amazing, Christopher was unforgettable. Definitely worth a few watches. I had to pick this one over Pariyerum Perumal and Imaika Nodigal.

Asuran

Who knew Dhanush could pull off the role of an old drunk father. This movie had a lot of flaws but Dhanush’s performance alone is enough to keep you engaged. Fight scenes were a bit unbelievable, one of Vetri's weakest but still turned out to be a massive hit.

Deiva Thirumagal

A remake of Hollywood’s ‘I am Sam’ which starred Robin Williams. Vikram gave us one of his best performances of all time. Sara as the little kid just made all our hearts melt.

96

 Trisha finally had a chance to show her skills after a very long time. A low budget movie that managed to win the hearts of an entire generation. A movie without the usual clichés with a very simple plot and some extraordinary acting from Vijay Sethupathy and Trisha. 

Ko

Easily my favorite Jeeva movie. Vasanthan’s character was my favorite. The ending where they cover up the truth to prevent people from losing hope reminded me of Dark Knight where they tried to maintain Harvey’s reputation. I think I'll have to come up with a separate list called "Tamil movies inspired by "The Dark Knight". It had the right amount of comedy and was serious when it needed to be.

Kaththi

Just when we thought we saw the best of Vijay and Murugadoss in Thuppaki, we got Kaththi. Amazing performance from Vijay, pulled off both the roles really well but Anirudh's soundtrack for Kaththi was, in my opinion, the best hero theme ever. Time for the best movie of the decade now.

And it goes to...

   

   1) Vada Chennai

Vetri Maran said in an interview that he had a full epic written like Mahabharatha titled ‘Vada Chennai’ and that all the characters in his movies were basically a part of that script. He’s a genius who really has to work on rerecording in his otherwise perfect films. The Dhanush and Vetri Maran combo has often been compared to the Scorcese and DiCaprio combo of Hollywood. Every single time the two paired up, they’ve managed to create something marvelous. Vada Chennai was not about a hero or a villain but was more about the story of North Chennai. Rajan and Anbu were the fan favorites and the interval scene was easily the best. Amazing cinematography just like other Vetri films. He’s yet to start production for the sequel and its definitely the most anticipated movie of the decade for me. Vetri Maran is definitely a gift for Kollywood and is on a completely different level compared to other filmmakers of the current era. I hope his streak of mega-hits continue through the years to come. The depth he's able to bring to his films is really something many people should start bringing into their films as well. 

As mentioned earlier, extremely proud of how much we've grown as an industry but a lot of work is still to be done. Easier said than done, but what the filmmakers should understand is that the audience aren'tt dumb anymore. We've evolved, we can understand better, we can relate better and we really deserve better. If producers really begin to give more importance to story and cinematography than star power and business gimmicks we can really do a lot more than what we're doing now. Darbar, for instance was an example of a film which purely relied on Rajni's star power and nothing else. Not to pinpoint A.R. Murugadoss here, his movie is in my top 10 of the decade so clearly, he can do better than Darbar and clearly, there was a lot of politics involved. They were more interested to make a quick buck with Rajni than try to intrigue and impress the audience with a good story. Hopefully, we see less politics and more depth in the coming years. Fingers crossed and expecting to see more films like Vada Chennai, at least his full trilogy by the end of this decade.