In the first of several End of the Year features to follow, we list the new crop of directors. actors and artistes who have emerged successful in 2014. While some challenged norms and broke rules, the others simply impressed with their fresh ideas. Our pick:
mundasupatti-movie-posters-006
Ram and P Ramesh
(Directors, Mundasupatti and Thegidi)
CV Kumar’s art of picking awesome directors continued to bear fruit this year. The mild mannered Ram broke records and people’s bellies with his hilarious Mundaasupattiwhile P Ramesh gave us the neat Thegidi.
pannayarum
Arun Kumar
(Director, Pannaiyarum Padminiyum)
Only a debutant can make a film about an old man’s love for his car, and also dedicate the best song from the soundtrack to an aging couple and their romance.
All that pre-release buzz about Dulquer Salman’s acting debut made more sense once we saw the star on-screen. Son of Mammootty or not, this second generation actor proved that he had the acting chops to carve out a career for himself.
Deekay’s directorial debut, Yaamirukka Bayameytook over the spot vacated by the much-delayed Kochadaiiyaan, and went on to become the summer blockbuster which no one predicted.
poovarasam-peepee
Halitha Shameem
(Director, Poovarasam Pee Pee)
Halitha Shameem’s film about a group of adolescent boys with a mission captured the attention of the Tamil film industry. The former Gautham Menon protege wrote, edited and directed the movie. Only one word for a woman like this – kickass.
A highly emotional trip, Manjapai follows the relationship between a grandfather and his grandson, which gets complicated by the arrival of a girlfriend. Sound familiar? This easy relatability made Manjapai a grand success for newcomer Naveen Raghavan and his producer, N Lingusamy.
Actor Jai and RJ Balaji in Vadacurry Movie Stills
RJ Balaji
(Actor, Vadacurry)
Vadacurrywas the perfect showcase for RJ Balaji’s humour. In his trademark mile-a-minute style, the popular radio jockey mouthed one-liners and catchphrases that made everybody explode.
Actor Nasser in Saivam Movie Stills
Uthara Krishnan
(Singer, Saivam)
Uthara Krishnan captured many a heart when she sang Azhagu in Saivam. As we learnt later on, nobody could withstand the effect of that angel-kissed vocals.
Actor Milaga Natraj aka Natarajan Subramaniam in Sathuranga Vettai Movie Stills
H Vinoth
(Director, Sathuranga Vettai )
Sathuranga Vettai was promoted as 2014’s answer to Soodhu Kavvum. While it didn’t quite fulfill that particular promise, debut filmmaker H Vinoth‘s dialogues made it a memorable venture indeed. Vinoth has gone on to win many an award for the con film; and has even bagged a project under the Thirrupathy Brothers banner again.
Vellai Illa Pattadhari poster
VIP poster featuring Dhanush and Amala Paul
Velraj
(Director, Velaiyilla Pattathari )
Velraj has to be thanked for giving us back the Dhanush we all know and love; awesome Anirudh songs; Amitash Pradhan, and for making Amul Baby trend all over again.
Actress Anusha and Praveen Kumar in the Appuchi Gramam Movie Stills
VI Anand
(Director, Appuchi Gramam)
Out of the countless AR Murugadoss assistants who made their debut this year, only VI Anand resisted the temptation to make an action thriller. The director instead followed his instincts and made a truly enjoyable sci fi flick. Think about it this way – a meteor, village sentiment and an item song. All in the same movie.
As with every Prabhu Solomon film, Kayal too had a whole bunch of debutants. Chandran and Anandhi made a lasting impact in this emotional drama about star-crossed lovers.
madras-movie-super-hit-songs-poster
Hari Krishnan and Kalaiarasan
(Actors, Madras)
Both these actors had minor roles in Pa Ranjth’s Attakathi, but it was only through Madras that they gained prominence. Hari Krishnan in particular, walked away with all the accolades for his portrayal of the mad Johnny.
