The filmmaking sector located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is known as Tamil cinema or Kollywood. The Tamil language is used mostly in the movies. Given that Kollywood has so many top filmmakers, they are well-known for their contributions. Let’s find out about the successful Kollywood movies in this article.
Successful Kollywood movies
2.0 Movie 2018
Tamil science fiction action movie 2.0 was written by B. Jeyamohan and Madhan Karky and directed by S. Shankar. Under the name Lyca Productions, produced by Subaskaran. Enthiran (2010)’s sequel, 2.0, is a stand-alone film and the second part of the Enthiran series.
Alongside Amy Jackson and Akshay Kumar as Pakshi Rajan and Nila, respectively, Rajinikanth reprises his roles as Vaseegaran and Chitti the Robot in this movie. Additionally, supporting actors Sudhanshu Pandey, Adil Hussain, Kalabhavan Shajohn, and K. Ganesh make appearances. A.R. Rahman scored the music for the film, and Madhan Karky and Na Muthukumar wrote the lyrics.
Nirav Shah, the film’s cinematographer, created the first authentically 3D-shot work in Indian cinema. Akshay Kumar and a few other actors had their dialogue recorded in Hindi, while the majority of the movie was shot in Tamil.
With visual effects overseen by V. Srinivas Mohan, Legacy Effects made a comeback to create animatronics and prosthetic makeup. Anthony was in charge of the editing, and T. Muthuraj was in charge of the production design. On November 29, 2018, 2.0 and its Hindi and Telugu dub versions were made available in all countries.
The majority of the reviews were favorable, praising the plot, visual effects, Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar’s performances, the directing, the action scenes, and the social message of the movie. However, there was some criticism of the writing, music, and humor.
The production of 2.0 is expected to cost between 500 crore (US$63 million) and 570 crores (US$71 million). It was the costliest Indian movie at the time of its release and the second most expensive Indian movie overall.
Ponniyin Selvan: I PS-1 2022
Ponniyin Selvan: I (PS1) is an Indian historical action drama film directed by Mani Ratnam and stars Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha Krishnan, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prakash Raj and Jayaram. Ponniyin Selvan’s storyline spans years and features more than 50 people, with 15 of them playing major roles.
Several actors from the movie, including Vikram, Jayam Ravi, and Karthi, grew their hair long for their roles in the movie on the director Mani Ratnam’s instruction. According to reports, Karthi was involved in an accident while filming in Hyderabad, when he was brought up in the air while riding a horse, although he only suffered minor wounds.
It is the first of two film adaptations of Kalki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 novel Ponniyin Selvan, which was produced by Ratnam and Allirajah Subaskaran under the banners of Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions.
Initially planned to be a standalone movie, it was later divided into two parts. The movie was primarily filmed in India, with a few portions also taking place in Thailand. The soundtrack for the movie was created by A.R. Rahman, while Ravi Varman handled the movie’s filming, A. Sreekar Prasad handled the editing, and Thota Tharani handled the production design.
Ponniyin Selvan: I garnered great reviews from critics who commended the directing, cast performances, soundtrack, graphics, and fidelity to the book when it was released in theaters on September 30, 2022, in both conventional and IMAX formats.
Vikram Movie 2022
Lokesh Kanagaraj wrote and directed the action/thriller movie Vikram, which Raaj Kamal Films International produced. Anirudh Ravichander wrote the soundtrack for the movie. Girish Gangadharan handled the filming, and Philomin Raj edited it. The movie is the second entry in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe.
The movie is a spinoff to Kaithi 2019 and has a shared cinematic universe with the 1986 film of the same name. The film also includes a remixed version of the 1986 movie’s theme music. The story centers on a black-ops team lead by Agent Vikram (Kamal Haasan), who targets the Vetti Vagaiyara drug trafficking gang, which is run by Sandhanam and wants to deliver the missing drugs to his cold-blooded employer Rolex.
The narrative style, action scenes, technical aspects, and cast performances—especially those of Kamal Haasan, Fahadh Faasil, and Vijay Sethupathi—were praised by critics for Vikram. The movie went on to become the fourth-highest-grossing Tamil movie of all time and the highest-grossing Tamil movie of the year.
Bigil Movie 2019
On October 25, 2019, the day of the Diwali celebration, Bigil, a movie with a budget of 180 crore, was theatrically released in India. Bigil is a Tamil sports action movie that was written, produced, and directed by Atlee under the AGS Entertainment. The soundtrack for the movie was written by A.R. Rahman, while G.K. Vishnu handled the film’s cinematography and Ruben handled the editing.
Vijay’s performance, the film’s message, and the directing were all appreciated after its release. However, the film’s first half, which was lackluster and conventional, and its excessive length drew criticism.
Bigil became the highest-grossing Tamil movie of 2019 after earning between 285 and 300 crores at the box office. It also became Vijay’s highest-grossing movie of all time and one of the all-time highest-grossing Tamil movies.
On February 1, 2020, the movie’s 100-day theatrical run came to an end. It also received two honors from Zee Cine Awards Tamil, Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, three Edison Awards, and a SIIMA Award. To learn more about these award shows, read our article titled A Look into Kollywood’s Award Shows and Film Festivals.
Enthiran Movie 2010
Tamil science fiction action movie Enthiran was written and directed by S. Shankar. It is the initial release in the Enthiran series. Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are the movie’s main stars, with supporting performances by Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam, and Karunas. On October 1, 2010, Enthiran became available worldwide.
While Madhan Karky, R. Rathnavelu, Anthony, and Sabu Cyril handled the dialogue, cinematography, editing, and art direction, respectively, A.R. Rahman created the soundtrack album and the background score.
The plot centers on scientist K. Vaseegaran’s fight to maintain control of Chitti, an android humanoid robot whose software has been modified to enable it to understand and display human emotions. The research fails when Chitti falls in love with Vaseegaran’s girlfriend, Sana, and is coerced into killing people by rival scientist Bohra.
Principal photography on the movie started in 2008 and lasted two years after it had been stuck in the development stage for almost ten years. The movie served as the Legacy Effects studio’s Indian film debut. The company was in charge of the film’s prosthetic makeup and animatronics.
Sarkar Movie 2018
A Tamil political action movie that was written, produced, and directed by A.R. Murugadoss of Sun Pictures. Murugadoss and B. Jeyamohan wrote the dialogue together. In addition to Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Keerthy Suresh, and Vijay, the movie also has Yogi Babu, Radha Ravi, and Pala Karuppiah in supporting roles.
The story centers on Sundar Ramaswamy, an NRI from the US who travels to India to vote in the election but discovers that his vote has already been recorded as cast. In spite of numerous attempts on his life and reputation, Sundar educates the public about electoral fraud and decides to run as an independent candidate in the elections.
Sarkar’s main photography started in January 2018. Sarkar, which was Vijay’s 62nd film and was given the working title of Thalapathy 62, was their third time working together. Sun Pictures decided to make the movie at the beginning of December 2017.
The cinematography was handled by Girish Gangadharan, and the editor was A. Sreekar Prasad. A few sequences were filmed in Las Vegas in August. The shooting was finished by September 2018. Vivek wrote the lyrics for the soundtrack, which was created by A.R. Rahman.
Mersal Movie 2017
Mersal is a Tamil action-thriller movie that was written and co-directed by Atlee, V. Vijayendra Prasad, and S. Ramana Girivasan. Produced as Thenandal Studio Limited’s 100th production by N. Ramasamy, Hema Rukmani, and N. Murali.
While G.K. Vishnu handled the cinematography and Ruben handled the editing, A.R. Rahman wrote the background music and soundtrack album. Sathyaraj, Vadivelu, Nithya Menen, Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Hareesh Peradi play significant supporting parts, in addition to Vijay and SJ Suryah, who play the lead actors.
Mersal was made available globally on October 18, 2017. Critics praised the acting of Vijay and S. J. Suryah, the soundtrack by A.R. Rahman, the cinematography, the social message, and the direction of Atlee, but they criticized the formulaic plot and the film’s length. It has also received a number of honors.
Varisu Movie 2023
Varisu is a Tamil action drama movie from India that was written with Hari and Ashishor Solomon and directed by Vamshi Paidipally. Vijay and Rashmika Mandanna play the key roles in the movie. R Sarathkumar, Prabhu, Prakash Raj, Khushbu, and Yogi Babu make up the supporting cast.
The movie’s soundtrack was composed by Thaman S, the cinematography was done by Karthik Palani, and the editing was done by Praveen KL. It was produced by Dil Raju, Sirish, Sri Venkateswara Creations, and PVP Cinema.
Principal photography for the movie started in April 2022 and ended in December after it was announced in September 2021. With rare schedules in Visakhapatnam, Bellary, and Ladakh, the movie was filmed primarily in Chennai and Hyderabad.
Darbar Movie 2020
AR Murugadoss wrote and directed the action-thriller movie Darbar, which was produced by Allirajah Subaskaran under the Lyca Productions label. Anirudh Ravichander wrote the soundtrack, and Santosh Sivan and A Sreekar Prasad, respectively, handled the cinematography and editing.
The movie had its Indian theatrical debut on January 9, 2020, which also happened to be Thai Pongal. Despite receiving unfavorable reviews upon release, the movie brought in US$31 million crore at the box office.
In Darbar, Rajinikanth makes his first appearance in a police officer role in 27 years. His final police assignment was in 1992’s Pandiyan. It follows Aaditya Arunasalam (Rajinikanth), the Mumbai Police Commissioner, as he attempts to stop the city’s endemic drug trafficking and prostitution. But when he finds a more complicated scandal connected to a global drug lord, he tries to carry out his hidden agenda.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the films that have enjoyed success over time. Without a question, Kollywood has created films of the highest caliber that audiences continue to appreciate.