It's never a bad time for the film industry – there are only good and better times every year and 2006 is no exception.

Today is the last day of the year 2006 and this is a good time for us to look back on Kollywood's finest (and some not so fine!) offerings



The year started off with a bang and some cool top stars – Suriya in Aaru (released in December 2005 itself, but the steam caught on in the beginning of 2006) and Madhavan in Thambi.

Aaru came after Suriya's superhit Ghajini, a movie based on the concept-wise-brilliant Hollywood film, The Memento. Aaru was a typical Hari film – action, masala, great songs, an electric hero-heroine pair

Aaru was not a blockbuster hit, with the director getting much flak for "too much violence", but that didn't stop Suriya, Trisha and Hari fans from flocking to the theatres to watch the film.

Good-over-evil and idealism – the 2 main ingredients in the Madhavan-starrer Thambi. Playing the main character of Thambi, Madhavan brought forth on the screens a new intensity and image previously only seen in Aayitha Ezhuthu (but there, Inba was a baddie). This was Madhavan's image change yet again, after Priyasakhi


Thambi was a CeeiTV production that took over a year in the making and paired Madhavan for the 2nd time with pretty actress Pooja, but despite the delay in release, this message-filled flick ran in theatres for over 100 days!

There were quite a few top names that started 2006 off with their January and February releases, including Ajith in Paramasivan and Vijay in Aathi.

"Thalai" Ajith lost pounds, became "cool" and glamorous and set his own precedent for his next upcoming release, just a couple of months away…

Vijay's Aathi, a lot of people said, was the 2006 version of Ghilli, Madurey, Thirupachi, etc. But that didn't reduce his fan-frenzy any, as they went en masse to the theatres across the state to watch the film. And the Vijay-Trisha combo has always been commented as the best lead pairing!





Speaking of Vijay, there burst forth on screens a young lad who is now touted to be the next Vijay – Vishal, after his surprise hit Chellamey.

Vishal's 2006 began with Sanda Kozhi, produced by home production GK Films Corporation and his brother Vikram Krishna (an actor himself). Sanda Kozhi was such a smash hit that it is still running in theatres and only last month, celebrated it's 200th day of screening!

2006 continued without any blockbusters, but a refreshing series of small-budget and "new-face" films that went down very well with the Tamil audience.

Chittirem Pesuthadi is one such film. Directed by Mysskin, the film saw pretty actress Bhavana and new face Narain in very interesting roles and after a long time, here was a film that was both a critics' and box-office success.

Chittirem Pesuthadi was even screened at various film festivals.

A mention here MUST be made of Pasa Kiligal, with dialogues written by none other than the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, a Tamil scholar and no stranger to the Tamil film industry himself. In fact, 2006 saw a rebirth of sorts for the industry, with the pro-films CM announcing various schemes and sops to uplift the Tamil language and culture in films.

Along came various other films, super with big names and some rising stars. Young and dynamic Vishnuvardhan's film Pattiyyal hit the screens in his customary gritty, down-to-earth manner.

The film starred poster-boy Arya and young Bharath who was proving to be an actor to be reckoned with. With great music by Yuvan Shankar Raja, Pattiyyal may not have created box-office history, but did very well.

Ajith's Thirupathi saw "Thalai" in a new, slim look with Sada. Selvaraghavan's Pudhupettai starring Dhanush, Sonia Agarwal and Sneha was the industry's first D-cinema film (digital cinema conforming to top world standards) – not a box-office hit, but commented as showcasing Dhanush's best work in his short career.



The year continued with some really good movies with young stars – Dishyum with Jeeva and Sandya, Thiruttu Payale with Jeevan, Malavika and Sonia Agarwal (a different and interesting film), Uyir with actress Sandhya, Thalainagaram with director Sundar C. turning actor and Jayam Ravi- and Trisha-starrer Unakkum Unakkum Something Something (a youthful and sweet love story after an array of gangster and action films).

Director Shankar turned producer with S Pictures and their hilarious entertainer Imsai Arasan 23raam Pulikesi. Their 2nd film for the year was the recently released Veyil, starring Bharath and Pasupathy.

Vishal was back with GK Film's next venture, Thimiru – another hit; and people sat up and noticed this superstar-in-the-making, Vishal. In Thimiru, Shriya Reddy pulled off her cool new look as "villi".

Gautham Menon had begun shooting for his next film, Vettaiyaadu Viliayaadu in January 2006. After Kaaka Kaaka, Gautham had a lull of a year in 2005 but despite the run of bad luck Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu seemed to be having (production problems, schedule delays, etc.), shooting went full swing in 2006. All eyes were on this young director's work with one of the finest actors of all time – Kamal Haasan. Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu released, was criticised, watched again… and again and again. The film went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2006 – Kamal Haasan, Jyotika, Gautham's slick direction and superb music by Harris Jayaraj.

The Suriya-Jyotika romance (on-and off-screen) was reaching a crescendo and world was waiting for their Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, a home production under the banner of Studio Green. Sillunu Oru Kaadhal released with mixed reactions – disappointing to some, cool and refreshing to others. A.R. Rahman's music worked its magic on everyone and the soundtrack was a hit.

Bharath just seemed to get luckier with his next film Em-Magan, co-starring Gopika. This film was another hit for Bharath.

The next film-filled festival was fast approaching – Deepavali. And 2006 saw 7 releases, 5 of them with big names, all on the same day (actually, 9 were scheduled, but 2 delayed)!

Thalaimagan – Super Hero Sarath Kumar's directorial venture was a masala entertainer with a message. While not breaking any box-office records, this Radaan Mediaworks' production was a laudable debut attempt by the charismatic Sarath Kumar.

Sri Raj Lakshmi Films' P.L. Thenappan released his 2006 offering Valavaan, directed by Silambarasan proved to be quite a controversial film in 2006 – there was much talk of the film being based on Simbu's love-life, too graphic, etc. but all this only drove people to the theatres in curiosity. Yuvan's music proved to be a hit again with Valavaan's soundtrack.

Varalaaru – the 3rd Ajith film of the year, with the gorgeous Asin who was fast reaching the #1 actress position. Directed by K.S. Ravikumar and music by A.R. Rahman, this movie, which was delayed by a few months, proved to be a hit – another one for Asin!

After Raam, Jeevaa was proving himself to be a skilled actor and not just a celebrity producer's lucky son. After Dishyum, Jeevaa played a superb lead role in E – one with many shades of grey, proving that one didn't have to be a pristine hero to be acclaimed.

There were many other films also, which were not as notable as the above-mentioned ones, but definitely left their mark on the industry – Aaran, Dharmapuri, Marandhen Meimarandhen, Chennai Kaadhal and many more.

The 2 notable films released just recently, but worth watching more than once were Rendu (now, Erandu) starring Madhavan, Reema Sen and Anushka Shetty and Sivapathikaaram starring Vishal (his 3rd for this year), Raghuvaran and newcomer Mamta.

Erandu, a feel-good entertainer, is an Avni Cinemax production under the direction of Khushbu's husband Sundar C. and Sivapathikaaram, a beautifully shot film, is the maiden venture of M.R. Mohan Ratha and B.S. Radhakrishnan's Screenplay Entertainment



Galatta.com remained and remains ever a part of the industry and we were the online media partners and web developers for many of the films mentioned above. With thanks and continued regard for the support from the industry, we know we will only go higher in 2007!

Thus ends 2006, and people are already waiting to hit the theatres to see the numerous Pongal movies soon after their New Year revelry.

Stay tuned to Galatta.com for our piece on films to watch out for in early 2007!



Meanwhile, check out these great links:

Check out how all the above movies did - Movie reviews on Galatta.com

Check out some great picture galleries of the above movies – Movie Gallery on Galatta.com

Interviews with the stars and filmmakers of the above movies – Interviews on Galatta.com

Events that showcased the films of 2006 – Event Coverage on Galatta.com

Superb official websites of the biggest hits of 2006 and their stars:

www.aaruthefilm.com, www.sandakozhi.com, www.thirupathithefilm.com, www.dishyum.com, www.thimirumovie.com, www.vettaiyaadu.com, www.thalaimagan.com, www.ethemovie.com, www.valavaan.com, www.aaranathemovie.com, www.renduthefilm.com, www.rmadhavan.com, www.rskworld.com, www.rssurya.com, www.jyotikaonline.com, www.jeevaonline.com, www.asinonline.com, www.actorvishal.com, www.actresspooja.com, www.actorarya.com, www.gauthammenon.com, www.harrisjayaraj.com

Other official sites - Galatta.com official movie sites and official celebrity sites

Super music of 2006 on music.galatta.com