Songs have played a huge role in Tamil films for eons. In a way it is the heart and soul of the film that transports the audience to a another dimension out of the film world just for a while to keep things lively. At the same time, songs have also hindered the pace of the movie and have acted as deviations in certain movies. But there are some films that throw this concept out the window since addition of songs will disrupt the flow of the film and will ruin the viewing experience. These are movies that, unlike commercial movies, are very screenplay focused with the goal being moving the story forward. Therefore they steered clear in order to justice to the film. Let us look at some of such films that made a strong decision to exclude them (in no particular order of importance):

1) THUPPARIVAALAN:

This movie where you have a detective tracing clues and following an investigation would not have worked if songs came into play. It would not have even made any sense because what would the songs even try to convey? Therefore it was a smart move to leave them out.

2) MERCURY:

This horror thriller had kept us in the edge of our seats with its horror elements and addition of songs would have only relaxed us and slowed down our racing hearts -- which is not at all the goal of a horror-thriller movie.

3) KURUTHI PUNAL:

Inclusion of songs to this cat-and-mouse chase of a cop who is after a terrorist would have dragged the audience out of the film by their hair, so it was a smart decision to avoid them.

4) PAYANAM:

How would you feel if you are stuck in a hijack and suddenly the people around you start dancing? Odd, right? That would exactly how this movie would have felt if they had added songs to it. The screenplay is so thrilling that it creates curiosity of what next and hence the director avoided songs to keep the momentum of the film going.

5) ONAAYUM AATTUKUTTIYUM:

This intense thriller that takes place over a night does not have any time nor space to squeeze any songs into it.

6) UNNAIPOL ORUVAN:

A man on a rooftop terrorizing the city and a cop who is after him -- what would the songs even be about? The right choice was to ditch them and stick to the screenplay and we are thankful that they did.

7) VISARANAI:

A movie showing us the grotesque and harsh reality that prisoners have to go through would have been devastatingly awful if its raw and powerful screenplay were tampered with by including songs.

8) KAITHI:

This intense thriller had to focus on its character development since the film is carried by a single actor and addition of songs of any kind would have been a total waste of time -- time which they could have rather spent on working on the character.

9) ANDHA NAAL:

Andha Naal became the first Tamil film that did not have any songs or dance sequences simply because of the reason that the film's director, S. Balachander, did not want any.

10) VEEDU:

This slow-paced film did not demand any song by the director in the film's screenplay and therefore did not have any. The film went on to be a big hit anyway.

11) AARANYA KAANDAM:

Thiagarajan Kumararaja's gangster movie consisting of realistic portrayal, no-nonsense treatment, outstanding performances, sharp dialogues, slick editing, excellent camera work and engaging soundtrack did not need any songs to uplift an already uplifted movie.

12) SUPER DELUXE:

Just like Kumararaja's previous film, Aaranya Kaandam, which had no songs, he decided not to go with any in this venture as well and decided to invest and put in more time into the film's narrative which ended up really well. The film got a soundtrack album instead -- a mix of retro style, jazz and contemporary classical music.

13) KUTTRAME THANDANAI:

This neo-noir psychological thriller did not require any songs to keep its screenplay intact.

14) NADUNISI NAAYGAL:

This psycho thriller would have taken the essence of the film straight out had here been any songs. The experimental decision from Gautham Vasudev Menon proved to be an interesting one.

15) SHOCK:

The horror element was maintained throughout the film and therefore does not have nor need any songs in the middle.

16) BLOOD MONEY:

Being a crisp OTT watch, Blood Money was an investigative drama that dealt with a serious theme and adding any songs to it wasn't a necessary thing.