scorecardresearch
Add as a preferred source on Google
Saturday, August 22, 2026

Support our Journalism

9th Anniversary: Free Tote & Mug

Subscribe
TopicTamil cinema

Topic: Tamil cinema

GV Prakash is a triple threat—actor, singer, composer. AR Rahman is his uncle and guru

GV Prakash started his career in 1993, at the age of six, in his uncle AR Rahman's Chikku Bukku Rayile. In 2026, he won his third National Award for Best Music Direction.

Jana Nayagan is in theatres now. Fans queued overnight for Vijay’s last film

Directed by H Vinoth, the political action drama arrives in cinemas following censorship hurdles and a six-month-long wait.

K Bhagyaraj, the Tamil screenwriter who wrote the rules that others still follow

From Woh Saat Din to Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, K Bhagyaraj's stories travelled across languages long before pan-India cinema had a name for it.

Jana Nayagan finally gets release date? Vijay fans say advance bookings are now open

Eagle-eyed fans spotted Jana Nayagan listings on BookMyShow and District by Zomato, sparking a massive social media frenzy over its release date.

K Balachander’s North-South love story changed the Bollywood hero

More than three decades before Hindi film audiences warmed up to Baahubali and Pushpa, Kamal Haasan showed them that that the ‘Madrasi’ man could be the hero in Ek Duuje Ke Liye.

MG Ramachandran redefined the relationship between cinema, people, and politics

MGR’s charitable donations and generosity percolated through generations, with many remembering even his decision to become Tamil Nadu CM as an act of ‘large-heartedness’.

Are Tamil films lazy or nostalgic? Retro hits from Kaithi to GBU wearing thin

Old hits have long featured in Tamil films, usually to evoke a certain era. But in the last four or five years, these blasts from the past often arrive without rhyme or reason.

MN Nambiar, Tamil cinema’s most convincing villain wielded swords with MGR, worshipped Ayyappa

MN Nambiar acted in more than 1,000 films, often cast as the archnemesis of MGR with iconic fight sequences. A trained martial artist, Nambiar used real swords in these scenes.

Silk Smitha challenged South Indian orthodoxy. For that, she was reduced to a sex symbol

Silk Smitha worked in more than 450 films, with the likes of Kamal Haasan, and Sridevi. But even today, she's only treated as an actor to objectify.

Ghilli to Vallavan—Tamil Nadu’s Gen Z watch old movies in theatres. It’s a dance party

Theatres in Chennai engaged with cinema lovers by fulfilling their demands to repeat the songs and even muting the music at times, allowing the crowd to shout out the lyrics.

On Camera

The hidden cost of compassion: women trapped in caregiver fatigue

From chronic stress to systemic debt, rigid social expectations force women into becoming sole, uncompensated family caregivers.

Indian govt bets on battery storage boom to help abate mounting solar power losses

India’s transmission system failed to absorb more than 8 billion kilowatt-hours of power in April to June, when 63 billion actually reached the system.

India, Japan look at joint naval shipbuilding, technology transfer with pact to deepen defence ties

Maritime security agreement opens avenues for joint development of naval ships and design, greater use of Indian shipbuilding and repair facilities by Japan.

Munir’s latest power grab is proof of his paranoia. Dictatorship and delusion go together

At some point Pakistani dictators begin to show paranoia. That’s the strategic reality most relevant to India since the late fifties. Munir’s case is worse, like some sudden acrophobia.