The A to Z of Kollywood!

As Chennai Times turns three, we compile a list of elements that are quintessentially Kollywood...
Amma sentiment. Yes, it’s been in K-town since time immemorial but how much it’s changed! Kollywood has grown up from the days of the old amma who has unbelievable pasam towards the family (well, we admit, she does exist in some films these days) and throw up interesting new-age yuppie moms who turn their son’s nest friend.
Box office.The BO rules. Period. Several Tamil films have received critical acclaim, which is well and good, but have not done well commercially. Vice versa, a lot of mass masala flicks (we love them, don’t we?) have been rubbished by reviewers but have done exceedingly well at the BO.
Chitti. The Robot. Specially Made. Loveable. Cheeky. Funny. Stylish. World saviour. Puthiya Manidhan. Superstar. One and only.
Dubbing spree. We totally love other language films! Which perhaps explains why we are glued to the telly and laugh our hearts out when actors like Will Smith say Karuputhan Enakku Pudicha Colour.
Evandi Unna Pettha.... Well well, this crazily-funny piece of lyric is still on the top of everybody’s minds. Tuned in typical Englipish-ishtyle, this song is sure to rank up there in the list of songs that evoke a smile in the listener.
Figure. Who said you need to wear skimpy clothes and strut around to be called a ‘figure’? Beautiful Jessie (Trisha in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa), dressed in traditional sarees, stole our hearts and had college students exclaiming ‘enna super figure pa ava’.
Gaana. Fast-paced numbers have always gone down well with filmi listeners, so much so that the second half of many movies term it as a ‘must-carry’ in Tamil flicks. Gaana songs, popularised by composer Deva, have been picked up by new-age musicians who have added new flavour to the gaana.
Hosanna.... This superhit Rahman-composed number struck a chord with several youngsters in Chennai, who tried aping the hero with their hands outstretched in a desperate bid to woo their Jessies.
Item numbers. Made popular by Bollywood. Promptly picked up by Kollywood. Beneficiaries include Neetu Chandra, Kasturi (remember Tamizh Padam?), Priyanka Kothari and numerous other actresses.
Jalsa. The art of having fun, propagated in good measure by the lead heroes (OK, boys) of Chennai 600028, is something that our Kollywood heroes indulge in quite liberally. Go on, jalsa pannunga!
Kamal Haasan. The Dasavatharam actor is back in his next avatar, this time around taking a viswaroopam in Selvaraghavan’s next.
Move. Kollywood loves it, thrives on it and never misses it. Love has had an inevitable place in our storylines and will continue to rock cinema.
okkai. ‘Mokkai’ films seemed to rule the roost last year. Venkat Prabhu’s trip to Goa, locked horns with the mokkai hero of Kollywood Shiva’s Tamizh Padam even as he drowned his success with Va-Quarter Cutting. Cowboys too embraced the mokkai factor in Irumbukkottai Murattu Singam.
Nanbenda. Friends, Thozha... move on! Here’s Nanban. No, sorry, it’s Nanbaen! Add a ‘da’ and you get the most popular catchline of 2010.
Oru Kal Oru Kannadi. All seems to be well with the much-awaited OKOK, the film that will mark Udayanidhi Stalin’s debut in tinsel town as an actor.
Paiyaa. Paiyaa and Bhaiyaa, the brother duo (Suriya and Karthi) made headlines last year by delivering two of the biggest successes- Singam and Paiyaa respectively.
ueue. In this era of e-ticketing, we really missed the long ‘queues’ in front of the theatres. But we did catch some of them in action, when Superstar’s Endhiran’s hit the screens.