Year ender 2021: 10 Small films that got big praise this year

The year 2021 was quite a good year for Tamil cinema when it came to small, offbeat films. Here are 10 films (plus five bonus ones) that were acclaimed by audiences.

Leena Manimekalai’s Maadathy was a deceptively simple yet devastating film on caste and gender discrimination that haunted us days after watching it. Capturing the plight of the socially ostracised Puthirai Vannar community, the director staged scenes in a matter-of-fact manner, like a documentary filmmaker, with the exquisite visuals making a strong counterpoint to the horror unfolding on screen.

While almost every filmmaker on this list is a debutant or relatively younger, director Vasanth showed that he can still match the new generation when it came to filmmaking with this superbly made, deeply affecting anthology, which had terrific performances from all its three female leads. Combining visuals and sound to devastating effect, we witnessed the filmmaker operating at the peak of his powers in this multiple award-winning movie.

Coming at the fag end of the year, Rocky turned out to be a tour de force, a gloriously violent and deeply sentimental film that was on par with some of the best European and Korean arthouse action films. Cinematographer Shreyaas Krishna wowed us with his visuals while Arun Matheswaran showed that he is a powerhouse filmmaker who belongs in the big league.

Debutant director Madonne Ashwin showed that he is a filmmaker to watch out for with this satirical drama that joins the rare list of films that actually showcased what a quality performer Yogi Babu is. The right mix of humour and drama even took the film to the last round of India's Oscar nomination process.

Director Franklin Jacob's debut effort is that kind of film which combined good filmmaking with solid writing and was an antidote to the cop-glorifying films we usually get in Tamil cinema. Anchored by Samuthirakani's terrific performance, the film is the latest proof of how influential Pa Ranjith is in the industry.

Nishanth Kalidindi's Kadaseela Biriyani unfolded like a Lijo Jose Pellissery-meets-Guy Ritchie movie, and was full of cinematic vigour. The film unfolded like a thriller with a darkly comic vibe and was filled with colourful characters.

Aelay was like a journey that leaves you with a smile even if the ride was sort of bumpy for some parts. There is genuine warmth in Halitha Shameem's storytelling and Samuthirakani and Manikandan ensure that we root for their characters.

Directed by Mani Ratnam's assistant Kiran R, this indie with ambition managed to punch above its weight. This minimalist thriller kept us guessing about where the narrative will go next. till the very end, and showed that one can make a quality work with a shoestring budget and just a handful of crew members.

Mughizh is that rare film that conveys a message without really making a hue and cry about it. Yes, it is a curio, it exists somewhere between a feature film and a short film, but Karthik Swaminathan mad this film's world feel so lived-in, and the characters so endearing that our major complaint is that the film runs for just an hour!

Backed by solid writing, which uses spare dialogues, Oomai Sennaai gets us hooked into its narrative gradually. Directed by Arjunan Ekalaivan, a protege of Mysskin (whose influence is certainly visible here), this little indie rose above its modest budget and stayed intriguing and impressive most of the time.

These six movies were the ones that almost made the list — the genre-defying Vaazhl, from Aruvi director Arun Prabhu Purushothaman, Blue Sattai Elamaran's sharp political satire Anti Indian, the tragic melodrama Thaen, by Ganesh Vinayakan, the feel-good Kamali From Nadukkaveri by Rajasekar Duraisamy, Vetri Duraisamy's bittersweet melodrama Endravathu Oru Naal, and Samuthirakani's fable-like Vinodhaya Sitham. While these films received acclaim, but they stopped short of being really good and people could not embrace them wholeheartedly. Nevertheless, their intention to stay off the beaten track places them on this list.