Gargi to Thiruchitrambalam and Vikram: Best of Tamil cinema in 2022

As 2022 comes to a close, we take a look at Tamil films that made an impact, went beyond entertaining audiences and managed to appeal to a large section of the viewers without always requiring the backing of a star. From Sai Pallavi’s Gargi to Dhanush’s Thiruchitrambalam and Kamal Haasan’s Vikram, here are the best Tamil films of the year in no particular order.

Gargi

Gautham Ramachandran’s Gargi, which features Sai Pallavi in one of the most affecting performances from a mainstream heroine in recent times, is a hard-hitting, unsettling drama about a daughter’s fight for justice. Gargi takes a societal standpoint to look at the aftermath a family has to suffer when one of its members is the prime accused in a rape case.

Thiruchitrambalam

In a year where every industry was obsessed with making pan-Indian films, Mithran Jawahar’s Thiruchitrambalam, a slice-of-life drama, came as a breath of fresh air. It’s a simple film with its heart at the right place. This Dhanush-starrer is a very familiar tale but one that works like a charm and leaves you grinning as you walk out of the theatre.

Nitham Oru Vaanam

Ashok Selvan’s Nitham Oru Vaanam, a coming-of-life travel drama, is a beautiful story about embracing life, its imperfections and hope. It’s a film that moves you in a lot of ways with its core theme of acceptance and touches all the right chords. The film, directed by Ra Karthik, may not have got the love it deserved in cinemas but it definitely goes down as one of the best films of the year.

Kadaisi Vivasayi

M Manikandan’s Kadaisi Vivasayi is a moving drama about farming as a dying occupation. Several Tamil films have been made over the years with farming as a backdrop, but they’ve all been unbearably preachy. Without ever talking about farming as a noble profession and why more people should take it up, the film successfully manages to convey its message loud and clear – to change our general perception about farming.

Witness

Filmmaker Deepak’s Witness is one of those stories that deserves to be celebrated purely for its intent. Here’s a film that talks about the lives of an entire community, discriminated by their caste, that earns its livelihood from cleaning the waste around us. This is also a film where we as a society are witness to all the horrors that take place in the name of sanitation and human scavenging but don’t do anything.

Saani Kaayidham

Arun Matheswaran’s sophomore film Saani Kaayidham is a straightforward revenge thriller in which a lady constable along with her step-brother from an oppressed caste go after the men from the dominant caste who not only raped her but also killed her family. But what really sets apart Arun’s film from a regular tale of revenge is in the way it treats violence with so much flair, almost making it a cathartic process that one doesn’t mind cherishing as a viewer.

Vikram

Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Vikram marks the glorious comeback of Kamal Haasan after a lull. A self-confessed Kamal Haasan fan, Lokesh pays heartfelt tribute to his guru but at the same time turns Vikram (a sequel of sorts to Haasan’s own 1986 film of the same name) into the beginning of a franchise, and one that’s probably going to keep Kamal active for a few more years.

Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidhargal

Vishal Venkat’s Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidhargal is a moving and hard-hitting hyperlink drama about human emotions. Featuring relatable characters and highly believable performances, it’s a story that discusses regret, remorse and realisation.

Kanam

Shree Karthick’s Kanam is a film filled with a good dose of 90s nostalgia and time travel. What really made Kanam interesting and refreshing is the fact that it’s a simple story of a mother and son bonding, but the time travel angle made all the difference. A heartwarming drama about second chances.

Ponniyin Selvan 1

Mani Ratnam achieves the unthinkable with his film adaptation of the Ponniyin Selvan classic novel which he presents with enough thrills, intrigue and drama to keep you pinned. The masterful writing makes up for the lack of more crowd-pleasing moments.

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