Year-ender 2021: Five films outside Kollywood that won the hearts of Tamil audience

The Telugu action drama ‘Pushpa – The Rise’, which released recently, garnered a lot of hype for its star cast, which included Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil. The fact that this being Fahadh Faasil’s debut flick in Telugu also generated a lot of interest among Tamil movie-goers who’re his fans. Not to mention, Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna, too, have a lot of fans in the state. Topping it all off was Samantha’s cameo appearance in the song, ‘Oo Antava’, in which she lit up the screen with her dance moves next to Allu Arjun.

Rohit Shetty-Akshay Kumar cop action film ‘Sooryavanshi’ made a smashing hit in the box office. Just as the movie buffs across the country, it grabbed the attention of Tamil audience as well. Being a Rohit Shetty film, it genuinely multiplied movie-goers’ expectations of watching some high-octane scenes in it. And the fact the film is fronted by Akshay Kumar, one of the most successful action heroes in the industry, further piqued the interest of movie buffs, including those from this part of the country.

Even before it hit the screens, it generated a lot of curiosity among cinema lovers as the film is based on the life of one of the most-wanted criminals in the country. And that not only got the attention of people in Kerala, but outside as well. Also, the fact that Dulquer being a familiar face in Kollywood, too, got the Tamil audience wanting to watch the film. They brimmed with curiosity as they eagerly awaited to watch how well Dulquer, who has always swooned Tamil audience with his boy next door charm, would pull off the character of a criminal. And for sure, he didn’t disappoint his Tamil fans.

A convincing portrayal of a corrupt system is what Malayalam film ‘Nayattu’, starring Joju George, Kunchako Boban and Nimisha Sjayan, is all about. And it wasn’t surprising that it didn’t fail to get noticed by the Tamil audience, who always appreciate solid storyline and convincing performances. And all the three leading actors in the film, especially Nimisha Sajayan, fresh from the success of her previous outing, 'The Great Indian Kitchen', which gained a lot of prominence, upped the audience’s interest to watch the film.

Romantic films are always loved by audiences and ‘Uppena’, which stars Vaishnav Tej and Krithi Shetty, is one such film that also has the right combination of innocence and humour. And that seemed to have won the hearts of Tamil audience as well. While other factors, like solid supporting cast, brilliant crew and tactical promotion of the film, are said to have played a big role in the success of the film, one important thing that is believed to have tantalised movie buffs outside the Telugu film industry is Devi Sri Prasad’s music.