‘Thalapathi’ to ‘Nanban’: Must watch films on Friendship Day

“A friend in need is a friend indeed” is a popular proverb. However, it’s almost impossible to lead a life without the presence of a friend, the one who truly loves you irrespective of your shortcomings. Like any other film industry, Tamil cinema has explored the friendship theme in its stories to the fullest. As the world celebrates Friendship Day today, we give you the best Tamil films that truly captured the spirit of friendship.

Following the monstrous success of ‘Nayakan’, Rajinikanth reportedly wanted to work with Mani Ratnam. The duo worked together in ‘Thalapathi’, a fictitious take on the friendship between Duryodhana and Karna from the Mahabharata, with Mammootty and Rajinikanth essaying Deva and Surya respectively. ‘Thalapathi’ is often cited as one of Rajinikanth’s best performances in his career. In fact, ‘Thalapathi’ itself is widely popular for its theme on friendship. There’s a scene where Rajinikanth says, “Nee en nanban.” The dialogue became a pop-culture reference. Upon its release in 1991, ‘Thalapathi’ opened to rave reviews and was a blockbuster hit at the box office. The scenes featuring Rajinikanth and Mammootty were the major highlight, which eventually became a phenomenon. The success of ‘Thalapathi’, made it a trendsetter for several filmmakers who followed in its lead.

Directed by Kathir, ‘Kadhal Desam’ tells the story of two friends Arun (Abbas) and Karthik (Vineeth), who belong to two rival colleges. After becoming closest buddies, the two turn into foes after falling in love with the same woman Divya (Tabu). The film opened in August 1996 to positive reviews from critics and became a super-hit at the box office. Upon its release, the chartbusting album of ‘Kadhal Desam’, composed by AR Rahman became hugely popular among youngsters. In fact, the line “Muzhugatha ship ae friendship dhan” became a youth anthem of sorts. On Friendship Day, ‘Kadhal Desam’ is one film that has to be there on your watchlist.

At a time when friendship was mostly about the male narrative, ace filmmaker Priyadarshan came up with an all-female mystery-thriller ‘Snegithiye’, which remains to be one of the underrated works of the director. Starring Jyothika, Sharbani Mukherjee and Tabu in lead roles, ‘Snegithiye’ mostly featured female characters throughout the film. Though the first half of the film focus on the bond between Jyothika and Sharbani, the film takes a drastic change in the second half and becomes a murder-mystery thriller. Despite positive reviews from critics, ‘Snegithiye’ ended up being an average grosser at the box office. The film is still known for its beautiful songs composed by Vidyasagar.

The film marked the coming together of two big names in the Tamil film industry - Vijay and Suriya, who once again teamed up following the commercial success of the family-drama ‘Nerukku Ner’, directed by Vasanth. Even after all these years, ‘Friends’ is popular for its hilarious comedy track featuring Vadivelu, Vijay and Suriya. In fact, the film is often touted to be one of the best comedies in Kollywood. ‘Friends’ tells the story about two close buddies Aravinda and Chandru, played by Vijay and Suriya respectively. The film, which released in 2001, opened to highly positive reviews and completed a 175-day run at the box office. In the film, Vijay plays a mischievous and equally possessive youngster Aravindan, who gets emotionally attached to his friend Chandru (Suriya).

Directed by cinematographer-turned-director Jeeva, ‘Ullam Ketkumae’ is about college romance and tells the story of a reunion of five friends who were together at college and explores their relationships through the years. Starring youngster Shyam, Arya, Asin and Pooja in lead roles, ‘Ullam Ketkumae’ was highly appreciated for its plot. On the other hand, Jeeva received praise for handling a mature subject without making it melodramatic. The film released after several delays in 2005 and went on to win critical and commercial success. ‘Ullam Ketkumae’ remains to be one of the best films that explored the friendship theme.

Inarguably, one of the finest films based on cricket in Indian cinema. ‘Chennai 600028’ is the story you might find in almost every street in India. Bringing gully cricket to the big screen, director Venkat Prabhu was responsible for making it one of the best sports dramas of all time. ‘Chennai 28’ is about the story of rival street cricket teams -- Sharks and RA Puram Rockers, who battle it out for supremacy. Through this, we get to see friendship, romance and betrayal in a tactful fashion. Despite being a sports film, ‘Chennai 28’ is known for the way it perfectly handles the friendship theme. The film received a terrific response when it released in 2008 and became a blockbuster. Over the years, ‘Chennai 28’ has earned a cult status in Tamil cinema. The film's sequel, however, failed to recreate the magic of the original.

Nadodigal, this Samuthirakani directorial became a runaway hit at the box office when it released in 2009. Set in Madurai, it follows the story of three friends Karunakaran, Chandran and Paandi, who help out a friend, who eloped with his girlfriend hailing from a wealthy family. What happens to these characters forms the crux of ‘Nadodigal’. Upon its release, the film opened to rave reviews and became a blockbuster success at the box office. In fact, the film was even remade into several languages. Now, the makers are once again coming together for the sequel ‘Nadodigal 2’, which is likely to release this year.

Following the stupendous success of ‘3 Idiots’ in Bollywood, Shankar and Vijay collaborated for the first time in the Tamil remake ‘Nanban’, which became very successful at the box office. Though many felt that the Hindi version was better, Vijay still received praise for his performance in the lead role. Like ‘3 idiots’, the Tamil version too centres around three boys Paari, Senthil and Venkat, who befriend each other during their college days. After years, Senthil and Venkat reunite to find out about their missing friend Paari. Made on a big budget, ‘Nanban’ opened to positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. The film was even appreciated by Kamal Haasan.