90 ML, Mersal show adult comedies and political entertainers are currently Tamil cinema's go-to genres

Tamil film producers always make series of films based on the tastes of the audiences and call it the success formula. A few years back, lighthearted comedy entertainers and horror comedies were the most sought after genres in Tamil cinema, but audiences eventually lost interest in those films, so the producers also stopped making such films regularly. The success formula in Tamil cinema or any other film industry keeps changing with ongoing trends. Therefore, producers and filmmakers have to constantly adapt to the ever-changing tastes of the audiences. [caption id=“attachment_4205565” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Vijay in a still from Mersal/Adhirindhi[/caption] Recently, Tamil filmmakers and producers have started exploring adult comedies and political entertainers. Even in a spoof film like Tamizh Padam 2, the film’s director CS Amudhan placed several scenes mocking the current political situation in Tamil Nadu. Actor Vijay, one of the leading stars in Tamil cinema, often conveys his political ideologies through his films, which work big time for him at the box office. The actor’s recent two blockbusters — Mersal and Sarkar  were huge hits. The former criticised the central government while the latter brutally denounced the ruling AIADMK government . The trailer and teaser of several Tamil films have at least one punchline about the flaws in the political system. At present, Kamal Haasan who just celebrated the first-year anniversary of his political party Makkal Needhi Maiam has chosen Indian 2 as his last film before becoming a full-fledged politician. Suriya is gearing up for the release of his next biggie NGK , a political drama directed by maverick filmmaker Selvaraghavan. Recently, radio jockey-turned-comedy actor RJ Balaji played the protagonist in LKG which was also written by him. Sakthivelan, the Tamil Nadu distributor of LKG said: “I got back the investment of LKG in just two days. The film has become a blockbuster already at the box office. We released the film in nearly 310 screens which is at par with big hero films”. The opening weekend number of LKG has stunned the entire Tamil film industry. Even the big stars who have been in Tamil cinema for over a decade are yet to earn such an opening in Tamil Nadu. Trade sources say that as of now, LKG has grossed more than 12 crore rupees at the Tamil Nadu box office. Tamil heroes like Vishal, Karthi, and many others also talk about the various issues pertaining to farmers in the state which also helps them in attracting more audiences to theaters. On the other side, producers are also showing a lot of interest in making adult comedies. Gautham Karthik, who struggled to score a hit at the box office, delivered back to back profitable ventures in Iruttu Araiyil Murattu Kuthu and Hara Hara Mahadevaki. Post these two films, the actor’s last release Mr. Chandramouli was a box office dud. Oviya’s female-centric adult drama 90 ML , which released on 1 March, fetched an excellent opening in Chennai city mainly because of the trailer and sneak-peeks which were filled with adult content and double meaning dialogues. [caption id=“attachment_6178381” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A still from 90 ML.[/caption] When asked about this new trend, a spokesperson for Ram Cinemas, one of the leading theaters in Tirunelveli, said: “Yes, these sneak-peeks and trailers with adult content and catchy political punchlines pave the way for a good opening at the box office. Following the success of a few political entertainers and adult comedies, many Tamil films followed the same route. However, they failed to stay true to the genre and were hence, rejected by the audiences”. “At the end of the day, content is the king. The tastes of the audiences keep changing so it’s better to believe in your content and make it stronger, rather than running behind a formula,” the theatre owner added.