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Fortnight of flops on Tamil screen
By Aparna Nath, Indo-Asian News Service 

Chennai, Feb 19 (IANS) There was a spate of releases in February to coincide with Valentine's Day, but not a single film - except of course "Dishyum" - did well at the box office. It is indeed a bad time for the Tamil film industry. 

Here's a look at the top five:

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1. "Dishyum" (Dir. Sasi): This love story between a stuntman in films and a sculptor has appealed to the young audience. What worked for the film are the novelty in the story and treatment, and good acting by Jeeva and Sandhya. 

2. "Paramasivan" (Dir. P. Vasu): Because "Paramasivan" is a hit, there is a lot of excitement in the market about Ajith's next release "Godfather", a film everybody thought was dead! "Godfather" has Asin, the most happening actress of today.

3. "Idhaya Thirudan" (Dir. Saran): This romantic action film from K. Balachander's banner Kavithalaya has Jeyam Ravi and Kamna Jethmalani in the lead role. But what Saran has served is old wine in old bottle and no wonder the film flopped. Bad time for Jeyam Ravi!

4. "Sandakozhi" (Dir. Lingusamy): Films that came after "Sandakozhi" have disappeared but it is still doing good business. 

5. "Kodambakkam" (Dir. Jagganji): Everybody expected this film with unknown faces to disappear the way it appeared but the novelty in the story - about the film industry - has made it an average success.
 

Five Tamil films woo a romantic audience
By Chitra Prakash, Indo-Asian News Service

Chennai, Feb 20 (IANS) Of the dozen new Tamil films released this month, almost half are romantic offerings in keeping with the spirit of Valentine's Day, which fell Feb 14.

The five films that capture the flavour of romance are "Dishyum", "Idhaya Thirudan", "Amritham", "Poi", and "Kalaba Kadhalan".

"Dishyum" (Tamilised 'dishoom' - the sound of a blow connecting) is about a boxing bout between two hearts. The title also refers to the fact that the hero (Jeeva) is a boorish stuntman who hits it off with a well-educated heroine (Sandhya).

"Idhaya Thirudan" is also about opposites - actors Jayam Ravi and Kamna Jethmalani attracting each other. The heroine is a granddaughter of eminent lawyer and politician Ram Jethmalani.

"Amritham" is about an orthodox Brahmin girl - Navya Nair of "Azhagiya Theeye" fame - being transformed into a modern empowered eve by hero Ganesh. 

The message of "Poi" (lie), say the advertisements, is that "love is a sweet lie". The film, which represents a comeback bid by pioneering director K. Balachander, has Uday Kiran and former beauty queen Vimala in the lead.

"Kalaba Kadhalan" is about a computer engineer (Arya), representing today's urban youth in IT-savvy Tamil Nadu, and his girl (Renuka Menon).

"Kalvanin Kadhali", which borrows the title of an old film featuring Shivaji Ganesan and Bhanumathi and is based on a popular novel by 'Kalki' Krishnamurthy, is a borderline case.

The film, starring S.J. Suryah and Nayantara, is more a torrid affair than a tender romance. Its original title - "36-28-36" - suggests the character of its content.

Violent action dominates the rest of February's fare for Tamil film audiences. Two of the films - "Chithiram Pesudhadi" and "Madrasi" - depict the underworld. 

The month's releases include two movies with unusual themes - "Kodambakkam" about the Tamil tinsel-town, and the curiously titled "June R" about three women in a strange relationship.