The gritty elements that elevated the 1998 thriller Satya to dizzying heights as the pioneer gangster movie that influenced numerous such movies worked well for its time. Perhaps it is the understated screenplay written by Anurag Kashyap and Saurabh Shukla and masterful direction by RGV himself.

Pandianadu opens with the death of Madurai’s kingpin which stems a tension between his trusted aides, Raja and Ravi, over who’s the ideal successor to the throne. The ruthlessness of these extortionists would come to directly affect an ordinary household.  What happens then, is the story.

Nugam is about two educated young men who land up in Chennai with destructive motives. They are contracted by foreign Nationals to bring down the Indian economy (!!!) by carrying out acts of terrorism such as mass bombings and a high-profile assassination, in Chennai.

At a time of torrential overdose of promotions for films where ‘promote or peril’ is the mantra, here is Mysskin’s Onaayum Aattukuttiyum (OA) that arrives without much fanfare.  In a way, this move itself seems to reflect the persona of the director who prefers to always tread the path less trodden.

After impressing audiences as the simple and sweet guy next door, Siva Karthikeyan is back with yet another uncomplicated tale of comedy and rural romance in Ponram’s Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam (VVS). The presence of Sathyaraj is a major push to the movie while Siva’s regular partner-in-crime Soori is present here too.

Idharkuthane Aasapattai Balakumara (IAB) portrays the love stories of two attention-grabbing characters, whose individualities and backgrounds are at two extremes, but ultimately get to meet each other due to a few mistakes that come out as a cool message to the audience.

Director Atlee’s debut movie Raja Rani reiterates that ‘there is love after love failure’ and importantly ‘there is life after love failure’. It begins with a lovely Christian wedding between John and Regina (Arya and Nayanthara) where the two marry against their wishes just to appease their near and dear ones.