Are romantic and feel-good movies the recent success mantra in South cinema? Well, facts indeed say so. In every phase, we have seen different genres of films working wonders at the box office and now, the feel-good/breezy/romantic/family dramas seem to be the most consumed ones. Leaving out the mega biggies that have star attractions and larger than life protagonist characters like KGF 2, RRR, Pushpa, Vikram, the other genre that has tasted success is the little sweet ones that explore the human emotions.
It started off at the beginning of this year with Vineeth Sreenivasan's Hridayam which made everyone fall in love with the characters instantly. The film, starring Pranav Mohanlal, Kalyani Priyadarshan, and Darshana Rajendran in the lead roles, was a beautifully written slice-of-life drama that became a box office hit despite releasing during the third wave of Covid 19. Eventually, it was the time for the pan Indian mega biggies to take control of the box office and from February to June, it was raining star-driven films.
The next film after Hridayam that touched the hearts of the people was the Nani - Nazriya starrer Ante Sundaraniki. The audience fell in love with the beautiful chemistry between the lead pair and it turned out to be even more popular after its digital release on Netflix. The comedies and romantic portions were beautifully worked out by director Vivek Athreya, making sure the film connected with the masses.
The third film on the list is Dulquer Salmaan's Sita Ramam which took one and all by huge surprise. Sita Ramam had a low-key release in Tamil Nadu with limited screens, but it had an organic growth in increase of screens and occupancy following the highly positive word of mouth. This poetic love story touched the hearts of the people and it indeed made a lot of people shed tears in the theatres. Such was the impact of the film. Sita Ramam was one of those films that proved that old-school romance films can still work if presented neatly with solid emotions.
Last but definitely not the least, Dhanush starrer Thiruchitrambalam. The youngsters were able to relate themselves to the characters of Thiruchitrambalam and many of them yearned to have a friend like Shobana, played brilliantly by Nithya Menen. The fun-filled vibe between Dhanush and Nithya Menen, complemented by the performance of Prakash Raj, one-line counters of Bharathiraja, and great music by Anirudh, made sure Thiruchitrambalam became a raging hit at the box office. The shows and screen count increased tremendously after the initial response and it eventually became the next big hit of Tamil cinema this year after Vikram.
Not often do we see a feel-good, slice-of-life drama raking money at the box office, but Thiruchitrambalam was one of those rarest films that entered the 100 crore club in data-style.
The success of these four feel good movies - Hridayam, Ante Sundaraniki, Sita Ramam, and Thiruchitrambalam is indeed a case study for film enthusiasts and we feel, the audience could have been tired of consuming an enormous amount of action movies in the recent past. Probably, the audiences now seem to want more of films that are relatable to them to make them more calmer and peaceful, keeping them in smiles throughout.
Apart from these 4 films, there are a few more Tamil feel-good, romantic movies that earned positive reception from the fans - Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee, Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal, and Veetla Vishesham. Looking at this scenario, one can actually say that these sweet and breezy feel good dramas have managed to take control of the box office, keeping aside the star vehicle mega biggies.