HT Rewind 2024: How content beat superstardom in Tamil cinema with Amaran, Maharaja and Meiyazhagan's stellar runs

In a year where superstar films like Vettaiyan, The GOAT, Indian 2 and Kanguva received mixed reviews, Tamil cinema still shone thanks to content-driven films.

Tamil cinema had a decent year that felt pale compared to its success in 2023. However, the industry proved that content is king because even big-budget releases featuring the likes of Rajinikanth and Vijay were overshadowed by films that told heartfelt stories and connected with the audience. (Also Read: HT Rewind: From Poonam Pandey's return from dead to Allu Arjun's arrest, Indian cinema's biggest controversies of 2024)

Amaran with Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi became one of the year's highest-grossing films.

A better 2023

Tamil cinema shone in 2023, with its highest-grossing films that year, the Vijay-starrer Leo and Rajinikanth-starrer Jailer, bringing in a business of over ₹600 crore each. The multi-starrer Ponniyin Selvan 2 made over ₹340 crore, and films like Vaathi, Maaveeran, and Por Thozhil also made it to the highest-grossing films list that year while impressing the audience with their stories. Jailer and Leo were even among the highest-grossers in Indian cinema that year. Films like Viduthalai Part 1, Jigarthanda Double X, Chithha, and Maamannan broke barriers.

Superstar films get mixed reviews in 2024

Jailer and Leo were not considered flawless films, and Rajinikanth and Vijay’s 2024 releases Vettaiyan and The Greatest of All Time (The GOAT) disappointingly continued in the same vein, with even fans debating if the actors’ last year’s films were better. They made ₹253 crore and ₹457 crore respectively. There were high expectations for Rajinikanth’s Lal Salaam, Kamal Haasan's Indian 2 and Suriya's Kanguva, but neither film lived up to the hype. Vikram-starrer Thangalaan was lauded for its gumption, while Dhanush films Captain Miller and Raayan passed muster.

The real winners

Compared to that, Vijay Sethupathi began the year with Sriram Raghavan’s Tamil-Hindi bi-lingual Merry Christmas and reminded people of his acting range with Nithilan Saminathan’s Maharaja and Vetrimaaran’s Viduthalai Part 2. Then there was Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi’s Major Mukund Varadarajan biopic Amaran, which grossed over ₹300 crore and received critical acclaim. Karthi and Arvind Swami-starrer Meiyazhagan tugged at people’s hearts for its brilliant bromance. Films like Aranmanai 4 and Lubber Pandhu also found success.

While The GOAT and Amaran are on the list of the highest-grossing Indian films this year, given the film industry had some big star releases scheduled in almost all quarters, it was the films that focused on telling good stories that got the most attention.