Tamil Cinema 2004- The Year Of Autograph

How would I define Tamil Cinema in 2004?And what were the defining moments/films? Without even the slightest doubt one movie stand light years ahead of the rest of the pack-Autograph. As far as 2004 is concerned first there is Autograph and then the rest. For the sheer guts to make a nostalgic-drama stripped of all gloss when not one person in the industry believed in it, except its maker of course. Hats of to Cheran for pulling it off. Fortune most definitely favored the brave and as a Tamil movie fanatic nothing makes me gladder than the fact that this masterpiece is already considered one of the defining films of Tamil Cinema. And then there were Kamal Hassan's Virumandi and Mani Rathnam's Ayutha Eluthe both introducing techniques of narration of a Japanese director named Akira Kurosava to the Tamil audience. Virumandi has the air of a docu-drama all over it and the fact that this movie managed to break even shows that our audiences are finally starting to appreciate good cinema.Ayutha Eluthe was racy and partially thought provoking but I am starting to get tired of a non existent utopia Mr.Rathnam started projecting from movies like Roja and Bombay which lingers on in this movie too like a bad hangover! Tamil directors also seem to have developed an obsession for schizophrenia in 2004.Three movies with a protagonist suffering from this illness were made. First there was Kangalal Kaidi Sei.This movie left everyone wondering how could Barathiraja make such a movie? And then there was Kudai Kul Malai.Awesome idea about how something like M TV Bakhra can wreck havoc in someone’s life. Parthiban’s acting is top notch and in my opinion the best acting performance of the year. It is very unfortunate that the movie is so ahead of it's times that it sank at the box office without causing the slightest ripple. And then there is 7G Rainbow Colony. Yet another sensitive and touching movie from Selvaraghavan.This movie has also seen the emergence of its director into a sort of a cult figure. It is still very early days but I wonder have we finally found the long awaited heir to K.Balachander? The year had its share of pretentious movies like Manmadhan and Chellame. The influence of that classic Sigappu Rojakkal was obvious in Manmadhan with almost none of its intensity (except one scene with the psychiatrist). But at least one could sit through it.Challame is an insult to the genre of film it is supposed to be-a psychological thriller. Alfred Hitchcock will not only rise from his grave, he would murder this movie’s director ala Norman Bates(the psycho in Psycho!). Kadhal, which released at the fag end of the year, was like a breath of fresh air. No make up, only natural light, no studio, no duets, no sets, spot dubbing, awesome music, and sensitive acting. Even though it was from what my friend Sridhar will call the boy meets girl school of cinema it was old wine in new bottle and didn’t we all love it? 2004 was also the year when our very own 'Chiyan'Vikram won the national award for Pithamagan and Meera Jasmine(a Tamil Cinema find)one the award for best actress. If someone asked me to sum up 2004,it will go down in Tamil film history as the year of Autograph. I reiterate this though it may sound rhetorical, for the simple reason that the movie has almost single handedly redefined Tamil cinema. Autograph has done to Tamil cinema what Black has done to Bollywood.Need I say more?