From Billa and Nayagan to VTK and Vikram Vedha: Why Tamil gangster films never get old

Dhanush plays Suruli, a rowdy-turned-saviour of immigrants in 'Jagame Thandhiram'. The film was among the Netflix top 10 things to watch in 12 countries apart from India. (Image: screen grab).

It is 2022. Director Gautham Vasudev Menon makes a realistic gangster film revolving around a young village boy named Muthu essayed by Silamabarasan (Simbu), and the movie is being touted as one of the director’s best films and Simbu’s best performance as well.

Back in 1987, director Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan came together for a film called Nayagan and the rest, as they say, is history. This cult classic is a gangster film revolving around the life of Mumbai don Sakthivel Naicker (said to be loosely based on Varadarajan Mudaliar).

Gangster films as a genre in Tamil cinema is not new and the success of these films – both critically and commercially – has proved that the audience does not tire of them if it is a story well told and the performances are outstanding. What makes this genre of films in Tamil cinema interesting is that the journey of the anti-hero/ protagonist is unique in every film that has ever been made and the settings are different each time.

Take Pushkar-Gayatri's Vikram Vedha, for instance. Vikram (Madhavan), the cop, who is seen as good, wants to catch Vedha (Vijay Sethupathi), the gangster, who is seen as evil. The interaction between them and the kind of relationship they develop makes us question whether good can be evil and vice-versa. The movie is now being remade in Hindi with Saif Ali Khan as Vikram and Hrithik Roshan as Vedha.

Most Tamil stars have played a gangster at some point or the other in their career, and one could say that it was Superstar Rajinikanth who set the ball rolling with the gangster film genre in the 1980s. If you look at his career, it was thanks to his initial gangster roles that he shot to superstardom and remained as one of the top stars in Tamil cinema over decades. Billa, Baasha, Thalapathi, Kabali and Kaala are some of the films where Rajinikanth played a gangster. In fact, Billa (1980) was a relaunch of sorts for Rajinikanth after he had apparently decided to quit films. The movie ran for 25 weeks in theatres and was the biggest hit of the superstar’s career at the time. Again, when Basha released in 1995, it was a huge blockbuster and became a cult film.

So, is it that the Tamil audience likes to see their stars playing the bad guy on screen? It is much more than that. If you look at the various gangster roles that have been written in Tamil cinema, most of them are not black or pure evil but varying shades of grey – they turn evil due to circumstances; go all out to protect their family and do good for the less privileged and needy. The gangster often times also transforms into the good guy in the end and apologises for his actions. While this may be truly cinematic, the audience does seem to like the redemption angle. Also, there is an inherent love story or romance in the film where the anti-hero falls in love with someone and she may come to harm, thanks to the enemy, and he sets out for revenge. Fighting for someone you love is an emotional aspect in these films that resonates with the audience deeply.

Numerous gangster films have been hailed as landmark films in Kollywood and it not just shows the calibre of directors in Tamil cinema but is also a testament to how gangster films can evolve with changing times but remain rooted in local sensibilities. In recent years, directors like Selvaraghavan (Pudhupettai), Thiagarajan Kumararaja (Aaranya Kaandam) and Karthik Subbaraj (Jigarthanda) have also chosen to step into this genre. When director Selvaraghavan directed his brother Dhanush in Pudhupettai (2006), they wouldn’t have expected it to be still spoken about today with their fans clamouring for a sequel. Similarly, Jigarthanda (2014) by Karthik Subbaraj put him firmly on the list of directors to reckon with and the movie went on to win two National Awards as well.

Karthik Subbaraj (seated) and Dhanush (standing, left) on the sets of 'Jagame Thandhiram'.

This genre of films continues and will possibly continue to be celebrated in Tamil cinema and new directors are likely to come in and deliver more cult classics. Like every state in India, Tamil Nadu is brimming with stories to be told, and the variations in culture, traditions and lingo across the state just mean that there is more exciting cinema to look forward to with new anti-heroes redefining good and evil along the way.