Avinash Ramachandran

Arete. This simple Greek word holds the key to understanding why thinkers think, engineers build marvels, writers write magnum opuses, and filmmakers want to make great films. Arete is the realisation of one’s potential on the path to excellence. With The Odyssey, director Christopher Nolan has embarked on one such path. In fact, it is like almost everything he has done so far in his career has built to this moment. The Odyssey has every theme that has become synonymous with Nolan. There’s the concept of time, the promise of a father, the wait of a child, the fate of a wife, the betrayal of your faith, society’s descent into madness, sacrifice for the greater good, questioning the status quo, the idea of home, and flawed humans who don’t know what to do with the consequences of their ‘heroic’ actions.

Camouflage. It is always interesting to see how women empowerment films play out in Tamil cinema. Quite often, the makers try to mount a ‘male saviour’ film masquerading as a ‘women empowerment’ film. But smarter filmmakers know that the audience might see through this bluff, and they have started packaging it better. One such film was Chella Ayyavu’s Gatta Kusthi (2022), a seemingly entertaining ride about the ill effects of misogyny and the inherent need for women’s empowerment in society. On paper, it was empowering, but compromises were made to make it seem more ‘palatable’. Interestingly, in Gatta Kusthi 2, Chella doesn’t play the camouflage game. He throws caution to the wind, and goes all out to give us a battle of the sexes that tilts the scales clearly in favour of the man, but not without having him point out why women must be empowered. Basically, Chella and Vishnuu have the cake, and this time, they eat it, too.

Sacrifice. Every relationship is gauged by the compromises and sacrifices people make. More than the love shared, the hate espoused, the money spent, the resources exhausted, it is sacrifices that are showcased and remembered. And if Tamil cinema has taught us anything in its more than 100-year-old history, it is that a mother’s sacrifice is paramount. Director Sasi’s latest film, Nooru Saami, takes on the responsibility of not just placing the mother on a pedestal, visually representing every iota of her sacrifice, but also asserting that it was all done by a mere mortal, not a divine being, as is often proclaimed. How do you bring a mother down from the pedestal and say that she is a biological being with physical desires? Yes, technically we know how babies are born, but our ‘culture’ prohibits the concept of both sex before marriage, and sex after the couple has reached the socially acceptable number of kids in a family. It is in such a world that Sasi asks a very important question: Shouldn’t a woman be more than just a mother?

Circumstance. When a family is facing a particularly distressing period in their lives, what really matters is their response to the circumstances. Over the years, cinema has often told stories of families that stick together to face whatever comes their way. We have seen the Drishyams, the Koodi Vaazhndhaal Kodi Nanmais, the Kolamaavu Kokilas, the Doctors, and even last week’s release, Blast. Families finding themselves painted into a corner, and doing everything possible to get out of it, is a time-tested template, and yet… director Pandiraaj’s latest, Parimala and Co, does the one thing you shouldn’t do when it comes to making a whodunnit family drama. He makes things… boring.

Choices. A lot about a person can be known by the choices they make. The same holds true for a filmmaker, whose decisions on camera angles, narrative detours, character depth, use of musical cues, and the scenes chosen and left at the editing table prove their mettle. The same holds true for an actor, whose decisions on whether they accept to do a full-fledged role, or a glorified cameo, or an important yet minuscule part, appear in a ‘special’ dance number, or a ‘friendly appearance,’ or play a role that doesn’t add anything anywhere except to the bank balance, decide their worth. But what happens when the Yhprum’s Law is in full force, and almost every choice, despite a few hurdles, ends up for the greater good? You get Subash K Raj’s debut film, Blast, starring Arjun, Abhirami, and Preity Mukhundhan.

Cringe. Gone are the days when the world collectively rejoiced in the celebration of romance with grand gestures and seemingly over-the-top overtures. Now, especially on social media, any such move showcased there for posterity falls into just two categories: Cringe and Cringe-free. This slotting is done by the people witnessing these gestures, overtures, and everything in between. What about the ones who are doing these gestures? Do their hearts still flutter when they see a balloon that is filled with their partner’s carbon dioxide? Do butterflies swarm their stomach when their partner holds their hand, or when they see each other in their favourite dress for the first time? If all of these are as special in 2026 as they were in 1976, then what exactly is cringe? Is it the action or the packaging for an audience who might not necessarily want to witness this action? Even if the packaging isn’t all glossy or wrinkle-free, director Rathna Kumar’s latest film, 29, works because there is a sense of honesty and warmth in these actions, even if some make your eyes roll to the back of your head.