There’s great joy in watching new worlds come alive on screen—living conditions, attire, language, pastimes, poetry, expression of love… Clearly, countless hours and endless effort must have gone into conjuring up such a world from over a thousand years ago. But you know what brings even greater joy? And this is a joy that transcends…

In among the best stretches of Vettaiyan, the friend of an accused—both hailing from the slums—is being interrogated for his assistance in facilitating the latter’s escape, and the police eagerly slap their biases on them. Director TJ Gnanavel quietly, and subtly captures the indignation of these two young men at various times, as they square…

In one of many, many tender moments in Meiyazhagan, Arul (Arvind Swami) returns to his hometown as an adult and sees, no, feels the presence of an adult elephant walking behind him—an elephant he knew and loved as a teenager. In another film, you might expect him to approach the animal, exchange a few words,…