5. Sivaji (2007)
Every recent movie of Shankar has somehow found its way into this list. Personally, he’s one of my favourite directors. He always experiments with his films, raising a bar, stepping up every time. When Shankar and Rajinikanth came together, what else would you expect: Fans literally crazy when ‘Shivaji’ was announced. I even heard somebody claim it as the movie of the century… Seriously! ‘Sivaji’ is a good commercial flick. Bunk a bit of logic and you will actually love the movie as a refreshing weekend watch. But that’s all that the movie is.
4. Lingaa (2014)
Till this date, I’m not sure how K S Ravikumar’s ‘Lingaa’ made it out as a winner. For a disaster of a movie, it is shocking that it became highest grosser of the year. All thanks to Rajinikanth. His stardom is so vast that anything that he makes, sells. No offence to the legendary actor who acquired this cult through several of his extraordinary performances. No one can deny his mastery on screen. Yet even Rajinikanth was not enough to save the movie, despite the collections, the film failed to recover the distribution costs. But on paper, it’s still a winner. Duh!?
3. Kabali (2016)
Rajinikanth’s gangster drama created huge hype ever since he teamed up with Ranjith. The character’s look and teaser became an internet sensation raising the bars up. Unlike other flicks of Rajinikanth, ‘Kabali’ focused more on the content. Though this opened up to several critical appreciations, the general audience were mostly disappointed. ‘Kabali’ did become a box office success. But was it good enough? The film lacks a solid, engaging story and relies heavily on Rajinikanth’s charm.
2. Pulimurugan (2016)
‘Pulimurugan’ hit box office like a storm. It shattered all collection records that existed in the industry and went towards a whooping 175 cr total business all over. The buzz was so high that cinema houses had to schedule extra shows to accommodate the crowd. ‘Pulimurugan’ was a definite treat for Mohanlal fans. His performance as the tiger hunter and adrenaline pumping action sequences were simply the best. But for everyone else, ‘Pulimurugan’ turned out to be just a commercial masala flick. Apart from the Tiger, the script offered nothing new. It is just a decent watch. Nothing more, nothing less.
1. I (2015)
After the success of ‘Enthiran’, Shankar’s next ambitious project was a bit too ambitious. With a wafer thin story, that would have just done fine as a normal budget movie, Shankar dreamed of mountains. The movie is never bad. But Shankar baked his cake layered with too much of sugar coating. So while it definitely looks delicious, it has a stale dough underneath. ‘I’ was definitely a money magnet, becoming the 5th highest grossing film in Tamil. Yet it remains a massive disappointment.
