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In a country where cinema often spills into the realm of religion and movie stars are often treated as demigods, it’s not unusual for actors to acquire a devoted fan following. But even among the pantheon of larger-than-life figures, Rajinikanth stands singular. What is unusual is the way Rajinikanth became something beyond the boundaries of stardom—a living, breathing, evolving phenomenon whose very name elicits cheers, tears, fist-pumps, and milk abhishekams at the foot of giant cardboard cutouts.

To call him an icon is still insufficient. Rajinikanth is a cultural phenomenon—one whose legacy cannot be understood through mere box office numbers or awards, but through the pulse of a million fans who worship his screen presence with the zeal of religious devotion. To explain Rajinikanth to someone unfamiliar with Indian cinema is akin to explaining the force of a monsoon or the logic of folklore. You don’t analyze it; you absorb it.

Shanjhey Kumar Perumal worked for many years in television production making documentaries, short features, and thematic programs. His short films were shown at international festivals – “Thaipoosam” was screened in Rotterdam, “Jagat” received a cinematography award in Toronto. The full-length film under the same title is the director’s feature debut and one of the most important Malay pictures in recent years. The film had its European Premiere at Five Flavours Festival.

Here are his top ten Tamil films, in various order

1. Arannya Kaandam

A mob boss must deal with a disgruntled mistress and a vanishing bag of cocaine.

2. Panchatanthiram

Ram (Kamal Haasan) is a playboy pilot. His marriage to Mythili (Simran) disintegrates after a series of misunderstandings. To cheer him up, his buddies arrange for a steamy evening with a prostitute Maggie (Ramya), but things go wrong and the men are stuck with a dead body and a load of diamonds.

Entertainment The cut-out was erected at Vetri Theatre complex in Chrompet. Digital NativeA giant cut-out has been erected for Vijay Sethupathi at the Vetri Theatre complex in Chrompet and fans performed ‘Paal Abhishekam’ on it recently. The actor, known for his realistic portrayal in films, is currently busy with Seethakathi, directed by Balaji Tharaneetharan. The star’s look, as an old man in the film was out a few weeks ago and it went viral as expected. According to reports, Vijay Sethupathi plays a drama artiste in Seethakathi. Sharing the screen space with him in the film would be Parvathy, Ramya Nambeesan, Gayathrie and veteran director J. Mahendran. The shooting of this film began in April last year and it is expected to grace the theatres this summer. The exact release date will be announced soon, say sources. Directed by Balaji Tharaneetharan, the film is produced by Sudhan Sundaram, Umesh G, Jayaram and Arun Vaidyanathan under the banner Passion Studios. Govind Menon has composed music for this venture with Saraskanth T. K. handling the camera and R Govindaraj editing it. Vijay Sethupathi, a versatile actor in the Tamil film industry, started his career playing small roles. His role in Sundarapandian as villain won him the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain and he played the lead role in Pizza for which he won the Siima Award for Best Actor and Big FM Most Entertaining Actor of the Year. His roles in Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom and Soodhu Kavvum also won him awards and list continues with every film release. Vijay has a slew of films in different stages of production including 96, Super Deluxe, Junga and Chekka Chivantha Vaanam. He has also been signed up to play an important role in the Tollywood flick Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy in which he will be sharing the screen space with Chiranjeevi and Amitabh Bachchan. (Content provided by Digital Native)...

Veteran director Mahendran’s performance as a villain in Vijay’s Theri won him a lot of accolades which has prompted him to consider taking up challenging roles. He had now landed a role in the Udhayanidhi Stalin starrer that is being helmed by the National Award-winning director Priyadarshan. According to sources close to the film unit, Mahendran will be playing Udhayanidhi’s dad in the movie and his role will be completely different from what we got to see in Theri.

Chennai, Feb 25: Veteran writer-filmmaker J. Mahendran, who is teaming up with maestro Illayaraja for the 12th time for a yet-untitled Tamil project, says the music of the legendary composer has been the soul of his films.

Mahendran and Illayaraja have collaborated for films such as "Mullum Malarum", "Pagalil Oru Iravu" and "Johnny".

"Usually, filmmakers rope in Illayaraja expecting some chartbusters, but I have never demanded hit music from him. His music has been the soul of my films for over a decade now. We have worked in eleven films and the music of each album is special," Mahendran told Ians.

"Our relationship has gracefully aged with us. I narrate all my stories first to him and then to others. This has been.