Aadukalam

"This is a rewatch after several years’ gap. Still holds up really well after all these years. An extremely immersive viewing experience that does an excellent job in putting the viewer in the setting it takes place, using rooster fighting as the starting point for a Shakespearean-style human drama, with the first half devoted to setup before setting the plot in motion. Incredibly well written, directed, and acted (Dhanush, Kishore, and V. I. S. Jayapalan (the latter making his acting debut in his 60s) are especially incredible here), along with immersive cinematography and a fantastic score by G. V. Prakash (fun fact: G. V. Prakash is the nephew of A. R. Rahman). I believe this is G. V. Prakash’s best work to date. S. S. Rajamouli (the director of RRR) recently mentioned this as one of several Indian films that people should watch, and frankly I agree. It is definitely not perfect (the romance subplot (which takes up a good chunk of the first 35 minutes) could have been excised, but it nevertheless does give us a simple yet hilarious dance sequence, the only one in the film in fact, and it’s inclusion was understandable for commercial appeal at the time), but it is neverthess compelling drama at the end of the day (the story really picks up after the 35 minute mark, building up to a gripping climax). One of my all-time favorite Tamil-language films, and one I highly urge people to watch. Available only on the SunNXT streaming service."