Yes it was a year of hits and misses, like every other year, but what made this year special was a few attempts that defied the rules of movie making basics in Tamil. Hard-hitting yet unpretentious, these movies were talked about widely although they had not fetched enough money at the box office. They touched upon social issues, relevant in our times, one way or other.

Maidhanam, released in mid 2011 sort of had a Nadodigal hangover but debut director Sakthivel's conscious attempt to avoid cliches brought the movie to the fore.

Vengayam, directed by Sankagiri Rajkumar, is a delectable village movie that asks you an important question. How significant is religion in your everyday life?

Uchidhanai Mugarndhal is probably the most heartbreaking films of all. It's about a 13 year old rape victim and how her family deals with the tragedy. Sathyaraj, Seeman and Sangeetha played the characters revolving around the life of the girl played by Neenika. The movie is directed by Pugazendhi Thangaraj.