Panchatanthiram

Ram's wife leaves him believing he has been unfaithful, though he is innocent. His four friends decide to cheer him up and throw a party at a hotel. To bring him round they call a woman named Maggie. In the morning she is found dead. The five men panic and try to get rid of the body; at every step there is a new witness, a new lie and a new problem. K. S. Ravikumar's film is among the best-known Tamil comedies. The narrative is built on how a single lie grows and follows the rules of classical farce: doors, hiding places, and people arriving at the wrong moment. Kamal Haasan plays Ram and contributed to the screenplay. Jayaram and Ramesh Aravind play the friends. Who it's for: Viewers who like Tamil comedy, the structure of farce, and Kamal Haasan's films. Who it's not for: The narrative starts from a woman's death and the film uses it entirely as material for jokes, which is uncomfortable by present-day eyes. It also runs long.