Pudhupettai

Written and directed by Selvaraghavan, this Tamil crime drama follows Kokki Kumar, a young man from a slum in North Chennai. After witnessing his father kill his mother he runs away, joins a local gang to survive, and rises fast through the criminal hierarchy, transforming from a desperate boy into a ruthless don and eventually reaching a seat in the legislature and a ministry. What sets it apart is its refusal to glorify its protagonist: against the conventions of the form, Selvaraghavan shows the moral collapse honestly, giving Kumar nothing heroic and foregrounding his blackmail and manipulation. Yuvan Shankar Raja's score was recorded with a symphony orchestra in Bangkok and helped establish background score as a central cinematic element in Tamil film. It was the first Tamil film shot in Super 35mm. It failed on release: it opened strongly but audiences pulled away from its violence and its unfeeling lead, and critics were unkind. Roughly a decade later it acquired cult status, is now counted among the best crime films Tamil cinema has produced, and was restored in 4K and rereleased in 2025. It is a landmark in Dhanush's career and also carries Vijay Sethupathi's first notable appearance. Who it's for: Admirers of uncompromising gangster ascent stories and the harder edge of Tamil cinema. Who it's not for: Not for viewers looking for a protagonist to sympathize with, since the film keeps its lead deliberately unlikeable.