Best Tamil Directors in 2018 Who Forged A New Identity for Kollywood

Murugadoss who is known for high-concept commercial films with a social cause was at it again with Sarkar starring Ilayathalapathy Vijay. The film expectedly did a blockbuster business and talked about the most important issue in a democracy, that is, right to vote. 

Ram Kumar's chilling tale about a serial killer and a young police officer who brings his research for a short film to nab him made waves all over South India. It was highly talked about and made Vishnu Vishal a known name among the South Indian movie buffs. 

One of the few world-class South Indian directors, Vetrimaaran is at it once again with Vada Chennai. There was this The Godfather and now there is this Vada Chennai. A true epic of gangster film with an original premise which has deftly used the recent historical moments in Tamil Nadu also went on to become a commercial hit. 

Debutant Mari Selvaraj not just delivered a powerful film about caste differences and honor killings he did so quite emphatically and without missing commercial elements. Or rather, he defined a new commercial format with Pariyerum Perumal. Two birds with one shot. Critical acclaim and commercial success. Director Pa. Ranjith produced this film about the rise of a Dalit student. 

This young man took everyone down a nostalgic trip with the romance film 96. Hailed as one of the very pure romance films, the Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha starrer made a huge buzz among the South Indian movie buffs. Prem Kumar's simplistic handling of the subject won great applause from one and all. 

Ajay Gnanamuthu of Demonte Colony had emphatically proved that he is here to stay and took Tamil thrillers into a new direction with Imaikkaa Nodigal. That he directed lady superstar and delivered a top class movie watching experience is a telling statement about his talent. 

Legendary filmmaker Shankar has taken Tamil Cinema to new heights even before many of the current generation directors were not even thinking about making films. True to his character, his latest directorial 2.0 became the first Tamil film to gross around about more than Rs. 750 crores and won the approval of Pan Indian audience. 

P. S. Mithran is the face of the new wave in Tamil Cinema. His directorial debut film Irumbu Thirai talks about the peril of information theft and online frauds. He convinced a star like Vishal not only to star in the film but also to bankroll it proves the point that he is here to stay. 

While critical success is nothing new has still been delivering considerably good movies, a proper blockbuster is eluding elite director Mani Ratnam for more than a decade. But the commercial gangster drama filled the gap for him and went on to become the biggest grossing film in his career. As is the regular case with his films, CCV received critical acclaim. The master is back!

Iravukku Aayiram Kangal is one of the truly underrated films of this year and made it to our own list of 11 underrated gems of Indian Cinema in 2018. Mu Maran delivered a thrilling tale of a group of people who are in one way or the other associated with a murder. 

Shakti Soundar Rajan brought Space film genre into mainstream Tamil Cinema. The result is a novel experience to the audience. The movie has also shown Jayam Ravi in a different role and went on to win critical and the audience approval. 

Kolamaavu Kokila might have been Nayanthara's star vehicle but Nelson Dilipkumar is the man who utilized the lady superstardom of Nayan to the core. The slick black-comedy thriller also known as CoCo wet on to become a blockbuster. 

Adanga Maru might not have been a tour de force for Jayam Ravi like his previous outing as a police officer, Thani Oruvan, but Karthik Thangavel's sure-handed direction and powerful narration made this a worthy entry in the cop thriller genre. 

Actor-director Sundar C. is one of the highly successful commercial cinema directors in Tamil and he proved his might once again with Kalakalappu 2. The slick comedy entertainer was one of the early hits of the year when tamil Cinema was going through one trouble after another. 

While several youngsters made their mark by making thrillers and action films, Elan took a contemporary youthful film and made it click with the audience. Despite not having a huge star cast, Pyaar Prema Kaadhal is a surprise hit at the box office. 

Naachiyaar is like a breath of fresh air in the police genre with an aggressive and quick thinking lady cop rules the roost. Bala's narration of the story of Naachiyaar played by Jyothika and the simple yet gutsy making took Naachiyaar to the next level. 

C. S. Amudhan outdid himself with Tamizh Padam 2. With more humor and more grander scale, Tamizh Padam 2 was at one time one of the highest grossing Tamil movies until a host of top-notch films hit the screen during the second half of the year. Amudhan spun magic around the character of Shiva and came up with an unexpected twist. 

You may have big backing in the form of Mysskin but it is you who have to execute the script. That's where G. R. Adithya excelled. He made a hilariously good black comedy out of the script provided by Mysskin. Mysskin also headlined the cast. 

Balaji Tharaneetharan proved that if the content of the film is entertaining and different, even an experimental film can win the audience approval with Seethakaathi starring Vijay Sethupathi. The film was one of the four films that gave Kollywood a proper year-end bang and part of the Golden Week of Indian Cinema. Ayya Aadhimoolam is a cult character now.