In defence of supposedly bad films

Note: This article discusses films from the Tamil (Indian) film industry. So the article addresses a niche section of people who read articles on Tamil films  

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There are legendary films that are remembered to this day, that are from several decades ago. They may be films that we have seen only once but we still remember very well. However, there are also films that are unanimouly regarded as bad considering the negative reviews that they received from prominent film critiques and the audience alike.

While the phenomenon is perhaps universal, I am of Tamil (Indian) origins and thus, this article is going to focus on the supposedly “bad films” post 2010 and would argue why they are perhaps needed, in the larger interest of film lovers and the film industry as a whole.

The Legend Saravanan reacting to the death of his wife in The Legend movie

At a personal level, enjoy these so called bad films, I would establish this at the outset. In my opinion, the best comedy is that which was not intended as such by the film makers. A recent example that I could think of is when Saravanan Arul, the multi-millionaire retail mogul turned actor, delivers a “punch dialogue” in his self-produced film The Legend (2022). With utmost seriousness, he tells Suman, “You are totally wrong!”, a moment where I could not control my laughter consider the intonation and the mismatch with his facial expression. I enjoy these more than intended humorous dialogues, wherein, when it comes to these, I can appreciate the wit of the writers and the acting of the comedian, but that is expectation being met by the execution. The difference here is the background music akin to legendary scenes is played, and it has no connection with the scene.

The three faces of Vishal in the Magudam (2026)

At times, the impact is also because of the director or actor being heavily involved in its promotions. A recent example I would pick is Magudam, actor Vishal’s directorial debut. He promoted the film by relentlessly pushing the “most innovative climax ever”, never seen before in world cinema. Before too long, the film was attacked by film critiques for its artificial and incoherent screenplay. The actor turned director himself added fuel to the fire, by uploading the behind-the-scenes video of the “climax”, which made meme creators enter the scene as well, to mock the difference. I watched the film and the only difference between climax of other action films and Magudam is that here, instead of going to the final showdown with friends, here the hero goes with an army of fisherwomen, armed with fishing knives. The logic is that “if they are good at chopping fish heads, they would be good at chopping heads off goons”. I could not control my laughter at the choreography of the scene and the bizarre logic to begin with. Ironically, this is not even the first film of Vishal where they used this logic. In Rathnam (2024), Vishal tells a group of temple priests to chop the villains with their sickle. They say they cannot engage in violence and to paraphrase the actor from the film, he says if they could use their sickle to chop pumpkins or coconuts, they can also use it to chop these horrible people. While I do not even remember several good, logical dialogues, I remember these very well.

Tamannah (left) and Silambarasan (right) in Anbanavan Adangadavan Asaradavan (2018)

However, these kinds of films show us a few things. Firstly, we learn that making a good or even an average film is not easy. In an era of instant social media virality, one blooper is enough for memes to flood the scene, some of which could stick to the rest of one’s career. So, a film that was just average with no howlers is a significant feat in itself.

Next, often such films are a wake-up call for the actors involved and the try to come back stronger, sometimes with an average film at first and then with a career-defining blockbuster. A couple of such examples are actors Vijay and Silambarasan (Simbu). Vijay starred in his 50^th film – Sura (2010) which was a box office bomb, but he came back with a movie that did decently well in terms of business and also reviews with Kaavalan (2011); and finally, it was Thuppaki (2012) – which not only revived Vijay’s career but also set a standard for action thrillers in Tamil cinema. Similar trend could be seen with Silambarasan – where he starred in Anbanavan Adaangadvan Asaradavan (AAA) (2018), lambasted by critiques and audiences alike for its screenplay and objectification of women. Simbu eventually followed it up with Maanadu (2021) which again, akin to Thuppaki, not only was a career-defining film for Simbu, but also set the standard for science fiction films in Tamil.

There is also the serendipitous effect of having scenes in bad taste. A quick disclaimer before I make this point is that I am not justifying the need for such scenes in movies – that objectify women, are casteist, glorify bad behaviour, etc. However, when a major star like Sivakarthikeyan acts in a film like Remo (2016) where he relentlessly stalks Keerthy Suresh throughout the film despite her refusing his advances – and this was a behaviour that was glorified. It was heavily criticised by film critics that the actor himself refrained from doing such films thereafter and such films, which were a common feature in 2000s and up until mid-2010s, are no longer in the mainstream.

Lastly, for a group of bored friends, there is nothing more entertaining than buying a large popcorn and watching one of these films on the silver screen, laughing together with your friends at the audacity of directing such scenes and presenting it to the audience. I can vouch for this form of entertainment given I have done this several times, including for some of the films stated in the article, such as Anbanavan Adangadavan Asaradavan (2019) and The Legend (2022) and I would say that I derived better value for money from these than for a film that received mixed reviews and was just average, like Beast (2022).

As on the date of this article, in September 2026, Magudam is one of the most mocked films among meme and content creators at the moment. I would admit that purely judging that film by screenplay and story, it is a terrible film. However, what I have been trying to argue in this article that however bad they are, they do indeed serve a purpose, arguably a valuable one.

I am not wishing for the Tamil film industry to be constantly producing such find of films, but having a “bad film” once in a while is not so “bad”, after all.

Happy watching!

Anirudh

"Biggie, get a job!" Why?

Anyone following the Zeeshan Sports League would be aware of its veteran player, Biggie. While there are kids such as Hasnain, Cute Boy Ali, Azam, Sabir, Daniel, Assad Ronaldo; teenagers such as Cool Boy, Omar, Muzammil, Mr. Greedy and Little Biggie; and perhaps young men like JD and Kaku, the veteran player in his late 30s or early 40s is the only one in his age group. 

This evidently makes Biggie stand out, and while he has been a passionate competitor, he has also been a very fair player, adding value to this league. However, what is disappointing is that in any game where Biggie is involved, all we need to do is open the comments, and we are loaded with variations of the same message which could be loosely paraphrased as, “Biggie, please get a job’. My question is, why?

Biggie (left) competing against the greatest of all time, Mr. Greedy

I find the remark problematic at two levels, the first is factual and the next is the larger social context. Factually speaking, it is not unusual for any player to be significantly older than the average, unless it is a competition meant for a specific age category (and Zeeshan Sports League is not one such competition). To put this into perspective, the average age of a professional male footballer is 26. However, the Portuguese legend, Cristiano Ronaldo (after whom the Zeeshan Sports League player Assad is named) is still playing and is 41 years old. The 2026 World Cup Quarterfinal between Portugal and Spain involved Ronaldo playing against Lamine Yamal, the latter of whom was not even born when Ronaldo made his international debut. Does anyone insist on Cristiano Ronaldo to go and “get a job”? No, and that would be a ridiculous thing to say as well, as playing football is his job. Likewise, Biggie’s job is to play in the league and be a content creator. 

With that out of the way, I would come to the more important social issue that I wish to tackle, which is ageism and patriarchy – where people at certain points in their life are expected to be in certain “jobs”, real jobs as they call it. It is a yesteryear expectation that in Biggie’s case, a cis man, is to be doing “something else” and if he chooses to tread off the beaten track, he becomes and object of mockery and ridicule. It went to the extent where Zeeshan had to upload videos of Biggie being in “mainstream jobs” as well, working as a construction helper, making organic butter, and also working as a fruit picker. Despite this, the rude comments did not end, and often led to the next problem of classist comments as well, as these were not considered “real jobs” either despite them needing very hard labour. Finally, Zeeshan had to create a poll asking for Biggie’s permanent suspension. Fortunately, better sense prevailed and he was retained. 

The larger question is, why is it that a person who is not harming anyone doing something that they enjoy, be still judged and attacked? This attitude of the society needs to change – the only time it could be an issue is where Biggie not having a job of your expectation is personally affecting you in which case the parties involved can discuss. Otherwise, the rest ought to mind their own business. 

Anyway, for the OG fans, Biggie is an integral part of the league, and it would not be the same if not for his presence. It needs to be reiterated that this is his job. 

Cheers to Biggie for staying and not relenting to the social media hate!

Have nice day,
Anirudh

Walking Down Memory Lane

We often wonder if our mind has the capacity to erase negative memories from the past with the passage of time. Even in therapy, there is ‘Reminiscence Therapy’, presenting a person with objects and memories from their past for helping them process it. That said, even three years ago, I would have mocked this method if someone had proposed it, even though I was in therapy back then, more related to a quarter-life crisis. I did have an epiphany and also a bit of catharsis during a recent experience, as I walked down the memory lane in my previous neighbourhoood (or city, depending on the point of view).

I became a Francilien (a French word for someone living in Ile de France (Paris metropolitan region)) in 2019, and I moved to a suburb that was known neither for its safety, nor for its cleanliness nor for its beauty but I did not have much of a choice given I had only 48 hours to search for a place and move from the South of France. It was the city of Aubervilliers that I moved to, what could be described as the warehouse of France given the number of businesses having their depots here, and is also close to Stade de France, which becomes relevant given the Olympics hosted by Paris in 2024. When I moved, there were still several construction sites, for the extension of Line 12 of Paris metro till Mairie d’Aubervilliers, a construction of a swimming pool for the diving events in Saint-Denis and there were also other projects around Stade de France to facilitate all the spectators who were to be coming, and not to mention, even some opportunistic property developers starting projects anticipating the inevitable gentrification.

I did not hear many encouraging words from my colleagues or friends either, on my neighbourhood and I lived there for almost three years before leaving my student apartment, mostly because I felt disturbed to be still benefitting from a beneficial rent while no longer being a student; even though I was eligible for it as a ‘young professional’, it was evident that it was time to move on. I moved to Paris city in 2022, and I told myself that I would visit Aubervilliers from time to time, just that it took two and a half years for it to arrive.

So, why did I have to give this context? I recently visited this suburb, and I liked having been there and thinking of all the memories I had made there over the years, walking through every single street that I used to pass by back then, including checking out the shops that I used to visit. Of course, there were signs of gentrification – for instance, there was a wasteland near Rue Heurtault when I lived and today, there is a construction project of apartments mainly targeting well-to-do families. I also made use of the Line 12 metro station at Mairie d’Aubervilliers, something that I never had while I was living there, and the nearest metro for me was at least 2.5 km away for me in any direction (either Quatre Chemins for Line 7 or Porte de Paris Saint-Denis for Line 13). Evidently, I did not have a very easy life, as every time, to go to Paris, there was a lot of effort involved.

Logistics and infrastructure apart, it was not even a period where I was experiencing utmost levels of happiness, on the other hand, I was going through a quarter-life crisis as aforementioned. However, two and a half years later, I felt happiness raging in me as I was walking by these streets and it was evident that my mind had chosen to only showcase the good memories. It was largely a feeling of nostalgia, and I was just thinking of all the stages that I had gone past while living in this city, the experiences that I have had here and even elsewhere, as I travelled extensively when I was here and every time I returned to this neighbourhood from Charles de Gaulle airport, to the stations of La Plaine Stade de France or La Courneuve Aubervilliers, it gave me a feeling of being at home.

Among many of these trips that I have made in this city, there is one particular crossing that I am very familiar with: an old wooden bridge across the Seine connecting Saint-Denis to Aubervilliers. While it was useful and sturdy, there is a particular memory from 2021 where I had told myself, ‘If I were to slip and fall into the river, it would take days before anyone even notices it’. It certainly was not true, but the moment shows the internal battles that I was waging back then.

Now, returning to Aubervilliers, I saw a new bridge parallel to the old wooden bridge, mainly to facilitate access to Stade de France. While going past this modern structure, the only memories that came to my mind was the feeling of relief that I had every time while getting on this bridge; that is was the end of a long day and that I was almost home. It could be said as a metaphor for the path that I have crossed – not just pas the familiar streets but also all the experiences and the personal battles.

The neighbourhood has changed (there are still some streets that look exactly the same), I have changed as well, but by recalling these memories, I was in a state of happiness as well. Personally, I have never done reminiscence therapy but after this experience, I could say that my mind seems to have the capacity to retain only the good memories while erasing the bad ones and for me, walking down this memory lane helped me a lot; if I have a need for therapy ever again, I could consider another method, including this one.

Have a nice day,
Anirudh

Settling the GOAT Debate

We as humans have always enjoyed watching sports as a spectacle, every ancient civilisation has had some record of having people play sports and others watching it. The Olympic games are over several millennia old.

Despite what the title of the article suggests, I am not here to settle the endless Messi vs Ronaldo, Warne vs Muralitharan or Serena Williams vs Steffi Graf debate. I am talking of a discussion where the stakes are arguably much higher.

We all would have played games with our family as children and teenagers. After all, that is what holidays were meant for. Considering our love to watch people play sport, imagine if these family games were to be televised with an active fan following. I had been wondering if such a spectacle would have been possible, little did I know that watching a random vox pop in Piazza Navona in Rome would provide a solution to this need. Here was a random journalist asking kids who their favourite footballer was an one of them answered that theirs was a certain “Mr. Greedy”. Till I opened the comments, I thought that it was just a ridiculous remark from a kid till I saw that several comments praised him as the “OG fan”. Reading more on this name led me to none other than Zeeshan Sports League – where a few teenagers and Biggie, all part of the same extended family, play games.

We have Hasnain, Daniel, Cute Boy Ali, Sallu, Biggie, JD, Kaku, Assad Ronaldo, Azam, Little Biggie and then the big 4 – Omar, Cool Boy, Muzammil and Mr. Greedy; all competing for the ultimate prize at the end of each game – a burger, a candy or a plate of biryani.

In case you have not followed the characters of Zeeshan sports league, reading any further in this article would seem like gibberish and I strongly recommend you to follow the pages of Mr. Greedy and Zeeshan Sports League in TikTok and Instagram.

This is going to focus on the ongoing “greatest of all time” (hereafter referred to as GOAT) debate between Mr. Greedy and Muzammil, the two most prominent faces of Zeeshan Sports League, with distinct personalities of their own. People on the side of Muzammil praise his calm demeanour, altruism and being a player who plays by the books. On the other side, we have Mr. Greedy, who was known as Asef before his popularity, is known for his passion and the never say die attitude, to win at all costs.

Mr. Greedy (Asef) on the left and Muzammil on the right

I think the fandom unanimously agrees that these two are the best players of the league while it could be argued that they are credibly challenged by Omar and Cool Boy (both of the challengers happen to be siblings). The division within the fandom is merely over the GOAT debate. Mr. Greedy clearly has the larger fan baase and one could argue that Zeeshan Sports League is where it is today, thanks to him. It is clearly seen to the extent that Zeeshan developed a stack smash game for iOS and Android, and named it after Mr. Greedy. On the other side, Muzammil has his own fan following, including celebrity fans, the most notable being the British economist Gary Stevenson (with many often surprised as to why a man who talks about wealth taxes all the time is suddenly commenting on a Muzammil video).

There are several claims that Muzammil is ahead on a head-to-head basis, but I am sceptical about these claims for two reasons. Firstly, there is no reliable measure of statistics, and despite the existence of pages within the fandom, none of them are officially recognised by either Zeeshan or any representative of the league. The second, and more importantly, Zeeshan Sports League is a multidisciplinary league which involves strategic games, physically demanding games such as a boxing much or purely luck-based games where you have to pick the right-coloured ball from a jar while being blindfolded. Even if we were to take the head-to-head statistics as genuine, I think we can all agree that a win on a skill-based game should be more valuable than a win on a luck-based game.

It is to be noted that Muzammil tends to struggle in sports where some of the non-Big 4 kids have a natural physical advantage. For instance, Little Biggie has a natural advantage in boxing or tug of war and Muzammil is often handily beaten by him, whereas Mr. Greedy genuinely challenges Little Biggie (and other players who have natural advantage in other disciplines) and often wins against them. Mr. Greedy has proved time and again that he is an all-rounder and his abilities on field remind me of his compatriot known for his all-round ability, Imran Khan.

I would not get into the debate on whether Muzammil wins more luck-based games but in this kind of a league, performance backed by passion is what is most valuable, and what brings in the viewership. That passion is undoubtedly shown by Mr. Greedy and as of today, given his multi-dimensional ability and how he creates a spectacle for all the viewers involved, it certainly adds weight to his claim. Barring the subjective factors, even on an objective metric, Mr. Greedy won the Player of the Year award for the last two years, clearly showing that he is consistent throughout.

These factors mean that as of now, Mr. Greedy is certainly the GOAT given the current circumstances but one cannot rule out a change in the future. Does it mean that Mr. Greedy is flawless? Certainly not, he still needs a character and a redemption arc. One could display passion and aggression while still playing by the rules and not trying to actively sabotage the others and receiving temporary bans from Zeeshan. While that is the first area of improvement, as a next step, if he shares the food that he wins, he can certainly move towards being the GOAT with no haters, something he truly deserves in the long run.

For now, commiserations Muzammil and thanks for being the rival that the GOAT deserves. And Mr. Greedy, best wishes to become the greatest sportsperson that Pakistan has ever produced.

Long Live Zeeshan Sports League !

Have a nice day,
Anirudh