91 www.researchscholar.co.in Impact Factor 0.998 (IIFS) ISSN 2320 – 6101 Research Scholar An International Refereed e-Journal of Literary Explorations May, 2016 Vol. 4 Issue II SCREEN SHIFTS IN RECENT TAMIL CINEMAS: THE “NEW” NEW WAVE Nithin Kalorth Research Scholar, School of Social Sciences MG University, Kottayam, Kerala Abstract A new wave in Tamil cinema is happening on screen which contrasts conventional film style of Tamil Nadu. A visible layer of difference between urban and rural identity and new perspectives of nationhood is being seen in Tamil cinema. The formulas of films are shifting and it can see from the presentation of the character in the marketing of the film. This paper tries to understand the characteristics and outline the Tamil new generation (new wave) cinema. Keywords: Tamil cinema, new wave, culture Introduction Tamil Nadu and Tamil cinema are unified in many ways and its relation is omnipresent. The gap between the culture of Tamil Nadu and that of Tamil film going audience are blurred for the ages. Audience, more appropriately fans of Tamil cinema actors and actress perceive actor and actress as god and goddess; build temples as their token of love. “They not only love, but worship” (Raman, 2012). The Tamil audience influenced cinema majorly by the actors and their glory. Films which highlight actors as “superheroes” are mainly commercial and laid the conventional basis for Tamil cinema for long decades. The image of the hero is not restricted within the screen, but also off screen. They become part of their culture and identity. This is a trend that has been happening for a very long time in Tamil Cinema (Changing Trends - Is Tamil cinema coming of age, 2008). With strong conventional genres get flourishes, there are also many experimental filmmakers in each times who put their lens towards new light a part of customary way. Gopu Mohan of The New Indian Express noted that “young Tamil directors are defying tried-and- tested formulas of filmmaking to tell stories the way they need to be told” (2009) and these “films are successful in the box office too” as reported by southdreamz.com (2010). The new wave films are not totally avoiding the conventional style, but accumulating up social reality in the characters and the situation of the film. Neither on the other hand the new experimental films cannot call as art films nor is it difficult to compare new wave bought by Satyajit Ray and carried over by his successors. This (Tamil) new genre of films, which began with Autograph in 2004, is not what can be classified as ‘art house’ productions. “They have every masala (commercial) ingredient of a formulaic film, but what they also have is a solid storyline, a large dose of realism