47-year search for dad ends in heartbreak

In 2018, the movie Pulang by Primeworks Studios about the true story of a Malay sailor who left his family and lived the rest of his family in Liverpool, UK was released. It caught the attention of Salmi, who then wrote to me asking for help. Her husband's father, like the hero of the movie, left his family in Malaysia and went to the UK back in the 70s and was never heard of again. 

Salmi's father-in-law is Lance Corporal Mohd Said Mohd Amin, who like most soldiers after being discharged from military service, decided to migrate to the United Kingdom. In 1972, the 33-year-old father of four, with one more on the way, left his heavily pregnant wife, Ramlah, then 26, with their three children, in Serkam, Melaka, with plans to bring them over to the UK once he had sorted out their accommodation and schooling. Salmi's husband, Hariss, then nine, was the eldest and was tasked with writing to his father in London once or twice a month.

Soon enough, the day the family was waiting for finally arrived. Said wrote to say he would be returning to Malaysia to get his family. However, the initial euphoria of being reunited slowly turned into disappointment as the familiar airmail, which was sometimes accompanied by money, stopped coming.The father whom they remembered as a soft-spoken man who would never raise his voice suddenly disappeared from their lives with not so much as a clue to point to his whereabouts.

Life for the young family changed drastically after that, with Ramlah having to sell nasi lemak in their village to support the family. The children were separated as family members rallied to take care of each child in their respective homes. They, too, had to work while still in school to help support the family.

“In the 1990s, we wrote to the British High Commission here, which confirmed that our letter to our father was delivered but they could not reveal his address as it was confidential. It was heartbreaking to hear that he had received the letter but there was no reply. I wouldn’t say I was doing it for myself, It was for my mother, who never stopped waiting. I guess she wanted an answer.” Hariss admitted.

The search for Said even took the siblings to the studios of TV3’s programme Jejak Kasih. However, people began ringing them to say their father was still alive and living in Kuala Lumpur or was last sighted in Chow Kit — the family was led on a wild goose chase with payment demanded in return. Friends travelling and working in the UK were also roped in to help in the search but to no avail.

This started off a chain of positive developments from London to Liverpool to Aberdeen and later, to an oil rig in Scotland. I asked friends who had served in the British Army before but that led to nothing. I gave Salmi the number for a contact in Liverpool, Jantan Lisot, who is a member of the Malay seafarers’ community there. It was through his efforts that Said was finally located. Jantan said he engaged the services of an agency to track down Said.

“The agency said they found him in Wales but would not give me the address until I made further payments. I was then given an email address to write to him through this agency,” said Jantan when I met him in Liverpool recently. The email via the agency was sent on May 23 to Said, who was in Moray, Portgordon, a small village in Scotland, almost 100km away from Aberdeen. The initial information about Wales was to mislead us so that we did not contact him personally.

However, any hope of a happy ending was soon shattered. Jantan received word that Said had died, a mere three days after receiving the email seeking to re-connect with him. Said apparently sustained a fall and died alone in his house. He was 79. Financial constraints meant that none of the family members could travel to Portgordon. But the close network of Malaysians abroad rallied to help salvage the situation in what appeared to be dire circumstances.

Arrangements were made to collect funds for the burial, which was £4,000 (approximately RM 20,500) and for the body to be taken to the Elgin Muslim cemetery. Among the Muslim community at the Elgin mosque was a Scotsman — the only person who knew Said, the man, known to neighbours in Moray and his friends at the Baxter Food factory, where he worked until five years ago, as Eddie.

Only wishing to be known as a close neighbour who missed Eddie greatly, he said Said had always lived alone. “Eddie” never spoke about his background. People only knew him to be from the army and that he used to work in London and then Liverpool. He was the best neighbour anyone could wish for, he said, with his sentiments echoed by friends, former colleagues and neighbours in his Facebook status. Lance Corporal Mohd Said Mohd Amin is buried at the Elgin Muslim cemetery in Scotland.

“I was the only non-Muslim person at the mosque and I spoke on behalf of the local community to thank the Muslim community for coming together to give Eddie a proper funeral. I also spoke briefly about how good a person and neighbour he was. He will be missed,” said the neighbour, who was also asked to identify the body at the mortuary.

The revelation by the neighbour about Said would perhaps go some way towards providing an insight into the man Hariss and his siblings had been searching for, the man who was their father. Hariss and his siblings are ready to accept it as fate that they were never to meet again. As for the whys that have plagued their minds for the past 47 years, they are resigned to the fact that perhaps something had happened to him to make him stay away.

The story of Said may not end here — diaries and journals he had written were among the possessions he left behind. These could perhaps reveal the answers the children are searching for. And for that, they will have to make the journey to Moray. One day.

Adapted from: Postcard from Zaharah: 47-year search for dad ends in heartbreak by Zaharah Othman for the New Straits Times

The 2016 Haunting of the Australian Family That Visited Titiwangsa

In June 2016, a string of Reddit posts by an Australian youth went viral on social media. In their three posts, they describe how their parents and siblings started to behave differently after they returned home from a holiday in Malaysia. 

POST 1: 

Thank you everyone for your concern. I am fine but have been preoccupied a fair bit. Initially, I had disregarded the drug angle but after reading all the comments, I feel inclined to at least get a sample to test from them. I can't exactly stick a needle in them and since I haven't heard them use the bathroom, I think urine is out of the question as well. I think I'll try and get some hair samples and send them off to a lab at Uni (I have some friends). Also, expect a full update soon. Reddit nosleep rules stipulate that you can only update once every 24 hours which is why I haven't put up another update. Please stay calm everyone, I'll let you know if things take a turn for the worst.

Hey guys, long time reader, first time user. I just needed an outlet to talk about the strange things happening at home lately.

A quick background, we are a family of 6 (mum, dad, two older brothers, me and my youngest sister) and we’ve all been born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. My mum and dad are both still in the workforce in the pharmaceutical sector, my brothers and I are at university (All at Monash University) and my sister is just about to graduate from high school (we expect top marks, my sister is a freak of nature)

Right now, we are in the middle of the uni and school breaks (mid year break). As a reward, my parents decided to take a week and a half off at work and asked if we wanted to take a short trip around SE Asia, particularly Malaysia. (SE Asia is really the only destination for many Australians because every other place is in woop-woop and would take ages to get to). Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, of course I was on board with the idea; so were the rest of the siblings.

So off we went, into Melbourne Airport Terminal 2. Everything went as smooth as possible (well, as smooth as it can be for a bunch of Muslims; ha ha. There were a couple ‘random’ frisk searches but meh, we’re used to it at this point). Boarded the plane and enjoyed the 6 hour flight as much as anyone can enjoy being in a metal tube for 6 hours.

Finally disembarked the plane, checked into our hotel, had dinner, showered and prepared for the adventures we had planned for the week. It was looking like it’d be the relaxing holiday I’d been hoping for. Apparently not.

Here is where it started to go a little bit strange. Quick fact about my family, we are your stock-standard tourist with, as embarrassing as this is, the cliché camera around the neck. We do not ever stray off the beaten tourist track. We do not search for exotic places that a normal tourist wouldn't care for and we certainly do not decide to do something spontaneously; everything about everything in my life has been meticulously planned by my parents and, as I developed the habit, by myself. So it did take me truly by surprise when my dad suggested that instead of visiting Putrajaya (the political capital of Malaysia) we should keep on driving and see ‘where the car takes us.’ No seriously, my dad, the same man who has always taken the same route to work everyday religiously, suggested a completely spontaneous and ridiculous (if you ask me) trip into nowhere. Even more strange was that, everyone agreed with him (albeit reluctantly) and I just chalked it to his midlife crisis.

I’ll be honest, I really wasn't feeling a trip into the Malaysian wilderness so to speak, so I decided to sit this one out and just chill in the hotel room with the free Wifi. The family was all cool with this and we parted ways. I know its very cliché to say this, but I really did feel in my stomach that this trip was not going to end well for anyone and I suppose it’s my fault I didn’t encourage my dad to drop this shi**y idea.

Fast-forward to 8 or so hours (they left at about midday local time), they still hadn't returned and I, being the anxious meticulous person I am, started thinking the worst. There wasn't any way for me to contact them and so I decided that if they weren't home by 10 pm (10 hours after they’ve left) I would notify both the local authorities as well as the Australian Consulate. At about 9:20, I heard the key card beep and they all walked in (wobbling would probably describe it better), almost as if they were re-learning how to walk. To calm my rampant mind, I told myself that after being stuck driving for 10 hours, I would probably also be a bit lead-footed too. They also stunk. Bad. No, stunk is an understatement. They absolutely reeked. It was a foul smell, like rotting flesh and sulfur. Also chalked this up to the long trip and the fact that they were in enclosed space. Nothing a hot, refreshing shower wouldn’t fix.

They were back into the hotel and I, being as exhausted as I was, just conked out onto my bed. It was around mid-morning I re-emerged and the sight that greeted me was not one I expected. Despite having around a week and a day left on our trip, I saw that ‘my family’ had started packing and ‘my dad’ was checking us out downstairs. ‘Dad’ came back upstairs with a goofy grin (haven’t seen something resembling that since I was 5) and told us that we needed to get back to Melbourne as unexpected work had come in and that him and mum were needed. Again, didn't want to question anything so I just went with flow of things. The family still reeked and there was no evidence that the shower had been used but like I said, I’m very mild-mannered and meek and don't like questioning people or things.

We check out, call for a taxi, and head to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Everything checks out (not many questions because they saw the Australian passport) and on the plane we embark. This is where it went super weird, like ‘holy f**k, what the f**k is actually going on!’ For those who have never been to/traveled to Australia, every passenger needs to fill out what is an inbound travelling card declaring who you are and what you’re bringing into the country. This card needs to contain your name, date of birth and passport number and there are a number of questions that need to be answered about what you’re bringing into Australia. This is nothing surprising to us, we all have travelled a fair bit together so we knew exactly what to do, except no one in my family had a clue how to hold the bloody pen, let alone fill in significant details. Eventually, after a few scribbles and some strange letters (they looked Cyrillic or Hebrew or something like that), I gave in and filled in the travel cards for everyone. By now I’m legit freaking out.

6 hours later, we disembark, head to customs and border patrol and after a few dodgy answers from ‘my parents’, I manage to convince the customs officer that they’ve just had a rough time overseas and have not quite recovered (rough time, L.O.L., what an exaggeration). He still let us through because we still are Australian citizens and as we had nothing to declare quarantine wasn’t a big issue. One strange thing I noticed was that nobody else had detected the foul odour emanating from my family members. It was only me and, surprisingly, the dogs at quarantine. The two dogs working to sniff out passenger luggage had reacted in such a negative way, with their nose wrinkled and small, barely imperceptible whimpers. The quarantine officer noticing their reactions asked if we had anything to declare and tried to get the dogs to sniff but they refused. As we had nothing to declare and there wasn't anything suspicious on the x-ray, there really wasn't anything quarantine could do but let us go through.

We leave the airport, take one of the airport shuttle buses to where our car was parked long-term. By this time, I am actually starting to think that something evil may have happened to my family whilst on their ‘trip’. We get into the car and my dad asked my the question that almost made me cry out in fear. He told me he’d forgotten the way home (we’ve lived in the same house all our lives) and if I could be a darl (He’s never called me by a pet-name, let alone something as bogan as darl), and give him directions to our home or drive us instead. I was too terrified to say no and so jumped into the driver’s seat. We live in south-eastern suburbs which is a solid 1 hour drive from in airport, located in the north. We get home finally and at this point I'm barely functional, in a state of catatonia. From the corner of my eye, I see ‘my dad’ surveying the house and smiling pridefully as if he had never been here and was gifted the property instead. The rest of my family enter the house after me and sleep in different bedrooms. That all but confirmed it to me that I had allowed evil into my home.

It’s now 1:07 am (we got home just after midnight) as I write this and I can’t sleep at all, let alone with them upstairs. Every 10 minutes or so my family break out in this sort of rhythmic hum but that stopped at a quarter to one. I’m not quite sure what the humming means but I endeavour to find out soon enough. As we are Muslims, I’ll try and get in contact with a Sheikh who knows about these things in the hopes of helping me solve this but I honestly don't know what to expect. I don't even know why I’m writing about this, I’ve never been much of a writer. I’m just at my wits end and absolutely terrified that something irreversible has occurred. I’ll try to update in the morning if I can, I’m just really exhausted and don't know what to think.

POST 2: 

Hey guys, sorry for the delay, its just been a crazy couple of days. I got in contact with the sheikh. He said that he’d be able to come in about 5-7 days. Since Islam is an Abrahamic faith, it bears a lot of similarities to both Christianity and Judaism, especially about spirits and the paranormal.

Anyways, I had still been up from the night we returned from the airport trying to keep and ear out for any other strange noises. The humming started again at around quarter past 4 and kept going till at least half past 5. At this point, I had pulled out the big guns and started reading the Quran (the Islamic holy book) which was fairly strange because I have never been much of a devout believer. What can I say, f***ed up things like this do have an affect on your beliefs and faith.

At around 5:30 in the morning, the thing that resembled my dad (I refuse to believe that thing is my father) arose and came downstairs. No shower or toilet. Just came downstairs and stared, then asked why the Quran was on the coffee table. The strange thing about this entire ordeal is that all their voices were still exactly the same. ‘My father’ still had his low, gravelly voice (years of smoking will do that to you), ‘my mum’ had her higher-pitch, almost twinkly voice. ‘My brothers’ still had their deep bassy voices and well, my sister had her voice as well. I don't know how that’s possible and if anyone knows if spirits can keep the voices of the people they become, please do share.

So, ‘my dad’ comes down and has two toast with butter only and 1 Up and Go (a breakfast drink in Australia) which surprised me as that was what my dad always had for breakfast. Perhaps, I'm beginning to think, that my actual dad is not dead/taken but rather suppressed by the evil spirit so some of nuances are still present. ‘My mum’ was the same, woke up (again no toilet/shower), had her cup of black coffee with no sugar and a bowl of cornflakes. Exact same thing my mum had for breakfast.

It’s now 8 am and they’re leaving to go to work. I haven’t been asked for directions to my parents’ workplace which leads me to believe that they may have acquainted themselves with who they're supposed to be overnight. My brothers, my sister and I are still on break so we’re the only ones still at home. I feel more comfortable dealing with ‘my siblings’ without the influence of ‘my dad’ because it seems as though he is the leader, telling them what to do and how to act.

Like I mentioned, I brought the Quran out to read and put my mind at ease. Many people in the comments mentioned that it could be a jinn (a spirit in Islamic culture, not necessarily evil, that can possess someone) and because of that, I have been reading the chapter in the Quran that is specifically called ‘The Jinn.’ It seems when I read it out loud, I can hear a sort of scratching noise upstairs, particularly my sister’s room. Maybe I'm imagining that the words are having an effect on the things upstairs or maybe I'm making my brain feel as though they are, I can’t be too sure. I’ve been speaking with a few family friends and each of them have told me very firmly that I am not strong enough (religiously, I assume) to deal with or fight the creatures that are pretending to be my family and that I should wait for the sheikh

It’s now 2:50 pm in the afternoon. ‘The siblings’ have still not woken up, I'm not really sure why. Even on their laziest days, nobody is usually asleep past 1:30 pm. I’m very tempted to go upstairs and see what’s up but I’ve watched enough horror movies to know that no good comes of going up to the monster itself. I’m not about to die without solving this mess. My parents usually come back from work at about 5:30 pm so I have some time to try and arm myself with as much information and 'dua' (prayers) as I can.

5:34 pm. I hear my parents car drive into the garage. They both come in together, looking a lot less satisfied than they were this morning. I’m not sure why. ‘My dad’ whispers something along the lines of ‘…should never have..should stay..’ and something like ‘banjoran titwang’ to my mum. I’m not sure if I heard the last part correctly, could it be an insult? A place? I haven't got a clue. I don't even know what language it is but it’s definitely not English. They’ve just said hi to me and gone upstairs. To do what, I don't know. But as long as they’re not near me, I don’t feel as anxious. The smell is still in the house but it’s not as strong as I remember it though that could be because I’ve been around it for a fair bit.

It’s just ticked over midnight here, 12:07 am to be exact. My need for sleep has grown considerably (I haven't actually slept in over almost 72 hours) so I’ve made myself a makeshift bed on the sofa and have the Quran blasting in my earphones. I dunno, it just makes me feel a lot better and soothes me. I’ll leave it at that and try to update if anything big happens or when the Sheikh gets here, whichever comes first. Fingers crossed its the sheikh.

I know I’ve been told not to try and fight whatever it is that’s inside my family members but I guess I’m a sucker for masochism. Every time I hear the rhythmic hum begin upstairs, I’ve began reciting verses from the Quran softly under my breath and I swear the rhythmic hum will stop for a bit and I hear knocks instead, underneath my dad’s room. The knocks have always been the same pattern, three short knocks, three long knocks and three short knocks once more. I dunno what the knocks represent? Could it be like warning knocks or something? Maybe nine knocks signifies something? I’m not sure. Also still waiting for the Sheikh, he said he’d be here on Friday. It’s a Tuesday night at the moment. I’ll update as soon as I can.

POST 3: 

I’m back guys, thankfully unharmed (as of yet). It’s a cold Saturday evening and I just finished speaking with the sheikh (for a second time), a lovely Imam named Ahmad and I’ll try to reiterate everything I saw as well as what he let me know based on what he got from the first meeting with them.

Imam Ahmad first approached my dad and shook his hand. ‘Dad’ shook back almost as if he was being forced to (strengthening my theory that perhaps there is a little bit of my real dad just being suppressed by the creature). This is basically how the dialogue went: 

IMAM AHMAD: Salam Alaykum. Can you please tell me who you are? 

‘DAD’: I am Ali ***** (side note: Notice he didn't respond with the peace greeting in the beginning?) 

IMAM AHMAD: Ali, what is it that you do for a living? 

‘DAD’: I am a pharmaceutical scientist working for ****** ******* ******* 

IMAM AHMAD: And how long have you been working there? 

‘DAD’: Nearing on 25 years. 

At this point, ‘my dad’ seemed to have passed with flying colours. He knew our names, what we studied at uni, and some other little things like what my most disliked chore was (vacuuming, by far) and what my mother’s favourite dessert was. However, there was still something off. No matter how well he knew the family and us, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off. The smell was still there and occasionally, the hum would start upstairs where my siblings were. I asked Imam Ahmad if he could smell the rotting flesh I could but he replied saying he couldn't. It was now that Imam Ahmad asked me if he could try an experiment. The experiment consisted of playing some of ‘The Cow’ (Surah Al-Baqarah) chapter of the Quran and see if there was a reaction. He let me know that this was usually the standard at which other Sheikhs and Imams decided on whether there was a spirit or something paranormal involved. I told him I already had it on my iPhone and gave it to him. He pressed play and waited as it began.

The result was almost instantaneous. ‘My dad’ began shrieking in such an inhuman way I was terrified he was legit going to eat us. The shrieking was also present upstairs and the scratching I heard the first night we came back intensified. All of this would have happened within the space of about 3 seconds but if you asked me it felt like shrieks would never stop. Imam Ahmad stopped the Quran and at that moment, he let me know that he could now smell what I’ve been smelling the entire time.

In as much strength as I could conjure, I asked him to explain exactly what he’d done. You see, I'm well versed in exorcisms and possessions but only in the Christian sense, with The Lord’s Prayer, Holy Water, crucifixes and crosses etc. I have Hollywood to thank for that. But how often have I heard of exorcisms and possessions in the Islamic sense? Can’t say too many. Imam Ahmad noticed the terror in my face and asked if it was possible if I could stay with a family friend or a friend for a couple days and that I meet him at the local mosque after the noon prayer tomorrow. He waited whilst I organised a place to sleep for the night and offered to drop me off, which I kindly accepted.

It was on the way to one of my closest mate’s place (She lives in the on-campus residences at uni) that Imam Ahmad tried to explain to me what happened. In essence, he said that he was now about 85% sure that my family were possessed by Jinns who were very powerful and definitely had terrible intentions. You’d be surprised how well I took this information. The Imam looked at me warily and asked why I was so calm. It was then I let slip that I had fellow Redditors following my story and that the topic of skin walkers and drug hallucinations had come up. Imam Ahmad reassured me again that he was quite confident that my family members were still alive but would not be for long if he didn't start the exorcism soon. Whatever relief I had gained from hearing about the earlier information had quickly vanished and this time I was perhaps more terrified. We reached my mate’s place and the Imam reminded me again that he was expecting my visit tomorrow.

Right now, I’m with Amelia, my best friend of close to six years. I’ve sort of filled her in on what’s going on but as she’s a staunch atheist, she’s trying to comprehend things logically. I guess I’ll leave it at for now and update as soon as I’ve caught up with Imam Ahmad.

UPDATE: Hi everyone, unfortunately things have taken a turn for the worse, particularly my little sister. I'm not sure for how long I won't be able to update because right now I'd like to focus all my attention towards this ongoing issue. I know I promised and ending regardless but please give me some time. Thank you and God bless all of you.

The Redditor is yet to put up a fourth post. 

Kalank (2019) Beautiful Set Design

Top 10 Tamil Films of 2018

We could not afford to watch every Tamil movie released in our small hometown in Malaysia. However, here is our very own list of films that we managed to catch at our local cinemas. 

15. Vishwaroopam 2 

Following the events of the first film, Wisam and his team leave New York for London to return their friend, Dawkins' body to his family. During this time, they learn of how terrorists are planning to blow sunken cesium weapons brought to the UK by American soldiers during the second World War to create a tsunami that will destroy London. Although Wisam manages to stop the terrorists, they manage to escape to India. Wisam is forced to return to his homeland and confront his past...

14. Tik Tik Tik 

Following a meteor shower in Chennai, the Indian Space Research Organisation predicts an asteroid will hit India in less than a week. Army officers Swathi (Nivetha Pethuraj) and Raguram (Vincent Asokan) recruit Vasu (Jayam Ravi) and his friends, who are professional magicians and escape artists to break into a Chinese space station and steal an illegal nuclear missile that they can use to destroy the asteroid. Under the pretense of a satellite maintenance project, Vasu and his team are sent into space. However, Vasu receives an anonymous message warning him to sabotage the plan or else his son will die. To make things worse, the Chinese space station captain, Lee Wei (Aaron Aziz), is aware of the Indian space team's plans...

13. U-Turn

Rachana (Samantha Akkineni) is an aspiring journalist who is working on a story about the mysterious deaths of people across the city who are linked to a flyover in the city. She becomes convinced that someone is targeting motorists who move the concrete blocks that divide the road to avoid traffic by making a quick U-turn. She eventually learns that these motorists often do not place these blocks in their original position and this leads to many road accidents. As she investigates even further, she learns that all their deaths are linked but not in a way that she would have imagined...

12. 96 

Ram (Vijay Sethupathi) is a freelance photographer who is overcome by memories during an unplanned visit to his former high school. Through his class' social media group, he manages to arrange a reunion party in the city by inviting everyone who graduated in the year 1996. Ram's high school sweetheart, Janaki (Trisha Krishnan) shows up unexpectedly... 

11. Imaaika Nodigal

CBI officer Anjali (Nayanthara) was instrumental in the killing of Rudra (Anurag Kashyap), a serial killer who terrorized Bangalore when she was still a rookie. Years later, a copycat killer surfaces, claiming to be the real Rudra, whom Anjali failed to capture. Things become complicated when Krithika (Raashi Khanna), who is the girlfriend of Anjali's doctor brother, Arjun (Atharvaa) is abducted by what appears to be Rudra. When Anjali is suspended and kept under house arrest, Arjun decides to take matters into his own hands and tracks down Rudra, who reveals that Anjali has been harboring a dark secret for many years, one that will destroy her entire reputation... 

10. Annanukku Jai

Sekar (Attakathi Dinesh) is a carefree young man who works for his father Murugesan (Mayilsamy) who sells toddy without a license to their fellow villagers. One day, Murugesan is arrested by the police after the jealous bar owner, Selva (Dheena) makes a report against him. Sekar cannot avenge his father since Selva works for Parasuraman (Radha Ravi), the local corrupt politician. Desperate, Sekar decides to join politics himself to take down Selva. One night, someone tries to murder Selva and the entire village starts to suspect Sekar is behind it...

9. Naachiyaar

Naachiyaar (Jyothika), a no nonsense Chennai policewoman and her partner, Feroz (Rockline Venkatesh) save Arasi (Ivana), an underage rape victim from her uncle and his goons who try to force her to undertake an abortion. The prime suspect turns out to be Arasi's boyfriend, Kaathu (G.V. Prakash Kumar), who is sent to a juvenile home, where he is cared for by a warden. When a DNA test is conducted on Arasi's baby, the truth eventually exposes an elaborate underground network of rapists and enablers who prey on unsuspecting young girls from impoverished communities...

8. Kolamavu Kokkila

Kokila (Nayanthara) is an educated but timid young lady who is struggling to find a job to support her family. When her mother is diagnosed with lung cancer, a desperate Kokila convinces the local gangster to allow her to smuggle cocaine for him. She manages to fool the authorities with her naive appearance and successfully transports drugs across the city. When she tries to quit the business, the gangster threatens her to deliver one last consignment to his partner. However, this consignment is the largest she has ever transported. To complete the task, she recruits her own family and friends to help out...

7. Chekka Chivantha Vaanam

Senapathi (Prakash Raj) is the mafia leader of the most powerful and influential crime family in Chennai. One morning, he and his wife Lakshmi (Jayasudha) are almost killed by assassins disguised as policemen. Senapathi suspects it must be the work of one of their three sons. Varadan (Arvind Swami), the hot-tempered and cold blooded eldest son is Senapathi's closest henchmen. Thyagu (Arun Vijay), the second son is the most educated and is expanding their families' businesses in the middle east. Ethi (Silambarasan) is the youngest and is estranged from his family while running an illegal weapons trading chain across Europe. The whole family show up in Chennai and old family rivalries begin to surface... 

6. 2.0 

The film begins where the first movie ended. Dr. Vaseegaran (Rajnikanth) has dismantled Chitti (also Rajnikanth) and replaced him with Nila (Amy Jackson), a purely domestic humanoid robot to function as his assistant. However, Vasee and Nila are forced to reassemble Chitti following a mass hysteria in Chennai when smartphones around India are sucked into thin air. Vasee, Nila and Chitti trace the source of the phenomenon to the suicide of an elderly ornithologist, Pakshi Rajan (Akshay Kumar) who hanged himself from a cell tower in his own backyard. The cell tower's illegally sanctioned high radiation combined with Pakshi's negative aura energy produces an otherworldly entity that even Chitti cannot handle. When all hope is lost, a desperate Nila decides to revive an old rival from Vasee's past that once caused mass destruction to the city...

5. Ratsasan

Arun (Vishnu Vishal) is a young police officer with aspirations to enter the film industry. A few days after he joins the service, young girls start disappearing and their bodies are found a few days later, brutally mutilated. Having intensively researched the likes of Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer while writing his screenplays, Arun immediately recognizes this is the work of a psychotic serial killer. However, his superiors refuse to listen to him. Things take a turn for the worse when Arun's own niece goes missing...

4. Vada Chennai

Four gangsters assassinate their former mentor and leader at an empty restaurant in North Madras. Two of them surrender to the authorities while the remaining two continue to expand their business and influence across the city. The two in jail eventually feel betrayed by their partners in crime when they are not bailed out. In comes Anbu (Dhanush), a talented carrom player who gets into trouble for constantly getting in between gang fights. While it initially appears as if he is not interested in the rivalry between both prison gangs, a twist in fate reveals that there is more to him than meets the eye...

3. Mercury

Michael (Sananth Reddy) and his four best friends are deaf and dumb orphans who were raised at a children's shelter after their families were killed in a mercury poisoning incident. As young adults, they return to the hill station they grew up in for a reunion. They unwittingly kill a man (Prabhu Deva) by and try to hide his body at the forest not too far from the site of the mercury poisoning. The following morning, they return to the forest to retrieve something from the body that might incriminate them. Instead, they find that the body is missing and they are then hunted by an otherworldly entity that brutally murders them one by one...

2. Kaala

The impoverished people living in the slum of Dharavi in Mumbai are constantly ostracized by politicians, businessmen and gangsters alike. The only people who never fails to stand up for them is Kaala (Rajinikanth) and his family. However, Kaala is soon faced with a foe like no other in the form of Union Minister Hari Dhadha (Nana Patekar) and his goon Vishnu Bhai (Sampath Raj). Even the return of Kaala's highly educated and influential first wife, Zareena (Huma Qureshi) to Mumbai cannot stop Hari Dhadha. Following the assasination attempt on his life that kills his second wife, Selvi (Easwari Rao) and eldest son Selvam (Dileepan), Kaala tries out a new strategy to take down Hari Dhadha once and for all. But Hari Dhadha is always a few steps ahead...

1. Pariyerum Perumal

Pariyerum Perumal (Kathir) comes from an oppressed community. At law school, he befriends Jothi (Anandhi), a naive girl from an upper caste. Jothi's cousin, Sankar (Lijesh), who goes to the same college as Pari and Jothi, disapproves of their friendship. When Jothi invites Pari to her home for her sister's wedding, the men in Jothi's family hatch a plan to teach Pari a lesson by establishing their caste superiority over him. Jothi's father leads Pari into a room to talk. When Sankar and his brothers break into the room, they strip Pari off his pride and dignity in a way that would change the young man's life forever...

Top 10 Tamil Horror Films

Tamil films are not all Masala films. There are some pretty decent genre films, and horror is no exception. Here is a list of our top 10 in no particular order.

10. Zero

Source: Google Images

Bala and Priya are a young couple who get married despite the disapproval of the latter's father due to the history of mental illness in Priya's family. As soon as they move into their new home, Bala notices Priya behaving strangely. Desperate to help his wife, Bala turns to Solomon, a psychic and occult specialist. Unknown to anyone, Priya can mentally transport herself into another realm where she meets her dead mother and other women who died during miscarriage because of a vengeful spirit from the beginning of time who seeks to do more harm than Priya thinks...

9. Pizza 

Source: Google Images

Michael, a pizza delivery boy, is sent to a large bungalow on the outskirts of Chennai one night. The lady of the house invites Michael in and asks him to wait for a minute as she goes upstairs to get some change. Suddenly, the lights go off and Michael hears a loud noise from upstairs. He goes to check and finds the lady brutally murdered, with a slice of the pizza missing. When he tries to escape, he finds there is no way out and he is trapped all alone...

8. Maya

Source: Google Images

Apsara is a young single mother who is struggling to become an actress. She learns about a a new, unreleased horror film which is reportedly so scary that test audiences have gone hysterical halfway through watching it. The filmmakers organize a promotional contest that will reward half a million Rupees to anyone willing to watch their film alone from beginning to end. Desperate, Apsara takes up the challenge to make some quick cash and pay off her debts. However, she quickly realizes that this is no ordinary film when she cannot escape the theater hall...

7. Yavarum Nalam

Source: Google Images

Manohar and his extended family move into a new apartment, 13B, on the 13th floor of the building. The women in his family start watching a new soap opera on TV called 'Everyone is Well', which is also about a family moving into a new home. As days pass, they start to realise that the soap opera's story line is strikingly similar to their own life. Manohar finds a diary that reveals the apartment's terrifying past involving suicide, murder, a broken heart and much more...

6. Pisasu

Source: Google Images

Siddharth Soundaarajan is an upcoming violinist in Chennai, who becomes traumatized after he fails to save a teenage girl from dying in a road accident. To overcome his guilt, he drives around the city aimlessly to help those in need. However, he starts to realize that he is being haunted by an otherworldly entity. This leads him to investigate the death of the teenage girl and the cause of the accident, which leads him to a shocking revelation...

5. Chandramukhi

Source: Google Images

Senthil, and his wife Gangga move temporarily to his ancestral village for business. While there, he buys and lives in the infamous Vettaiyapuram palace. The palace is allegedly haunted by the vengeful spirit of a courtesan named Chandramukhi who used to serve the king who lived there over a hundred years ago. Gangga is fascinated by the legend while Senthil does not believe in superstition. However, things change when everyone in the palace start experiencing strange occurrences. Senthil then invites his foster brother, the psychiatrist Saravanan who is also an expert in the paranormal to help out. 

4. Demonte Colony

Source: Google Images

Four friends decide to visit a reportedly haunted house called Demonte Colony one night. However, they find nothing spooky and return to their apartment. One of them had taken a necklace they found at the house in the hopes that they could sell it for money. Strange things start to happen and the four young men quickly discover that they cannot escape their apartment, nor can anyone outside hear their screams... 

3. Aval

Source: Google Images

Krish and Lakshmi are a young newly wedded couple living a happy life in Srinagar. Things change when a wealthy family moves into the vacant house next door. The family's teenage daughter, Jenny develops a crush on the handsome Krish. Jenny slowly develops weird habits that worries both families. Things become worse when Jenny, who has never learned Chinese, starts to speak the language... 

2. Mercury

Source: Google Images

Five dumb and deaf friends have a reunion in the hill station they grew up in. On that night, they kill a man by accident and try to get rid of the body at the site of an old mercury factory to avoid getting arrested. The next morning, one of them discover they might have lost something that might incriminate them. They return to the burial site to retrieve the object but find that the body has gone missing. They then find themselves being chased by something that they cannot quite explain... 

1. Villa

Source: Google Images

Jebin Jose is an inspiring novelist who learns that his late father had left him a large villa in Pondicherry in his will. Jebin and his artist girlfriend, Aarthi visit the villa, where they find some of his father's paintings. Jebin starts to suspect that his father could see the future when some of the events depicted in the paintings come true. However, he begins to get worried when he finds some other hidden paintings in the villa showing a man resembling him killing a girl that appears to be Aarthi...