As the year winds down and we start to look forward to the coming year, there are some personalities and events that shaped 2016 -- some struck the right chord whilst others triggered debates, controversies and set rumour mills churning. This year, we, at Rediff.com, have imagined our this year's newsmakers as movie stars and here's them as the stars of some of Hollywood and Bollywood's finest (in some cases, not really).
It's never to late to squeeze in a quick trip this month.
The by-elections to 18 assembly constituencies will decide if the ruling AIADMK remains in power or not.
For Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dig up the perceived past of the DMK rival, now under a new leader in M K Stalin, may not gel with the voters, both old and new. If they are still going to vote for the AIADMK-BJP combine, it will be for entirely different reasons, and despite Modi's poll speeches, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
If the people of Tamil Nadu stop deifying their leaders and start evaluating them more objectively, the political masters too may change their wayward behaviour, argues Sudhir Bisht.
Amma Creations' Saroja, directed by Venkat Prabhu is a feel-good entertainer with logic, fun and music. Go watch it.
Pon Radhakrishnan also stated that Naxals, Maoists and Muslim extremists may have intruded into some of the media houses too.
Fighting heavy odds, J Jayalalithaa proved her detractors wrong again with her grit and determination as she steered the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to power for a second consecutive term, bucking the tradition since 1989 when no party has retained power in Tamil Nadu.
Watch Amma Creations' Vazhthukkal only if you're madly, crazily in love -- even then, life inside a greeting card can get tedious.
By itself the event may not amount to much, but what it indicates is a changing, assertive, public doesn't want to be taken for a ride anymore.
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa followers are waiting with bated breath as the Supreme Court will hear the bail petition of the former Tamil Nadu chief minister, who has been in a Bangalore jail for almost two weeks after she was convicted in a corruption case and sentenced to four years in jail.
A wayward plot, pathetic music and irritating humour marks this Telugu film.
Amma Rajashekar's second film is ready for release on December 14.
The canteens would come up in and around industrial areas, hospitals, educational institutions and commercial hubs.
In Tamil Nadu, the alternative to one Dravidian party has been another, and for one actor-politician CM, there is another. Their initial popularity may owe to their filmi charisma, but their continued acceptance owed to their government's policies and programmes targeting the poor and the needy in the state, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Madurai (South) MLA SS Saravanan alleged that party MLAs "were being detained" at the Koovathur resort and claimed he had given a slip by wearing a "t-shirt and Bermuda (shorts)".
More than 750 constituencies spread across four states and one union territory will go to the polls on Tuesday
Rediff readers tell us what their mothers mean to them.
If Muslims face trouble I will be the first person to raise voice for them, says the Tamil superstar.
OPS also requested the EC to restarin Sisikala's pick Dindigul C Sreenivasan from functioning as the party treasurer
Tamil film Velaiyilla Pattadhari shines because of Dhanush's performance, says S Saraswathi.
Presenting 11 stunning bridal creations of the season!
'I expect normalcy to return in one or two days,' says Tuticorin's new Collector Sandeep Nandur.
We don't have confidence in the chief minister, the MLAs said.
In Karunanidhi's passing the real loser is Tamil Nadu and Tamil language. So far there is no one on the horizon to fill the vacuum left behind by him, says R Rajagopalan.
Emerging from a "consultative" meeting chaired by Chief Minister E K Palaniswami, Finance Minister D Jayakumar declared that the "unanimous" decision was taken in tune with the aspirations of the party cadres and people.
The latest updates from the Telugu film industry.
This time round, even 'petrol coupons' were reportedly distributed for those attending campaign rallies, especially those addressed by top leaders, cutting across party lines. If this owed to the rising cost of petrol and diesel -- which is a poll issue this time -- there were the customary coupons for 'quarter' (liquor bottle size) and non-vegetarian biryani. Some media reports claimed that some of these 'crowds' attended more than one political rally on the same day in the last week, and at times for rival political parties in adjoining constituencies or districts, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
If you thought you knew all about sloganeering, maybe you should take a trip to Tamil Nadu. Politicians in the southern Indian state have perfected the art of using catchy idioms and phrases to capture the public imagination, says David Gabri
The DMK chief said it was a 'resounding victory' given to his party led alliance by the people of Tamil Nadu.
Considering that all sides to the game feel being targeted by the BJP-ruled Centre through taxmen and their ED/CBI counterparts, both factions may not rule out the possibility of patching up after a time, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Will just sit back and see, said Dinakaran over AIADMK merger.
'I can only say that I will put my best foot forward,' Deepa Jayakumar tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar.
Special prayers and celebrations were held on Monday by ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party workers across Tamil Nadu on the occasion of the 'star birthday' of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
On the face of it, the first round has gone to Edappadi K Palaniswami. Not only has he been named chief ministerial candidate, that too by his one-time bete noire Panneerselvam, he also gets one member more in the steering committee than OPS. He can now hope to wean away one or more members of the OPS team in the steering committee just as he had done with other leaders in the latter's camp, post-reunification. That was also OPS's concern, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Why does any talk about reproduction, or condoms, or sanitary napkins make us so uncomfortable, wonders Divya Nair.
Announcing her appointment, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde hailed the Mysore-born Gopinath as "one of the world's outstanding economists with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership and extensive international experience".
