Movies are made to entertain the audience and succeed at the box office. Very few movies exceed these expectations and stand out for generations. Ghilli, which was telecasted as Sun TV's Sunday Primetime movie on March 29, 2020, is one movie that just makes people watch it 'n' number of times without any second thought whenever it is played on TV. 

Ghilli is a very generic commercial movie that has nothing new to offer in terms of its story and technical works. But why is it so special? 

When Ghilli was released during the summer of 2004, the first thing that captivated the audience was Vijay's unusual energy throughout the movie. Vijay was known to be someone who is very silent and his previous films that showcased him as a lover boy had few scenes where he was energetic and loud. Thirumalai is one notable film, in fact, the first successful mass commercial entertainer of Vijay that showed he is very much capable of portraying as a mass hero. Then followed the epic called Ghilli. In Ghilli, Vijay portrayed an electrified youngster throughout the film.

Director Dharani's racy and a no-nonsense screenplay kept the audience at the edge of their seats even after knowing that the hero would win anyway. In Dharani's previous blockbusters Dhill and Dhool, the lead characters not only had the muscle power to thrash the villains but also the serious conviction and intelligent strategies that keep the story moving at a brisk and untiring pace. Ghilli had one such hero who would use all his brilliance to test the patience of the antagonist. The way in which Trisha's role was written looked very different to the audience as it wasn't another 'cutie beauty' heroine role and the emotions were not exaggerated.

The supporting roles in Tamil Cinema's mass commercial films have been mostly created to fill the gaps whenever the hero has nothing to do or needed a break. But the roles of Ashish Vidyarthi, Janaki, Jennifer, and Mayilsamy connected well with the audience, especially the families and the dialogues were very natural, which is expected only in a classic film. The conversations made were realistic and felt like it was being done in a real family.

Any hero's victory will be accepted by the audience only if he has a dominant villain to face. Prakashraj's characterization in Ghilli is a revelation. How many times have we seen a ruthless antagonist innocently proposing the heroine with an 'I Love You'?

Above all, it is the simple narration that has worked wonders. The movie didn't try to portray the hero as an inevitable force. He gets scolded by his dad, is stopped from playing his dream semifinal match, loses to his sister, feels lonely, gets severely beaten up by the villain in the climax. 

It is because Saravana Velu (Vijay's name in the film) was shown as a hero who's a next-door boy and not as a superhero who is not vulnerable, his success becomes credible and Ghilli becomes an ever-engaging watch even after 16 years with the right mix of ingredients that attract every age group.