Beyond the Frame: The rise of ‘decoding’ culture in Tamil cinema

In a rapidly evolving landscape of Tamil cinema, a new culture of “decoding” films is emerging, championed by cinephiles who analyze movies through a lens of craft and intention

Kodaikanal-based Madhan begins the conversation by opening up on how he became an engineering graduate by degree and a cinephile by instinct. He speaks of cinema the way some people speak of faith. “I’ve always been a cinephile. Not in the sense of following only a particular cinema or industry...I genuinely love cinema as a whole,” he says.

From childhood, Madhan was drawn not to the glamour of the screen but to the layers behind it. For him, cinema is equivalent to what books are to many. “And that’s how the whole decoding films started.”

He notes that, for a good film, the opening shot itself reveals what kind of experience the director is preparing you for. “That’s when I realise that, ‘Okay, this movie is going to have a lot of detail,” says Madhan, who is popularly known by his handle ‘Man with ADHD’ on social media.

The turning point arrived with his video on Vada Chennai. “In 12–13 hours, it crossed a million views.” In it, he reinterpreted the “funk scene,” where Dhanush is detained by police for his hairstyle, a moment many assumed was random. He linked it to the tense atmosphere following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, suggesting that if witnesses described a suspect with a distinctive haircut, police across neighbourhoods like Royapuram would begin profiling young men who matched that look. This fresh perspective went viral, and even Vetri Maaran later referenced it at an event, bringing him recognition from media houses, meme pages, and members of the director’s own team.

Overnight, media portals, meme pages, and even Vetri Maaran’s team began following his work. For the first time, his observations got recognition.

From thereon, with every video, he built a growing community of people who are curious to look at cinema with a deeper lens. “Hollywood has massive decoding communities for Game of Thrones, Marvel, and DC. I wanted to create a similar space for Tamil cinema,” he says.