CNN-IBN

Chennai, Jun 25: Though it is a superhero who is grabbing eyeballs in Bollywood, for the Tamil film industry, the anti-hero shines bright.

Be it Thalainagaram, Kokki, Thambi or Pudupettai, it is almost as if the clean-shaven, chocolate-faced hero is extinct and has been replaced by the rough, unruly, ready-to-kill hero.

"I do agree that there's a sudden spurt in films that have a violent background as the canvas. Henchmen and gang-wars are in vogue in films. One cannot avoid the violence altogether, but getting into that rut is also not a healthy trend," says regional officer of Central Board of Film Certification, Tamil Nadu, Babu Rammasami.

Of the 45 films certified by the Censor Board in 2006, more than half were passed with a U/A or Adults only stamp.

With anti-social protagonists driving the story, violent murders, blood and gore are a common feature and it is a trend that is not likely to die out any time soon.

"Film goers are from the age group of 18-24. So we are targeting what they like- whether it is songs or action or glamour,” says the director of Kokki, Prabhu Solomon.

Though the directors maintain that action films with violent themes are popular among the audience, hardly a handful of them have met with success at the box-office this year.

Perhaps it is a phase which may soon change to bring family drama back on the big screen and the audience back to theatres.