After the climax, Siva wiped his nose with his shirt sleeve. “We need to return the CD tomorrow. My dad will beat me if he finds it.”

It was July 2004. Cheran’s Autograph was the talk of every town. But Siva’s family didn’t own a VCD player, and the nearest cinema hall was 30 km away. So the three friends pooled their lunch money — ₹10 each — for Senthil to download and burn the disc using the centre’s new “broadband” connection (a shaky 256 kbps BSNL line that cost ₹50 per hour).

The year 2004 was a landmark period for Tamil cinema, often characterized as a "Golden Year" for the industry. It marked a significant shift where both high-budget commercial blockbusters and low-budget realistic films achieved massive success, redefining the box office landscape in Tamil Nadu.