After all, the director may have been critically acclaimed, and given hits in the past, but to be accepted by the trade, it is your last hit that counts. So, some famous names do not figure here because their films did not connect with the target audience.
However, many first time directors are included because their new ideas were welcomed by all.
No: 12 - Sargunam
He directed Kalavani, a small budget film with no big stars, and released it without any hype or hoopla. The romantic comedy was beautifully conceived, tastefully shot and interestingly packaged, and was a hit in 2010.
Sargunam believed it was hard work, passion and a sincere approach that helped him achieve the success with his debut film.
No: 11 - C S Amudham
Amudham was a trail blazer with his Tamizh Padam, the first spoof on the Tamil film industry. Mirchi Shiva, as the typical larger than life hero in this parody, was a delight, as were his well-written punch lines. The film, which was made on a small budget, was a huge hit.
No: 10 - Selvaraghavan
Selvaraghavan is a director who thinks differently and makes movies that caters to the youth. However this year, with Aayirathil Oruvan, Selva flirted with a new genre - the big budget, fantasy entertainer.
The film was a commercial hit, but his target audiences want him to stick to his forte: romantic musical thrillers with a twist.
No: 9 - Prabhu Solomon
Prabhu reinvented himself as a director of meaningful cinema with Mynaa. The film, a romantic musical thriller, was made on a very low budget in never-seen-before hilly locations near Munnar.
The film was promoted aggressively by its makers, and Prabhu's fresh content was lapped up by the viewers.
No: 8 - AL Vijay
Vijay is a pleasant and hard working director who came to prominence with his Madhrasapattinam. He dared to make a period film set in the 1940s, laced it with a romantic twist, along with an A-Team of technicians like G V Prakash, Nirav Shah and Selva.
No: 7 - Vasantha Balan
He made the year's critically-acclaimed Angadi Theru, which was a huge hit. A stark, realistic film with deft directorial touches, it narrowly lost out to Peepli Live in the 'Best Foreign Film' category as India's entry for the Oscars.
Balan is one of the few directors who, after a sensational debut with Veyil, managed to come up triumphant in his second film.
No: 6 - Mani Ratnam
Mani Ratnam is one of the iconic directors in Tamil cinema. Unfortunately, Mani Sir lost the plot when he tried to go pan India with his bi-lingual Raavan in Hindi and Raavanan in Tamil.
The film was made keeping the sensibilities of the North Indian audiences in mind, but it was his loyal core fans in the South who bailed him out.
Raavanan, though an average grosser, saved him to a certain extent. Mani Ratnam should understand that Bollywood will always consider him an outsider, but in Tamil cinema he is a living legend.
No: 5 - Gautham Vasudev Menon
He is one director who has been innovative in every film he has done. Gautham keeps exploring new genres, and this year it was Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya - popularly known as VTV. The film was a breezy, romantic story with outstanding music by A R Rahman.
Gautham's packaging and star cast did wonders for the film, and its Telugu version was also a trendsetter of sorts.
The success of Gautham as a director is that he has a direct connect with his elite audiences and has never tried to woo the masses.
No: 4 - Hari
Hari is another director who plays to his strengths and never moves away from his core, mass-family audiences. Through Singam, a super hit, he once again showed that there is something in his films for all sections.
He is a dream director for any producer as he completes his films in a single schedule and on a reasonable budget. All the big heroes are queuing up for his dates because he is a safe bet, and has tremendous reach among the masses.
No: 3 - Rajesh
His first film was a sleeper hit. And his second release, Boss Engira Baskaran, was one of the super hits of the year.
Rajesh's stories are simple, straightforward romcoms laced with sentiments, melodies and lots of feel-good factor. The heroes of his films get a new lease of life - ask Jiiva and Arya - and currently he is the flavour of Kollywood.
All the leading stars are ready to give him priority dates! No wonder Udhayanidhi Stalin is going to make his acting debut in a Rajesh film.
No: 2 - Lingusamy
Right from his college days in small town Kumbakonam, Lingusamy understood the psyche of the masses. He used to study their every reaction - he used to watch every Tamil film released in the late 80s and early 90s.
Lingusamy has a knack of working out his script and presenting them onscreen the way masses prefer. The success of Paiyaa is because of a racy script, fantastic music and the chemistry between the lead pair.
No: 1 - Shankar
Shankar can be called the Showman of South Indian Cinema. What makes him numero uno is that he has an awesome track record and is a big budget survivor.
His joining hands with Rajinikanth has worked big time at the box office with Sivaji and latest Endhiran, which created new collection records.
The filmmaker in him constantly reinvents himself with every film. He understands how to mix the commercial ingredients of a superstar film with the latest in technology to make them work with all classes of audiences across the globe.
How important is he? Well, one of the shrewdest and smartest actors and filmmakers in the country, Aamir Khan, has agreed in principle to do a film with him!
