In the post-COVID era, Tamil item numbers have become bigger in scale but fewer in number due to OTT censorship. However, the ones that hit, hit hard.
The 2000s saw the formalization of the "item song" as a marketing tool. Directors like Hari, Dharani, and S. Shankar realized that a well-placed item number could salvage a slow second half.
Though a Telugu-Tamil bilingual, "Manohari" (Baahubali: The Beginning - 2015) cannot be ignored. Ramya Krishnan’s Rajamatha character performing a sizzling item song set a new standard for "senior actresses" doing cameo dances.