Prithviraj Sukumaran @ 42: The navarasas of the multi-hyphenate talent in Tamil cinema

ALSO READ | Prithviraj @ 42: 7 movies to ticker connected the Malayalam star’s birthday

Adbutham (Wonder) – Kanaa Kanden 

Even earlier helium made his mode to Tamil cinema, helium struck golden with the occurrence of manager Kamal’s Swapnakoodu. His French beard, uber chill costumes, and his playful behaviour successful the film, and particularly successful the song, “Karuppin Azhaku,” made him a heartthrob acknowledgment to the nascent-Internet epoch tv shows that featured songs from different languages. When quality of him being portion of Kanaa Kanden came up, everyone was waiting for him to beryllium the adjacent ‘chocolate boy’ of Tamil cinema. He had the looks. He had the talent. He had the instrumentality following. But to everyone’s surprise, arsenic the suave Madhan, who was 1 of the earliest templates of the now-famous firm villain, Prithviraj made an awesome debut. Here was an antagonist you’d emotion to hate, but wouldn’t hatred loving either. Unlike his illustrious predecessors similar Mammootty and Mohanlal, who made a alternatively affirmative commencement to their careers, present was Prithviraj, who didn’t caput challenging the norms, and kindling your wonderment astir what he’d bash next. 

Shringaaram (Love) – Parijatham

This clip around, Prithviraj delivered what was expected of him, but of course, with a twist. He became conscionable the 3rd histrion aft Sudhakar and Vijayakanth to prima successful a K Bhagyaraj directorial that didn’t diagnostic the filmmaker successful the lead. It wasn’t the accustomed romcom either, and it laid credence to his connection that he’d ne'er enactment successful a ‘template’ Tamil film. It was a beauteous emotion communicative that mixed the worlds of lived world and a satellite emerging from literature, and Prithviraj was romance personified arsenic the antheral who searches for the pistillate his parent dreamt for him. As Surendhar and Sreedhar, which were rather the archaic names for a romanticist leader successful the caller millennium, Prithviraj tuned successful an aged schoolhouse show that perfectly acceptable the milieu of the film. Oh, and the songs by Dharan gave him a 180 grade displacement from being a hard-hearted villain to a romanticist leader propelling a lukewarm romance. 

Haasyam (Laughter) – Mozhi 

Of course, determination is nary uncertainty that Mozhi gave Prithviraj his astir seminal enactment successful Tamil cinema. As Karthik, helium was perfect. The cleanable friend. The cleanable neighbour. The cleanable confidant. The cleanable lover. The cleanable companion. The cleanable everything. But what truly shone done successful this cleanable relation was his quality to elicit laughter from the audience. The Tamil cinema assemblage accepted him arsenic a person lad with a comic bony successful Parijatham too, but successful Mozhi, Prithviraj catered to a wider audience. It was a genre that adjacent the astir promising of stars successful Tamil cinema past weren’t exploring. It was a genre that Prithviraj wasn’t capable to research successful Malayalam either. So, helium recovered solace successful the saccharine satellite of Radha Mohan, and Prithviraj, successful the capable institution of Jyotika and Prakash Raj, proved that helium was not conscionable the sweetest of them all, but could marque them laughter astatine the driblet of a hat. Oh, and helium had the accidental to beryllium successful a movie that featured immoderate of the finest songs from Vidyasagar. 

Prithviraj and Jyotika from Mozhi.

Bhayanakam (Fear) – Saththam Podathey 

It is ironic however manager Vasanth, known for his maverick romances, collaborated with Prithviraj, 1 of the astir promising romanticist heroes of that time, to present a thrilling narration drama. In fact, this movie turned up the strength that Prithviraj hadn’t yet showcased to the Tamil audience. Yes, helium was aggravated before. Yes, helium was brave before. But Satham Podathey ensured we saw a Prithviraj that Malayalam cinema has often seen. His Ravichandran was a beauteous quality with a beauteous arc. It mightiness look similar a elemental character, but it was profoundly layered, and Prithviraj’s compelling show simplified it for us. He was the cleanable foil to Padmapriya’s terrific crook arsenic Bhanumathy and Nithin Sathya’s effectual Rathnavel. He sold the strength perfectly, and was astatine location showcasing the vulnerability and fears of the character. And, helium was blessed with the euphony of Yuvan Shankar Raja that took his sanction to a batch much households. 

Veeram (Courage) – Kannamoochi Yenada 

Till this film, Prithviraj mostly starred alongside his contemporaries successful genres that helium was acquainted with. However, successful the V Priya directorial, Prithviraj had to dial up his outlandishness to basal toe-to-toe with stalwarts similar Radikaa Sarathkumar and Sathyaraj. Once again, it was a pleasant no-frills emotion communicative that paired Sandhya alongside him. However, the existent chemistry and the existent crippled constituent was the battle-of-wits and ego clashes with his lover’s begetter (Sathyaraj). In fact, Prithviraj understood the duty and was brave capable to play second, and adjacent 3rd fiddle astatine times to accommodate the communicative betwixt Sathyaraj, Radikaa, and Sri Priya. Prithviraj serviced the film, and not the prima successful him, and proved that helium was unafraid and brave capable to cognize stardom is conscionable a effect of honorable acting. And erstwhile again, Yuvan Shankar Raja took attraction of the rest. 

Prithviraj, Sathyaraj and Sandhya successful Kannamoochi Yenada.

Compassion (Karuna) – Velli Thirai 

It is beauteous to enactment however Prithviraj’s sensibilities radiance done his prime of films. In 2005, Mohanlal made the superb Udhayananu Tharam successful Malayalam, which was 1 of the biggest successes, particularly for a movie astir the satellite of cinema. Considering however pugnacious it is really to measurement into the shoes of Mohanlal successful Malayalam, Prithviraj was astute capable to reprise this relation successful Tamil. Vellithirai, the remake of Udhayananu Thaaram, was made by a squad that Prithviraj was comfy with, since helium worked with them successful Mozhi. He was successful acquainted territory arsenic helium was joined by his Mozhi co-star Prakash Raj and Kanaa Kanden co-star Gopika. It was a relation of a failed manager trying his champion to particulate disconnected the cobwebs of failures to find a honorable mode to success. We spot him traverse this arduous journey. We spot him interruption down successful the look of adversity lone to prime himself up. We spot him suffer the emotion of his life. We spot him suffer a batch much successful his travel to making a movie helium loved, and yet, find it successful himself to combat similar a hero… a leader of his ain story. Now, if that doesn’t determination us, past what will? Well, the songs of GV Prakash will. 

Shaantham (Peace) – Ninaithaale Inikkum

After stepping into the truly large shoes of Mohanlal successful Velli Thirai, Prithviraj determine to remake a occurrence of his ain to found his market. If it was successful today’s times, we tin remainder assured that Lal Jose’s Classmates would beryllium released successful aggregate languages, particularly aft the ace occurrence of the song, “Ente Khalbile”. But this was a antithetic time, and helium brought the Malayalam occurrence to Tamil. On the onset, some films looked starkly antithetic with the Tamil mentation evidently much flashy. But the film’s halfway was astir coming to presumption with the past. It was each astir attaining a consciousness of bid astir the consequences of our mistakes. Yes, it was the quintessential assemblage film, but Prithviraj’s Shiva had the cleanable arc. He starts disconnected arsenic a brash college-goer. There is repentance for an lawsuit that changed the people of his life, and finally… the quest for answers and much questions, leads to him uncovering the bid helium craved for. Oh, and arsenic always, Prithviraj struck golden with the euphony for the film, courtesy the superb Vijay Antony. 

Anger (Raudhram) – Raavanan

Six years into Tamil cinema, Prithviraj had a merchandise each azygous twelvemonth from 2005 to 2010, and his little sojourn successful Tamil cinema reached its crowning glory with his beingness successful Mani Ratnam’s Raavanan. It was a instrumentality connected the epic mythology, Ramayana, and Prithviraj was playing the conscientious Rama. Raavanan gave Prithviraj his biggest relation successful Tamil cinema. Raavanan took him to Cannes. Raavanan had him prima alongside Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, Karthik, and Prabhu. Raavanan had him play a bull for the archetypal clip successful Tamil. Raavanan showcased his fiery strength and displayed his rage for the archetypal time. We had seen Prithviraj aggravated before, but it displayed a wrath that is not often seen connected screen. It allowed him to locomotion connected the bladed enactment betwixt justness and legality. Prithviraj was terrific arsenic the bull who is ever angry, and fto maine spell retired connected a limb and say, a shadiness amended than Vikram’s attack to the aforesaid relation successful the Hindi version, Raavan. Oh, and it marked the archetypal clip AR Rahman composed for a Prithviraj film.

Prithviraj successful Raavanan.

Disgust (Bibhatsa) – Kaaviya Thalaivan

Prithviraj temporarily signed disconnected from Tamil cinema with what yours genuinely considers his finest enactment successful the language. Although helium was playing the ‘kallapart’ successful Vasantha Balan’s Kaaviya Thalaivan, his Gomathinayagam, successful galore ways, is the ‘Raajapart’ successful the epic humanities drama. Yes, Siddharth gets to play the consecutive arrow successful the film, but it is Prithviraj who gets to play a relation that allows him to spell done a gamut of emotions. It is astir similar Prithviraj played each these characters successful his erstwhile 8 films to play Gomathi successful Kaaviya Thalaivan. In 1 role, helium manages to showcase surprise, love, humour, fear, courage, compassion, peace, and anger, and ticks the last container of disgust arsenic helium walks into the Ganges. It is not casual to play a quality that is disgusted with itself, and yet determination the assemblage watching the communicative unfold. This is simply a beauteous melange of emotions, and Vasantha Balan brought retired the champion of Prithviraj, and was aided successful this endeavour by 1 of the top soundtracks of AR Rahman. 

Prithviraj and Siddharth successful Kaaviya Thalaivan.

Just due to the fact that helium has showcased each the 9 emotions successful the 9 roles helium has played successful Tamil, it doesn’t mean Prithviraj continues this sabbatical. With pan-Indian films becoming the norm, his films bash get dubbed into Tamil, but it isn’t the same, right? 

Basically, Happy Birthday Prithviraj… and it is precocious clip you look from the Ganges, and marque a coagulated comeback to Tamil cinema.