decade before becoming the lead comedians. Santhanam
on the other hand is a little above 5 years old in
the film industry, with a few years of TV before that.
So, what is it that has accelerated Santhanam’s
ascent to the top? Yes, he has given some inspired
performances, delivered rib tickling stuff almost
every time he has appeared on screen and has also
shown the capacity to evolve. What does one mean by
evolve in a 5 year career? When he first burst onto
the scene with films like Rendu, it seemed that here
was a man who could be funny only when mouthing dialogues
with double edges especially that had a bit of adult
content in it. But, in a short span he has changed
and adapted in a way that conforms to the requirements
of Tamil cinema; humor that is palatable to the family
audiences. The apex of it all came in Boss.
But, it is not just his performances that have put
him on top. His rise has been coupled with a fall
in the fortunes of both Vadivelu and Vivek. This is
not to take any credit away from Santhanam or to suggest
that Vadivelu or Vivek have lost their appeal. But,
the magic of the big Vs has sort of dimmed in the
last two years. Though they still get the big opportunities
and are part of a lot of films, there is a definite
feeling that their ability to elicit spontaneous laughs
has been on the slide.
What is the reason for this? Both the Vs seem to have
fallen into a trap of predictability. In other words
they seem to have been consumed by their own success,
repeating too much of the same thing and thus losing
the punch in their humor. For more than 5 years, almost
8 one might say; comedy from both Vadivelu and Vivek
has revolved around one idea/theme/premise; whatever
you want to call it – in proper Chennai slang
it might be referred to as the ‘Dubakkoor rowdy’
style of comedy; playing the wannabe gangster or big
shot who always ends up getting bashed but never admits
it.
Most of the comic acts of the big Vs have been centered
along these lines or somewhere close to them. It all
perhaps started with the phenomenal success of Kaipulla
from Winner. From then on, film after film, the effort
has been to create characters that can do the same
kind of things, bring the same kind of fun. You have
Thalainagaram, Padikkathavan – the classic examples
of this syndrome. For a while (and it is quite a while)
the fancy did last; the fun was alive. But, it cannot
go on forever. Just like the Goundamani-Sendhil gags
which ruled the roost for more than a decade was swept
aside after a time; it is perhaps time for the ‘dubakkoor
rowdy’ to be taken into the reserves.
A good indication of this is the way in which the
comic track of Mappillai was received. It was perhaps
one of the most poorly received Vivek acts in al his
career and it was trying to recreate Padikkathavan;
which in turn was inspired all the way down from Winner.
The ‘dubakkoor rowdy’ act might have had
more shelf life than it has now, had it not been for
the kind of comedy infused by Santhanam. Audiences
who were slowly outgrowing the decade old act were
jolted out by the new brand of Santhanam which redefined
sarcasm and cheekiness; not as physical as Vadivelu
or as dramatic as Vivek. The new element he has introduced
is the use of hilarious analogies like the ‘muttabonda
and tie’ from Boss. In effect, he accelerated
the exit of the decade old dummy don style, catching
Vadivelu and Vivek on the wrong foot and we hope that
it is just a temporary blip. There have been evident
attempts on the part of the big Vs to go different
and it has been successful too; like Vivek’s
act in Uthamaputhiran or Vadivelu’s role in
Kaavalan. But, perhaps the ‘dubakkoor rowdy’
act has been far too successful for them to let go
off so easily and that is why we see it still sticking
around.
Comedians (all actors for that matter) do go through
a phase when what they have successfully done for
a long time suddenly becomes redundant. It is the
ability to reinvent that defines greatness and endurance.
Vivek has already done it once. There was a period
in the early 2000s where he got extremely predictable
with his ways of making comedy out of social issues,
almost taking classes on civic sense for the viewers.
It had been successful for a time, but it eventually
lost its charm. But, Vivek shed that style and came
back strong. Perhaps, now, after nearly a decade it
is time to go through the same process again.
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