Raja is a super-charming magician with an ever-present mischievous glint in his eye. Think of it as Anniyan without the long hair and multiple personalities.
Thiyagarajan is just another medical college student, but certain events turn him into a rather dark vigilante who puts himself through torture to toughen himself. It reminds you of Gemini, both because of the gesture and because of similarities to the gangster plot it worked in Gemini, it did not in Sketch.
His palm is spread out while the ring finger points back at his face, as if to point to the ‘mass’ hero persona that Vikram has cultivated. Vikram comes up with yet another hand gesture as Jeeva aka Sketch. The film might have not aged as well, but Arul, with his aruvaa, is still memorable. Vikram’s role is relatively less specific in terms of characterisation, but equally detailed in terms of appearance, body language, and accent. Aarusaamy’s intense masculinity is made believable through an often tongue-in-check performance.Īrul - both the lead character and the film - tries hard to be Saamy. What makes this seemingly conflicted character work is Vikram’s earnestness. He appears corrupt, but has a heart of gold. Vikram flexes some serious brawn, through his physical appearance, to yet again make a relatively generic character believable.Īarusaamy, who prefers beer to chutney, is what you might call a morally grey cop, within the limits of a masala film. He plays Arumugam, an unlettered rustic who fights powerful rowdies in Chennai. Vikram’s first major role after Sethu, he brought the same commitment to physically transform himself to fit an earnest masala role.ĭhool established Vikram as a serious action hero. Vikram’s first hyper-masculine action role, Dhill is the story of how Kanagavel becomes a police officer against odds, thanks to his courage. A nuanced performance by Vikram effectively depicts Lingesan’s shock, despair, and what’s probably Shankar’s favourite emotion - revenge. He leaves behind many on his way to the top, and they gang up, and inject him with a virus that makes him a hunchback. He brilliantly switches among the three characters in the scene at the psychiatrist’s where each persona fights for access to the self.Ī beefed up and often well-oiled Lingesan is Mr. And they all live inside the same person. A mystic of the graveyard, like his name suggests.Īmbi is an honest lawyer.
With blackened teeth, a mud-caked face, and eyes that are empty when they are not searching, Siththan seems almost human without ever behaving like one. Playing a congenitally blind and impoverished singer who never runs out of backchat, he showcases emotions with just his dialogue delivery and a body language that’s superbly convincing. In Kasi, Vikram finds ways to emote without using his eyes. As his body wanes, his eyes, which are our only window to his now concussed brain, show shock and confusion, before becoming tragically blank in the end. He goes from a handsome and robust college rowdy to a pitifully emaciated shadow. Vikram’s dramatic physical transformations began with Sethu. The list is broken down, for the sake of easier understanding, and possibly to encourage a re-watch, into six categories. It is hard to classify a selection of Vikram’s eclectic roles, because his roles have been varied, and he’s constantly defied stereotyping.