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Kollywood Top Contenders

By Anand J [Email: cine@monsoonjournal.com] 
[monsoonJournal.com]
Every decade in Tamil cinema history has witnessed a list of stars contending for the top slots. This Kollywood race dates back to M K Thyagaraja Bhagavadhar era and we have seen this star power struggle happening among stars ever since. Notable stars include M K Thyagaraja Bhagavadhar, P U Chinnappa, M G Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth, Kamal Hassan and the latest Vijay and Ajith. Not to forget that there were other strong contenders which included Gemini Ganeshan, S S Rajendran, JaiShankar, Sivakumar, Vijayakumar, Vijayakanth, Mohan, Vikram and Surya. Each decade has seen a flurry of actors/actresses storm through the film industry and a very few leave a mark in the minds of the viewers and last beyond decades. MGR and Sivaji was able to sustain for over 4 decades and currently Rajini and Kamal has survived and sustained over 3 decades. The race still goes on. We will look at the latest contenders for the top spot in Kollywood.

Trisha - One of the best contenders for the top spot having delivered hits upon hits with Ghilli, Saami, Thirupachi, Something Something Unakkum Enakkum and lot more. She is also vying for the top slot in Telugu film industry which by all means she might. Having acted with Chiranjeevi in the Super Hit ‘Stalin’ her stakes in the Telugu film industry has gone high. Her forthcoming release ‘Bheema’ is the third highly expected movie of this year after Sivaji and Dasavadharam. She is the lead heroine of ‘Bheema’ acting with his favorite co-star Vikram. Her only aim is to act with the one and only Super Star Rajinikanth by all means. She missed the opportunity of acting with the Super Star in ‘Sivaji’ since she was pre occupied with commitments for ‘Stalin’. Her favorite place is ‘New York City’ and she wishes to have her honeymoon in ‘Venice’. Another film which she is eagerly awaiting is ‘Kireedom’ in which she has acted opposite the humble ‘Ajith’ and she is believed to have a powerful role in the movie. More than her actress traits, it is her humble nature and helping tendency that has made her a star power. She has apparently started a ‘Trisha Foundation’ to help Homeless families and educate poor children. It is indeed a good gesture from the actress and let us wish her best of luck in her future endeavors.

Asin – The dove eyed beauty created tremor and ripples through her performance in ‘Ghajini’ which was praised by one and all. She has managed to gain attention through all her movies with her lead stars including Vijay, Vikram and Surya. Asin, as we reported earlier was a Business entrepreneur before she entered Tamil films. After ‘Ghajini’, it was ‘Pokkiri’ that shot her to fame and she is believed to have received three offers from Bollywood including ‘Ghajini’ in Hindi with Aamir Khan, ‘Pokkiri’ in Hindi with Salman Khan. She will be the first actress to have made it big in Bollywood after Sridevi if she completes these two projects. Reliable sources say that she will concentrate more in Bollywood for a couple of years while simultaneously doing movies in Kollywood. Asin, still in her early stages of her acting career, received an offer to act with Kamal Hassan in ‘Dasavadharam’ and she cherishes working with him. Icing on cake is she has dual roles in the movie. Asin is visibly thrilled and she opines that it’s a landmark film in her career. She aims to strike gold both in Kollywood and Bollywood. She firmly believes that it is her ‘Self Confidence’ that has brought her laurels and she would maintain her hard work to sustain her top spot.

Shreya - Actress with an hour glass svelte figure considers herself the luckiest person on earth since she received the opportunity to act opposite Super Star Rajinikanth. Amidst tough competition from other leading ladies Trisha, Ayesha Takia, Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukherjee and herself, she emerged winner. She never expected to receive a call from the maverick Director Shankar especially while sulking with the flop ‘Mazhai’. It was heartening for this lead lady to find out that it was Rajini who recommended her for the lead role after watching her performance in ‘Mazhai’. Having acted only in a handful of movies, Shreya has attracted attention from millions with just one offer ‘Sivaji’. More offers pour in this young lady’s lap which includes ‘Azhagiya Tamizh Magan’ with Vijay and ‘Kandasami’ with Vikram. When answering a question ‘Why did she accept to act opposite an Ageing hero Rajinikanth ?’, she immediately replied ‘When 70 year old Harrison Ford can act with 16 year old, why not a much younger Rajinikanth act opposite me ?. Wow. This lady is really bold. Rajini fans are thrilled with her response and a lot others responded smiling. Shreya is a living example of the saying ‘Luck is Mysterious’.

After a look at the leading heroines, it is imperative to look at the leading heroes as well. No doubt there is an unprecedented competition among heroes especially with a lot of young talent creeping in. Actors like Vijay, Ajith, Vikram, Surya, Vishal, Madhavan, Jayam Ravi, Silambarasan and Dhanush are all in the race and ofcourse the old war horses Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan. Sustainability is the key for success and it is very much evident from the number of years of experience these young actors have in them. If you look at Vijay and Silambarasan, they started their acting careers at a very young age and Vijay already has 15 years of acting experience. On the other hand Vikram has 22 years of experience behind him. Naturally the giants Kamal and Rajini has 34 and 32 years of experience behind them. The fact remains that if one can sustain, they can succeed definitely (no matter whatever may be the field of expertise be). Everyone in the Tamil film industry agrees that Rajini and Kamal are in the top two slots even now. Let’s take a look at the next generation of actors who are worthy contenders for the top spot.

Vijay - No doubt that this man has emerged winner from all odds. Film critics have tarnished his image saying Vijay cannot act, Vijay looks ugly, Vijay is third rate, Vijay doesn’t emote, Vijay is flop. Amidst all this criticisms, Vijay has achieved the spot where he is now with lot of conviction and hard work. His major plus was his Dancing movements and he converted the plus to his fullest advantage. He carefully chooses his movies that will go well with the masses and follows a certain popular formula (very deftly handled by MGR and Rajini) that will enthrall all audiences. Recently he suffered a setback with a flop movie ‘Sachin’ but bounced back with his usual formulaic ‘Pokkiri’. According to him, his secret behind success is ‘Never Reinvent’. That’s the reason why he chooses remake movies from neighboring southern states. All his remake movies have been successful including ‘Ghilli’, ‘Thirupachi’, ‘Sivakasi’ and ‘Pokkiri’. He believes that he has a lot to achieve and he is nowhere near the Number 1 spot. Although he is thrilled to be in the Number 1 race, he is also scared about the competition since he feels that he is among worthy competitors.

Ajith – ‘Never say die’ is his approach. He has delivered flops upon flops but still emerged to be in contention for the race. He is one actor with a lot of self confidence and straight forward approach. He believes that he can perform well and he aims high. He has had a fluctuating career with his highs being ‘Vaali’, ‘Amarkalam’ and ‘God Father’ and his lows being ‘Citizen’, ‘Paramasivan’ and ‘Aalwar’. He is an actor with capability but has failed to be consistent in choosing his movies. He has tremendous hopes on both of his upcoming movies ‘Kireedom’ and ‘Billa 2007’. Amidst all his flops, he has managed to maintain his star status mainly due to his no nonsense approach. He never over exposes himself to the Print or TV Media and sticks to his work like a professional. He lost his way in between his film career to his other ambitious ‘Car Racing’. But now he has returned to his film career with full energy and waiting in wings to deliver a Super Hit.

Vikram – ‘Hard Work’ is his success mantra. Almost 25 years of experience in the film world. He has seen it all. He has been a light boy, a dance assistant, miniscule role, a dubbing artist, an assistant director, assistant editor, character artist, villain and finally a successful Hero. If reports are to be believed, no other actor in the film industry would have had the opportunity to involve in so many areas of the film industry. Vikram opines that this was not his chosen path but his forced path. His rise to stardom was a bed of thorns but he lived and loved every moment. He has only one piece of advice to his young compatriots which is ‘Hard work, Commitment and Down to earth attitude will definitely fetch Success’. True to his words, Vikram is committed to his film career and hopes to win lots of awards and accolades through his movies.

Surya - Born with a tag ‘Star son’, he is the son of veteran actor Sivakumar. Although he was born with the tag ‘Star Son’, his father Sivakumar never helped or forced him in his film career. This young man’s success mantra is ‘Believe yourself’. He strongly believes in himself and he has a natural liking towards his critics. Surya believes that if someone criticizes him it only means that he is being watched closely and its an advantage. It gives him an opportunity to correct himself and keep going. Truly he exudes Self belief. He signs his autograph with the verses ‘Believe in you, You can do it’. Surya delivered back to back hits with ‘Kaakha Kaakha’ and ‘Ghajini’. He has high expectations about his forthcoming movies ‘Vaaranam Aayiram’ and ‘Vel’.