No film can do without great talent. Films that deal with a profound plot are buyable only with splendid performers and those that build on a weak plot are made bearable too by the same. Here’s a look at ten films of 2019 that comprised striking artistes who complemented each other as well as the story.
Super Deluxe
We’ve all heard of the film for its wonderful subtext and screenplay as a whole. But there’s no replacing any artiste from the various stories in the film. From Shilpa to Vembu to Berlin, the film had amazing performances by Vijay Sethupathi, Samantha Akkineni, Bagavathi Perumal, Fahad Faasil, Gayathrie and more. The film was helmed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja.
Mehandi Circus
A well-done film that did not receive the appreciation it deserved in many aspects. Debutant Madhampatty Rangaraj and Shweta Tripathi were fresh on-screen and were effortless as Jeeva and Mehandi. The film is helmed by Saravana Rajendran with his brother, director Raju Murugan penning the story.
Read: Shweta Tripathi Interview: ‘Language Doesn’t Stop You From Watching The Film’
Magamuni
The film maintained a solemn tone throughout and was complemented by the characterisation. We saw some strong female characters, Viji (Indhuja Ravichandran) and Deepa (Mahima Nambiar) who had minds of their own. It was definitely a role out of both their comfort zones, but they succeeded in performing on par with Maga/Muni (Arya). The film was helmed by Santhakumar.
Sivappu Manjal Pachai
While working on a family drama, emotion is the key. And one needs a huge leap of faith to trust newcomers to deliver that well to audiences. Lijomol Jose and Kashmira Pardeshi were at ease on-screen as Raji and Kavin. Siddharth and GV Prakash Kumar were also perfectly cast and convincing enough as the ‘Mama-Machaan’. The film is helmed by Sasi.
Read: “Sivappu Manjal Pachai’ Is A Complete Film’: Actor Siddharth
Asuran
Dhanush has always been the actor who could essay any given role with perfection and Asuran was no exception. Along with the star we had the magnificent Manju Warrier debuting in Tamil that felt nothing like a debut performance, as Pachaiyamal. There could’ve possibly been no better opportunity than this film for Teejay and Ken Karunas to make their striking silver screen debut too. The film was helmed by Vetrimaaran.
Kaithi
Karthi is Kaithi and Kaithi is Karthi. I cannot imagine anyone replacing Karthi in the film. Of course, there is no Dilli without Arul Kumar (Narain) and Kamatchi (Dheena), whose splendid performance and character graphs worked really well. The second story, running parallel to the main plot also had some remarkable performances by Mariam George, Deepthi and Arjun Das. The film was helmed by Lokesh Kanagaraj.
Read: Lokesh Kanagaraj Interview: Kaithi Is About A Father’s Love And That Rare Bond Between Strangers
Ennai Nokki Paayum Thotta
Gautham Menon has always had an eye for good casting and proved it once again with his latest, Ennai Nokki Paayum Thotta. Dhanush essays the college boy Raghu and Megha Akash, the actress Lekha. Although hitting screens after much delay the performances held up really well. Kuberan played by Senthil Veerasamy managed to irk me, which was required of his role.
Thambi
A script tailor-made for the family (Jyothika and Karthi) along with admirable performances from Sowcar Janaki and Sathyaraj. Although for a short while, Nikhila Vimal makes her presence felt in the film with her charm. Master Ashwanth plays the notorious Kuttu scoring well with his humour. The film was helmed by Jeethu Joseph.
Sillu Karupatti
In Halitha Shameem’s anthology film Sillu Karupatti all four shorts boast of superb casting. Leela Samson, KravMaga Sreeram, Sunaina, Manikandan, Niveditaa Satish all are superb but the surprise element really is Samuthirakani. He is so very different from his usual on-screen self here that one wonders why he isn’t cast in roles like this.
V1
Crime-thrillers are no piece of cake and need good artists to move the plot forward. But Pavel Navageethan’s choice of casting debutants Ram Arun Castro and Vishnu Priya, who carry the film on their shoulders seemed to work just fine owing to their performances. They were absolutely seamless on-screen. They essayed Agni and Luna in the film.
