IA wildly discordant world where Bollywood shies away from politics and Southern cinema makes films that are almost never apolitical. Recent Malayalam Movies 19(1)(a), What sets the Disney+ Hotstar drama apart is its refusal to emphasize the issue of freedom of expression. If the film’s reflective mood is the ace of the trump, its other ace is actor ‘Makkal Selvan’ Vijay Sethupathi.
Sethupathi’s loudest and strongest voice, as rebel writer Gauri Shankar, is initially silenced by a bullet. 19(1)(a), But the actor is largely film-like – he only speaks through his performance, and inspires everything from clapping to anger and tears.
At 44, Vijay Sethupathi is a household name – dubbing in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. He’s a chameleon in a film industry where superstars stay tough from hits super deluxe (2019) from thenmeraku paruvakatru (2011).
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Hero, Villain and everything in between
what is common between Vikram (2022) and Vikram Vedha (2018) Other than the similarity in names? Is it true that both are Tamil blockbusters? Or that they are thrillers? Both the films have Vijay Sethupathi-man director Seenu Ramasamy, known as ‘Makkal Selwan‘ or ‘man of the people’. And with it, he joins the league of actors in the southern film industry who all have special names, including Suriya, Vijay and Rajinikanth.
The moniker is fitting enough for the actor who spent a large part of his life doing odd jobs for money—a retail store salesman, a cashier at a fast food joint, and a phone booth operator. Before becoming the actor he is today, Sethupathi was the proverbial ‘aam aadmi’, looking for a job and love. He found the two in 2006 when he was 28 years old, before venturing into acting. As it sounds, the rest is history.
Dhanush, known for his impressive performances, once said of Sethupathi, “Just wait and see, he will be bigger than me.” That was 2013. Whether you agree or not, Sethupathi has gone from strength to strength ever since. It’s Almost-Satanic Bhavani master (2021), which manipulates juvenile prisoners into arrest for their criminal activities, to 19(1)(a)Where he plays the rebellious writer Gauri Shankar, who chooses to die rather than give up his freedom of expression, Sethupathi is a versatile genius.
As someone who has seen her in real form at an event, you probably wouldn’t recognize her as Vedha Vikram Vedha (2017). Sethgupta doesn’t just play a character, he becomes – the two are not different from each other. From hair to gesture to body language, she is every bit as vedha as Bhavani or Gauri.
He has played hero, villain, sidekick, and ‘character-actor’ roles in everything. What makes Sethupathi a brand in itself is that he has carved a niche. He can be anyone and everyone. He could be Manickam aka Shilpa, a transgender person in comedy super deluxe (2019) or an auto driver in mamnithan (2022).
The actor who was initially paid Rs 100 for small roles in films or shows, now has a net worth of around Rs 110 crore.
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Common man, unconventional roles
One amazing trait that Bollywood actors should learn from the southern film industry is the art of not being a superstar. What often happens in superstar roles is that the actor becomes larger than life as the character he plays, distancing himself from the common man, who is the primary audience. This is where South actors make their mark.
The quest to not be a hero makes Sethupathi an indispensable hero. It’s not that he can’t play the role of a grown man. in 2016 movie sethupathy, he plays a police officer whose swagger matches that of Salman Khan in the Dabangg franchise. In fact, the success of his film has led many to ask: Are Sethupathi’s days of ‘offbeat’ films over?
‘Offbeat’ also needs to be defined. What most of us think of as offbeat is the hangover of Bollywood commercial versus so called ‘art’ cinema. What the Southern film industry has always pulled off successfully is the merging of the two without any sacrifice.
The year of Sethupathi’s success was 2012, when all three of his films-Pizza, Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kanom And Sudhu Kavvumi There were commercial and critical successes. While Pizza is a horror thriller, the other two are dark comedies. Each film is different from the other but Sethupathi has showcased his tremendous potential as an actor who can overcome any challenge.
His on-screen presence even eclipses a formidable actor like Kamal Haasan in Vikram. His villainous roles are often better crafted than hero roles. While rumors are rife that Sethupathi might be a part of Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming Jawan, he doesn’t really need a Bollywood film for anything, except perhaps to teach everyone how to do it.
(Edited by Srinjoy Dey)