Actor Ajith Kumar is one of the few stars who made it big in Tamil cinema without any backing. Therefore, his rise to stardom is no joke and needs to be taken very seriously. On the occasion of his 49th birthday, we revisit five stand-out performances from his illustrious career spanning over two decades. While it’s really hard to nit-pick five best performances but these choices will stand testimonial to Ajith’s versatility.
Vaali
Directed by SJ Suryah, Vaali saw Ajith play dual roles and out of which one character was deaf and dumb. Ajith’s performance in Vaali is special and it stands out because he was open to the idea of playing a very negative role quite early on in his career. The negative character so well received that it turned out to be the one of the prime reasons for the film’s success and cult status. It’s been 21 years since the release of Vaali, but even today the film was widely discussed whenever we talk about Ajith’s potential to play unorthodox roles.
Mugavari
Director VZ Durai’s Mugavari saw Ajith play yet another serious role sans heroism. In the film, Ajith played an aspiring composer who has been yearning for his big break in films. The way Ajith owned and portrayed the character made it one of the very special roles of his career. The film’s music can be pointed out as one of the reasons for the film’s mega success; Ajith’s performance equally deserves a lot of credit.
Kandukondein Kandukondein
In Rajiv Menon’s Kandukondein Kandukondein, Ajith played the role of an aspiring filmmaker who is yearning to make his debut. The film, which featured Ajith in one of his most natural performances and was based on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, also starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Mammootty and Tabu. While the film earned lot of attention for its biggest casting coup at that time, one of the reasons it’s still celebrated even today is because of Ajith’s presence. In a recent interview to The Hindu, Rajiv Menon revealed he narrated the script to Ajith while he was on a hospital bed.
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Mankatha
It can be said without exaggeration that no mainstream Tamil cinema hero could pull off a negative role as effortlessly as Ajith in Venkat Prabhu’s Mankatha, who saw Ajith return to playing a grey-shaded character after two decades. The success of the film meant the world to Ajith as it came after a string of flops.
Yennai Arindhaal
In his maiden collaboration with filmmaker Gautham Menon, Ajith plays police officer Sathyadev, who strives hard to strike a balance as a family man as well. In the film, Ajith’s screen presence was unbelievably amazing and it takes guts for a star with a crazy fan following to do something so bold, edgy. It was refreshing to see the actor in Ajith overshadowing the star and going on to prove who is much better.
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