If one goes by the performances of actors who are not in the big league, Tamil cinema has given quite a few performers.
Best Tamil actors of 2022
It’s already year-end and here we are wondering which film and which actor did well at the box office over the past 12 months. Well, let’s make things easy for you and present the best Tamil actors of 2022:
Leaving aside the cast of Vikram and Ponniyin Selvan-1, Nithya Menen for Thiruchitrambalam and Aishwarya Lakshmi for Gatta Gusthi are undoubtedly the outstanding performers of 2022 in Kollywood.
If one goes by the performances of actors who are not in the big league, Tamil cinema has given quite a few performers, mostly heroines, who would become stars in the coming days.
Dushara Vijayan (Pa Ranjith’s Natchathiram Nagargiradhu), Pradeep Ranganathan and Ivana (Love Today), RS Karthik, Linga, and Gifty Maria (Parole), Siddhi Idnani (Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu), and Reba Monica John (FIR) are among the list.
Similarly, Selvaraghavan (Sani Kaayidham), Kalidas Jayaram (Natchathiram Nagargiradhu) and Dhruv Vikram (Mahaan) are the lesser-known names that stood out.
Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee threw up a whole bunch of actors who got into the skin of the role.
Pa Ranjith’s Natchathiram Nagargiradhu is in all ways a Dushara Vijayan’s film; for, she is the protagonist.
Though Kalidas Jayram is the male lead, the director’s thoughts and beliefs are conveyed through Dushara’s character.
Dushara Vijayan and Kalidas Jayaram. (Supplied)
In the film, she appears in the role of a young Dalit woman named Tamizh who, however, likes to be known as Rene, the character she essays in the drama troupe’s play.
Dushara’s role (Mariamma) in Sarpatta Parambarai led her to play the lead in Natchathiram Nagargiradhu.
She is at her best as a girl with her own mind on all topics, including sex. She has her opinion on many issues and her caste background plays on her thoughts.
Be it in the song, dance or the scenes with Kalidas, she is the woman with that extra dose of energy.
Kalidas, who proved to be an actor with immense potential in many films, made full use of Iniyan’s role.
This character is an underwritten one compared to the roles essayed by Dushara and Kalaiyarasan. Yet, he comes across strongly through his realistic portrayal.
Kuthiravaal movie poster. (Creative Commons)
Kuthiraivaal, produced by Pa Ranjith, is the most mind-boggling movie of the year. It features Kalaiyarasan and Anjali Patil in the lead roles.
For the Tamil audience, it was the first time that Anjali Patil’s performance was visible. Compared to Kalaiyarasan, she has a smaller role: Vaanavil (rainbow) aka Van Gogh.
One of her dialogues in the film makes us all feel guilty about our acts: “Once we used to live in villages bordering the mountains, the sun nestled behind those hills. The rain fell unfailingly.”
“But when we touched the mountains, the sun ran away up into the sky and burned a hole in our ozone layer. The hills flee from my grasp. It doesn’t rain anymore.”
The movie is directed by Manoj Leonel Jahson and Shyam Sunder.
Keerthy Suresh in ‘Saani Kaayidham’. (Twitter)
Saani Kayidham is Arun Matheswaran’s film after Rocky. It starred Keerthy Suresh as Ponni, a rape victim seeking revenge.
The film is all hers. It also gifted us with a talented actor – Selvaraghavan. He doles out a memorable performance as Ponni’s companion who stands by her in her fight for justice.
His role as Sangayya, the step-brother of Ponni, and the scene where he helplessly watches the burning down of the house is vividly brought out.
The saddest part is that Selvaraghavan spoiled his image by appearing as a RAW Chief in Vijay’s Bigil.
Parole poster. (Twitter)
While the aforementioned films have either a good banner or a director of repute, Parole boasts of none. Helmed by director Dwarak Raja, it has RK Karthik and Linga as the lead actors.
The multi-layered treatment of the revenge drama of two brothers, played by RS Karthik and Linga, keeps us rooted in the movie. The director mixes heroism and realism; the actors do justice to the plot.
Though Parole is a violent drama, the script offers many moments for the two lead actors to show their talent. The courtroom is one where we get they are at their best.
Moving to high-profile films, the most underrated or rather a performance that went unnoticed was that of Dhruv, son of ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram, in the film Mahaan.
Mahaan poster. (Twitter)
The gangster drama came on OTT and it did not grab the attention of the theatre-going public. Well, this was one of the reasons why it got mixed reviews.
Dhruv did put in a stellar performance and at times, he outdid his dad with whom he was pitted against.
The father role by Vikram was something that one expects him to excel and he does not disappoint.
But the antagonist role played by Dhruv was a difficult one. He plays the son who has the eccentricity and all the anger in him to kill the man who doomed his family. His performance just enhanced the conflict.
Karthik Subburaj is the director and his screenplay just gave Dhruv the needed moments to excel.
The role of a Hyderabadi Nawabi family girl and love interest of an army officer in Sita Ramam was just done to perfection by Mrunal Thakur.
Mrinal Thakur (Twitter)
Her elegance, body language and expressive eyes just added to the romance-is-in-the-air feel. She only complemented Dulquer Salmaan who perfected the lover-boy image.
Directed by Hanu Raghavapudi, Sita Ramam featured Mrunal in the role of Sita Mahalakshmi alias Princess Noor Jahan.
Kangana Ranaut praising her performance said, “all actors did amazingly well but what stood out the most for me (was) Mrunal Thakur’s performance. Restrained emotions and rare dignity in her demeanour… no other actress could have portrayed. What a terrific casting. Truly a queen. Zindabad thakur saab (madam), here begins your reign.” Sita Ramam was Mrunal’s Tamil -Telugu debut.
Much acclaimed Simbu- Gautham Vasudev Menon film Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu gave a brilliant actress to Tollywood — Sidhhi Idnani.
Vendu Thanindhathu Kaadu poster. (Twitter)
Like all of Menon’s films, romance is the highlight and his strong point in this film too.
In this film, the love sequences between the lead character Muthu ( Simbu) and Paavai ( Siddhi) were just mind-blowing. According to reports, she dubbed herself as she played a Tamil girl from Mumbai.
The chemistry between them was exceptional and these moments remained the takeaway from the movie. Her dimple which gave her the Dimple Queen tag and the idea to dub for herself had given the role more depth and realism.
She had worked with director Sasi for Nooru Kodi Vaanavil opposite Harish Kalyan.
Reba John. (Twitter)
Manu Anand — who was an associate of Gautam Vasudev Menon — and his film FIR with Vishnu Vishal was a big hit. When the song video ‘Payanam’ with Vishnu and Reba Monica John was released before the movie, everybody was talking about the girl in the video.
Though there was Raiza Wilson and Manjima Mohan, it was Reba who scored in the movie. It was after this that many people dug out that she was the Anitha in Vijay’s Bigil. Reba as the acid attack victim in Bigil had also given a good account in the thriller Forensic, the Malayalam film with Tovino Thomas.
The role that she played in FIR was of Archana Krishnamoorthy. At first, it looks like a usual run-of-the-mill type role but a twist in the tale takes the love interest of the hero role to another dimension and gives her more space in the story.
Even though the debut of Aditi Shankar — daughter of director Shankar — was much-hyped, in Viruman, opposite Karthi, she did give a good account and was not disappointing. Directed by Muthaiya, the role was of a chirpy girl and it was a promising effort and could do better in a better screenplay.
Love Today was an unexpected hit. When the film was announced with Pradeep Ranganathan — the director himself — doing the lead role and Ivana who had acted in Bala’s Naachiyaar doing the female lead, it was in the news as it was an AGS Entertainment film.
Love Today poster.
Pradeep and Ivana became the fan favourites just after the initial day of the release of the film. Fans started comparing Pradeep to actor Dhanush for the similarity in dialogue delivery and the lean looks.
Ivana got a good critical appreciation in Bala’s film itself for her looks and performance. She played Arasi, the pregnant girl fleeing from her uncle. She was the SIIMA nominee for best debut actress in 2019.
She also played a small role in Sivakarthikeyan’s film Hero, as a girl whose invention gets usurped by a few guys and claims it as theirs. Ivana whose real name is Aleena had acted in a few Malayalam films as a child actor.
Ivana for one is perfect casting as Nikita, a representation of today’s young generation girls. The role demands a kind of babe in the woods mixed with a street-smart attitude which she carries smoothly.
Her character clicked big with the audience as her body language and plain Jane looks synched with the character. In Chennai alone, many entertainment portals hosted functions for their viewers to have a look at Ivana.
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