Santhanam: Reversing the trend!

In Tamil cinema, as in many of the regional languages, comedy track is an integral part of any movie. There are writers who write the comedy track for the actors and there are comedians who do it themselves. Just the same, a comedy track is often a movie’s backbone and the deciding factor for a movie’s success. This trend is being seen increasingly on the rise with few of the recent films clinging on to their comedy tracks (and the ability of their comedians) for their standing at the box-office.

Santhanam seems to be the most prominent comedian in recent times leading this trend. His Boss Engira Bhaskaran (BEB) stands testimony to his supremacy. The success of BEB goes to prove Santhanam’s capability as a comedian and his ability to pull a movie through despite the presence of other stars.

His success also cemented his position in Tamil cinema as one of its successful comedians. He has more than a dozen films in hand now and every single movie that is being produced is considering Santhanam for its comedy track. The producers do not want to take any chances. If the movie tends to fail because of a director’s inability, there is Santhanam who can shoulder the responsibility to see the movie through.

The success is hard-earned and there are many movies of late (ranging from Siva Manasula Sakthi, Kanden Kadhalai, Chikku Bukku to Siruthai) that banked solely on his comic abilities.

Having been spotted in the Lollu Sabha comic series on television, his career has remained upbeat ever since he debuted with Simbhu’s Manmadhan. There is no denial that he is following the time-tested formula mastered by Goundamani, except that there is no Senthil in Santhanam’s case. He has an acid tongue, his dialogues are irreverent and he strings-together adjectives to cook up insults instantaneously. He is a hit with slapstick lovers and people from the 80s and 90s reminisce Goundamani when they see Santhanam pulling a prank at his co-star or flaunting his vocabulary of insults.

Santhanam is probably the successor of Vadivelu and Vivek. But what makes him relatable is that he is among the new-breed of actors who can bring a tinge of real-life to their acting. Santhanam is also leading the trend of breaking the images of the film’s leads. While Goundamani stops with Senthil in his thrashing, Santhanam does not stop with anything. His targets are often the film’s leads (examples being Polladhavan Dhanush, Siva Manasula Sakthi Jeeva and most recently, BEB Arya) and his insults are also targeted at them to evoke laughter. The tables are turned now. It’s the larger picture everyone is aspiring for and that is the movie’s success; so it’s ok for a hero to be verbally thrashed by a comedian.

• Rajini's idea