Karthi : The Complete Actor-Star

Today, amidst the birthday celebrations of Karthi, we take a look at how he is one of the few in the entertainment industry who is a very versatile actor and also blessed with a debonair charisma that makes him a true star.

Next only to Sivaji Ganesan

When Karthi, an erstwhile assistant director of Maniratnam chose Ameer’s ‘Paruthi Veeran’ as his debut vehicle, few would have expected such a complete transformation of the urban son of Sivakumar into a rustic youth with no qualms about being bad. Karthi’s performance elevated Ameer’s daring venture into a cult classic and next to the legend, Sivaji Ganesan it is Karthi who made it big in his very first film receiving both critical acclaim as well as commercial success. His tremendous acting skills have been on display in films like ‘Ayirathil Oruvan’, ‘Siruthai’, ‘Madras’and most recently in ‘Thozha’.

The debonair Swashbuckler like MGR

Karthi played a MGR fan in ‘Ayirathil Oruvan’ and like his idol he too suits the debonair swashbuckler role to the T. The flamboyant screen presence of Karthi is evidenced in films like ‘’Biriyani’, ‘Alex Pandian’ and ‘Siruthai’.

Equal shades of Rajini and Kamal

Karthi effortlessly carries off the Kamal type role Kaali in ‘Madras’ as well as the Rajini roles Rathnavel Pandian and Rocket Raja in ‘Siruthai’. The grouse is that he still has not got hold of more scripts to stake a permanent claim as the heir to the legacy of both the living legends.

The Comedy Effect

Karthi has huge comedy sense and has held his own against Santhanam in ‘Siruthai’, ‘Alex Pandian’ and ‘All In All Azhagu Raja’. While as Rocket Raja he is a complete riot even in the flop M Rajesh movie his perfect impersonation of Prabhu in the flashback scenes brought the house down.

The Romantic Side

Girls went gaga over Karthi when he appeared as the star crossed lover in ‘Paiyaa’ exhibiting sizzling chemistry with Tamannaah and in ‘Naan Mahan Alla’ with Kajal Agarwal. Most of his romantic songs like ‘Kannodu Kadhal vandhal’, ‘Adada Mazhaida’, ‘Adi Rakkamma Rakku’ ‘Manasellam Mazhaiye’ and ‘Naan Nee’ are superhits with Karthi’s impeccable chemistry with his leading ladies, Anushka, Radhika Apte, Hansika Motwani, Catherine Tressa and Lakshmi Menon.

The Action Hero

Karthi is very adept in the action scenes and most of his films contain long drawn out fights like the Rathnavel Pandian unfinished building fight in ‘Siruthai’, the long chase on foot and fight in ‘Madras’, the climax of ‘Biriyani’ and ‘Komban’. He is one actor who with his hard work, successfully convinces the audience that he can indeed bash up any number of adversaries.

Versatility

Karthi has shown great versatility in portraying his characters. As ‘Paruthi Veeran’ one cannot see him as anything else other than the Madurai ruffian without a conscience but in his very next film ‘Naan Mahan Alla’, he is the boy next door. Rathnavel Pandian of ‘Siruthai’ is right up there with other famous filmi cops like Alex Pandian and Walter Vetrivel. The unscrupulous fortune hunter of ‘Ayirathil Oruvan’, the scheming ‘Saguni’, the reluctant action hero of ‘Madras’ and his most recent subdued performance of the caretaker to a quadriplegic in ‘Thozha’ stand testimony.

The Bright Road Ahead

After a brief down period Karthi has given three consecutive hits with ‘Madras’, ‘Komban’ and ‘Thozha’. The road ahead looks super bright for the Star Actor as he has his biggest budgeted film of his career ‘Kashmora’ under production and will be starring in his guru Maniratnam’s next film starting in July. A film with Vinod the talented director of ‘Sathuranga Vettai’ and then there are also rumors of projects with Prabhu Deva and Atlee. We wish Karthi a super happy birthday and we hope he captures the highest place in the industry as a true Star Actor which he highly deserves.