List of Actors Who Dedicated More Than a Year for a Film

Though our superstars and hot heroes regularly feature in commercial ventures in which they do regular song and dance routines and punch dialogues, they sometimes take up special films for which they have to give more than their hundred percent and face many hardships mentally, physically and economically to give the audience a rare movie experience. Here we take a look at some of the recent such efforts by our favorite stars.

Suriya – 7 am Arivu'

The second collaboration between A. R. Murugadoss and Suriya created huge hype in trade circles and Suriya dedicated close to six months to develop six packs to play the role of Bodhi Dharman' and went through great physical strain when shooting in China and in most of the film had to match the steps in fight scenes with expert Chinese martial artists who praised his dedication in getting it spot on. Though 7 amArivu' did not appeal to all sections of the audiences Suriya scored full marks for his dedication and performance.

Atharva – Paradesi'

After lukewarm responses to his earlier films Atharva must have been elated when he was the chosen one for Bala's Paradesi' based on the historical novel Red Tea. The film that spoke about the plight of Tea plantation workers who were enslaved by the British had a long shooting schedule and Atharva first had to stand in the hot sun to get his tan and later took much physical battering to convincingly portray the character Raasa. Atharva received appreciation from fans all over including audiences at International film festivals.

Vikram Prabhu – Kumki'

The grandson of the legendary Sivaji Ganesan, Vikram Prabhu chose a difficult film for his debut and it worked greatly to his favor. Vikram had to spend months together with the elephant that played an integral part of the movie to get accustomed to it. When the film released the dedication showed as the actor and the animal oozed chemistry which reached out to the audience who gave two thumbs up for Kumki' and Vikram Prabhu.

Karthi – Paruthiveeran'

With brother Suriya already established as a top star and father Sivakumar one of the most respected veterans of Tamil cinema, Karthi could have had a safe bet commercial debut vehicle, but the former assistant director of Maniratnam preferred the raw Paruthiveeran' by Ameer as his launch pad and gave close to two years for the film and he learnt and perfected the Madurai slang and when the film released received universal praise for his towering performance.

Shaam – 6 Mezhuguvarthigal'

When director V.Z. Durai narrated the script to Shaam he had so much faith in it that he decided to produce it himself and the project took almost two years to complete and the actor suffered physically to bring about the puffed up look in the final parts of the film. Shaam was widely appreciated for his tremendous dedication and physical contribution which made everyone stand up and acknowledge him as an actor of substance.

Vishal – Avan Ivan'

Bala is known to demand multiples of hundred percent from his artistes and Vishal was rediscovered as an actor in Avan Ivan'. The macho man had to practice being squint eyed for almost a year when the film was shot and he is rumored to have done permanent damage to his eyes. Though the film did not find widespread acclaim critics and audiences unanimously embraced Vishal's quirky character and his dedicated portrayal which brought him back into reckoning as a good actor.

Arya – Naan Kadavul'

For Bala's Naan Kadavul' chocolate boy Arya transformed himself as an Agori and surprised everyone with his powerhouse acting. The actor gave two years for the film and endured great physical strain, especially in the Kasi scenes where he had to stand upside down for hours together. The result was that a so so actor Arya broke into the big league and he owes his stardom today to his dedication for Naan Kadavul'

Dhanush – Mariyaan'

Bharath Bala's Mariyaan' had Dhanush in the role of a sailor who experiences hell when the boat he is travelling in is taken over by Somalian pirates and then the physically demanding escape back to the love of his life Panimalar. At the success meet of the film Dhanush openly dec