South Indian, pan-Indian

A brave new brigade of leading actors from the south are erasing linguistic borders in pursuit of challenging roles.

March 05, 2015 03:43 pm | Updated March 10, 2015 02:42 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Prithviraj in Aurangzeb. The Malayalam actor has found success in both Tamil (Mozhi, Raavanan) and Hindi (Ayya, Aurangzeb).

Prithviraj in Aurangzeb. The Malayalam actor has found success in both Tamil (Mozhi, Raavanan) and Hindi (Ayya, Aurangzeb).

Oscar nominee and flavour-of-the-season Benedict Cumberbatch had this to say about acting: “The further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun.”

Dhanush would perhaps agree. The actor has had an extraordinary year so far, with two big-ticket releases. On home turf, in Anegan , he kuthu-danced, did fights and delivered punch lines. But in the non-comfort zone of Hindi, in Shamitabh , he pushed the envelope as a mute actor who shares his fame with another’s voice. In a recent interview, the actor revealed that Hindi gave him the freedom to experiment, which is simply not possible in Tamil, because “fans’ expectations are there.”

Pan-Indians on the prowl

Working in multiple industries is nothing new, at least for actresses and character actors. North Indian baddies are fairly common in Tamil and Telugu. Southern heroines were once all the rage in Hindi; while Khusboo, Jyothika et. al. found success down south. But lead actors have mostly stuck to home industries due to limitations of language and image.

Times are changing, though. Dhanush is going places, but he’s not the only one – and it’s not just Bollywood that’s the destination. Siddharth made his Tamil debut with Boys , before moving on to Telugu ( Nuvvostanante Nennodantana , Bommarillu ), Hindi ( Rang de Basanti , Chashme Baddoor ) and even English ( Midnight’s Children ). Arya tasted success in Tamil before exploring Telugu with Varudu and his native Malayalam, with Urumi and the upcoming Double Barrel .

Prithviraj was well-established in Malayalam before striking out to do meaningful turns in Tamil ( Mozhi , Raavanan ) and Hindi ( Ayya , Aurangzeb ). Rana Daggubati’s latest release is Hindi flick Baby ; his last film was Tamil blockbuster Aarambham ; his next is Baahubali in Telugu, his home industry. Kannada actor Sudeep crossed the border to Hindi with Rann and Phoonk 2 , in Telugu with Eega and the upcoming Puli in Tamil. Malayalam’s young heart-throb Dulquer Salmaan has already ventured into Tamil with Vaayai Moodi Pesavum and will be seen next in Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani . The list is long and increasingly impressive.

The process of casting…

The ground for this Southern exodus was laid by an earlier exodus: that of movie technicians. Language is no barrier for technical skill, as evidenced by the success of directors, cinematographers, production designers and, of course, music directors across industries.

For a filmmaker straddling multiple languages, the pool of talent to dip into is that much bigger. Ram Gopal Varma’s success in Hindi led to the Hindi debuts of Nagarjuna, Chakravarthy and, of course, Mohanlal. Prabhudeva’s directorial debut introduced Siddharth to the Telugu audience. Gautam Menon’s Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein starred Madhavan, who went on to star in Rang De Basanti , 3 Idiots and Tanu weds Manu . There are exceptions, though: Dhanush was suggested for Shamitabh by none other than Amitabh Bachchan himself.

The process of acting…

Language skills are no deterrent to the younger brood. For one, young Indians (and not just actors) are increasingly multilingual. Thanks to his Chennai upbringing, Dulquer Salmaan breaks no sweat speaking Tamil. Siddharth’s Hindi was honed by his Delhi college days; for his first Telugu film he learnt the language in two weeks and did his own dubbing. Dhanush has an interesting process as revealed in a recent interview: “First, I translate the dialogues into Tamil, learn it and act it out in Tamil. Then, I mug up the Hindi bits.”

The rise of ‘urban films’ as a genre has also been an advantage. The young metropolitan Indian has characteristics that transcend regional boundaries: be it the coolly confident body language or liberal use of English. Naturally, this makes it easier for actors to slip into the character’s shoes. The biggest factor, however, is their willingness to lay aside stardom in pursuit of challenging roles – the stepping out of comfort zone that Cumberbatch spoke of. Rana, a leading Telugu star and grandson of legendary producer D. Rama Naidu, had no qualms in playing beefy sidekick to Akshay Kumar in Baby . After back-to-back hits in Malayalam, Prithviraj opted for an author-backed second-lead in Kaaviyathalaivan . Arya carried the magnum opus Madrasapattinam on his shoulders before donning the villain’s role in Varudu opposite his friend Allu Arjun.

…And the Gold Standard

All things considered, it is a great time to be a South Indian actor. But the gold standard still remains the actor who, in 1983-84, had simultaneous releases in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. Not only did all films feature him as lead, but he also dubbed every single language himself! We’re talking of Kamal Haasan, but of course.

Siddharth, a self-confessed fan who named his Enakkul Oruvan after Kamal’s ’85 release, had this to say on an online platform, “What he (Kamal) did 25-30 years ago sowed the seeds for things we try to do today.” Indeed, it is time for a rich harvest on-screen.

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