Malayalam stars shine in Kollywood: Growing demand for Malayali actors in Tamil films

During the days in which he was busy neck deep in conjuring up the world of ‘Ponniyan Selvan’ itself, ace filmmaker Maniratnam had no doubt in his mind as to whom to cast for the roles of Azhwarkadiyan Nambi and Madurantaka Uttama Chola in the magnum opus.

Actors Jayaram and Rahman did utmost justice to the faith he laid on them for his most ambitious outing. Malayali actors are increasingly gaining favour with Kollywood. The language barrier that exists in Malayalam and Tamil films seems to have attenuated in the case of actors. Earlier only a handful of artists used to feature in Kollywood movies, that too at times, but now there is a visible change. Malayali actors are in high demand, essaying prominent roles both in big and low-budget movies. Malayalam superstar Mohanlal has also been cast in a major role in the upcoming Rajinikanth-starrer Jailor.

What has resulted in the new trend of Malayalam actors increasingly acting in other language films, especially their newfound demand in Tamil?

Many languages but a single OTT Platform
The arrival of OTT platforms has resulted in the fading away of the boundary and language barriers existing in the world of movies, a main reason for the newfound love. If children in a remote locality in Imphal is watching in elation the action and comedy scenes of Minnal Murali fully engrossed in it, then it certainly points to the success of Malayali actors. Even if Tovino Thomas is cast as a hero in a film there, he won’t need any special introduction among the audience there. Tovino has already become a superhero among those who have watched Minnal Murali. With the movies being released on OTT platforms, the language no more matters. For this, the companies have dubbed and included many languages. At least the subtitles will be there, rendering language barriers immaterial for appreciation of the films.

Performance matters
The Tamil film world keenly watches even those films which didn’t make quite an impression on the Malayali audience. They are not just watching the films but also assessing the performance of the actors. Earlier, if artists for each role had to be selected from Tamil itself, it’s no more the case. Film-makers there can now get excellent characters, inspired by the creativity and talents in their neighbouring state. The writers, especially the younger lot, think of Kerala while conceiving the characters. It’s not coincidental that Anu Sithara got cast in ‘Pattuthala’, with Chimbu in the lead, and essayed the role of the latter’s sister. Anu herself revealed that the director himself invited her to act in the film after being impressed by her performance in Malayalam flicks like Ramante Edenthottam. She got much appreciation from several quarters for the role many had several inhibitions. Hareesh Peradi is another ‘guaranteed’ actor. He can don any role with ease, and it doesn’t matter whether his character is a villain or a supporting role. And if it’s big-starrer movies, then Hareesh is sure to turn many heads with his performance.

Several advantages in one budget
There is a strong assessment that the presence of Malayalam frontline actors helps to attract Malayali viewers to Tamil movies, considering the fact that Kerala is the biggest market for Tamil films after Tamil Nadu. The increase in the fan base of Malayalam film stars in Tamil Nadu also prompts the producers to continue to take a stand on these lines. Another attractive factor is that the movies of Malayali stars get a multi-star aura. In OTT sales, this can be used as a pressure tactic. Moreover, everybody agrees that the performance value that Tamil films get from Kerala actors, including new faces, belongs to a higher degree. Malayalam became proud with Aparna Balamurali bagging the national award with her sterling performance as heroine in ‘Surarai Potri’ and Lijo Mol Jose bagging several awards with her performance in ‘Jai Bhim’.

The performance of Lal and Rejisha Vijayan in the film ‘Karnan’ was veritable. Old and new stars like Nimisha Sajayan, Aparna Das, Shine Tom Chacko, Samyuktha, Dulquar Salman, Mathew Thomas, and Babu Antony are shining in Tamil too.

Even before the arrival of the new market, there was migration from Malayalam to other language films. Rahman, Lal, the late Kalabhavan Mani, and Kochin Haneefa, all had a strong foothold in other language films. Most of them came to be known not as Malayalam stars but as Tamil film stars. Not many know that heroines like Asin and Nayanthara started their careers in Malayalam. Their evolution as stars of other regions was that much. The entry of more and more actors from Malayalam has come to influence the plot of these other language films as well. Now one can see an important part of a film happening in a Kerala village or the house of the hero or heroine happens to be in the lush green state.