From Vinayakan to Fahadh Faasil: Malayalam actors who impressed South Indian moviegoers in 2023
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2023 has been a special year for several South Indian actors, who chose to experiment outside their comfort zone. While some of them made their debut in other languages, those who were not new to other industries, managed to make a bigger impact with their larger-than-life performances. Something that only veteran actors like Mammootty, Thilakan and Nedumudi Venu managed to do. Here’s a list of Malayalam actors, who made their presence felt in other movie industries.
Fahadh Faasil
The actor, who is already a popular name in the other south Indian industries following the success of ‘Pushpa’, gained wide acclaim as Rathnavelu in the Mari Selvaraj film ‘Maamannan’. Though he played a villainous character, the actor’s onscreen charisma was undeniable. Rathnavelu has an eccentric style and Fahadh Faasil, whose Shammi in ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ was celebrated as one of the most bizarre villains in Malayalam cinema, nailed the role with such finesse that he overshadowed the lead actor Udhayanidhi Stalin in the movie. Rathnavelu was celebrated especially after ‘Maamannan’ was released on OTT and even became an inspiration for several memes on social media.
Vinayakan
Though he doesn’t enjoy the same popularity as Fahadh, Vinayakan’s performance as Varman in the Rajinikanth-starrer ‘Jailer’ was top-notch. The way the actor created a fitting villain for Rajinikanth's hero by experimenting with mannerisms and dialogues increased the movie experience of 'Jailer' by multifold. His one-liner ‘Manasilayo, saare,’ will remain among the best dialogues of 2023. Though the Malayali actor debuted in Tamil with the 2015 movie ‘James’, it is ‘Jailer’ that brought him all the attention in Kollywood.
Sunil Sukhada
Actor Sunil Sukhada who was already a popular face in Mollywood made an impressive debut in Kollywood this year with the hit investigative thriller 'Por Thozhil'. The actor's role in the movie was kept a suspense in the film till it hit theatres. His powerful potrayal as the film's antagonist Muthu Selvan received widespread acclaim.
Nimisha Sajayan
The Malayalam actor, who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for her performances in films like 'Oru Kuprasidha Payyan' and ‘Chola’, reiterated how good an actor she is with her films in 2023. Though she had a lean year in Mollywood, her acceptance in the Tamil film industry has grown after her powerful performance as a tribal woman in the recently released film ‘Jigarthanda Double X’. She played the role of Alius Caeser’s (Raghava Lawrence) wife with a finesse that not many can pull off. She also had a good outing in the hit film ‘Chithha’.
Ashraf Mallissery
Though Malayalam actor Ashraf Mallissery has worked in over 10 Tamil films, ‘Jigarthanda’ managed to cement the ‘Appan’ actor’s presence in Kollywood. The actor who played the lead character’s father in the movie said he was cast in the film by ‘Jigarthanda’ filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj after the director was blown away by his performance as JD Casa in ‘Kammattipaadam’.
Parvathy
Acclaimed actor Parvathy is making her presence felt on the smaller screen after two back-to-back OTT releases. In the Telugu web series ‘Dhootha’, she played a police officer Kranthi in the crime investigative series. In ‘Kadak Singh’, a Hindi-language web series, she plays a nurse who is taking care of an investigation officer who has been admitted to a hospital for memory loss. The actor was particularly praised for her performance in ‘Kadak Singh’.