MovieCrow Annual Rankings - Top Tamil Actors of 2017

Checkout our annual rankings of the best Tamil actors of 2017!

1.Vijay (Mersal)

The misconception that a star cannot be a good actor is subconsciously ingrained in a majority of the audience. But most stars were once good performers and what made them a star was their charisma. In many ways Mersal is a prime example for what a star actor can bring to the plate inspite of a done to death storyline and a predictable narration. Known for sticking to his comfort zone adamantly, Vijay was extremely impressive as Vettrimaran with a certain swag. His highly emotional portions with Nithya Menen proved that he still can be that very good actor within the boundaries of commercial cinema. If any doubts watch the stretch from where he starts describing his love to his son to the point where he breakdowns with his wife in his arms.

2.Vijay Sethupathi (Kavan, Vikram Vedha, Puriyaadha Pudhir, Karuppan)

This year began with a bang for Vijay Sethupathi as he delivered two back to back hits with Kavan and Vikram Vedha. While the former had him address a social message, the latter saw him transform into Vedha, a character with grey shades and lauded as one of his best performances till date. Despite his not so impressive follow-up films, his intense yet engaging acting in Vikram Vedha puts him at no. 2 in our list.

3.Prabhas (Baahubali: The Conclusion)

Despite the film being a multi-lingual and the actor not dubbing in his own voice, Prabhas who swooned the Tamil audience with Baahubali: The Beginning was more than welcomed with open arms by our audience, when the film's sequel came out. Prabhas as the righteous Baahubali and the revenge-seeking Shivudu, showed us his acting penchant once again and left us all loving him more.

4.Madhavan (Vikram Vedha)

As an actor who picks quality over quantity, Madhavan did not disappoint his audience in Vikram Vedha, his only 2nd Tamil release in the last 5 years. Madhavan as the brilliant yet naive Vikram was exceptional in his performance. Be it the shade of a no-nonsense encounter cop or his obsession with Vedha, the notorious criminal, Madhavan breezed through with his acting like always and earned his position at the No. 4 position on our list.

5.Karthi (Kaatru Veliyidai, Theeran Adhigaram Ondru)

2017 was the year of experimentation for Karthi as he appeared in two vastly different roles from what he usually plays. Despite Kaatru Veliyidai's box-office performance, Karthi's role of a testosterone rich narcissist, who was as much a patriot as a relationship abuser, managed to draw attention. Theeran Adhigaram Ondru saw him playing a much more acceptable character of a realistic police officer which proved to be a total success for him.

6.Dulquer Salmaan (Solo)

Solo being an anthology has Dulquer Salmaan portay four different characters - a college student with a stammer, a henchman, an army officer and a common connect between two revenge stories. Dulquer's ability to bring out subtle yet prominent changes in these four characters for the same film pushes him ahead of the following actors in this list.

7.Vidharth (Oru Kidayin Karunai Manu, Kurangu Bommai, Vizhithiru, Kodi Veeran)

Vidharth had 4 releases this year and be it his role of a village simpleton in Oru Kidayin Karunai Manu or the curious cab driver in Kurangu Bommai, Visharth's acting chops blended well with the respective film's story. His role of a thief in Krishna led Vizhithiru and as Subhash, the brother-in-law in Sasi Kumar led Kodi Veeran were small yet left a sense of remembrance.

8.Sundeep Kishan (Maanagaram, Nenjil Thunivirundhal, Maayavan)

Sundeep Kishan started 2017 on a high as Maanagaram gained him the required recognition among Tamil audience. His portrayal of a thug-ish young man suited him like glove to a hand. His performance of a conflicted best friend in Nenjil Thunivirundhal too was mention-worthy this year. 

9.Sivakarthikeyan (Velaikkaran)

Velaikkaran was a litmus test for Sivakarthikeyan as the audience had to be convinced that he could pull off a serious role.While sharing the space with someone like Fahadh Fassil any shortcoming would come across as glaringly visible but Sivakarthikeyan managed to hold onto his own as Arivu. As someone who is taking all the right steps it would be interesting to see where he goes from here. 

10.Kreshna

Pandigai was probably Kreshna's best performance to date. It was a rather unusual role with no reference point as such. As someone with a troubled childhood fighting his inner demons and resorting to underground street fighting to make a living, Kreshna was solid as the protagonist Velu.

Notable Mention

• Arun Vijay (Kuttram 23): Arun Vijay as ACP Vetrimaaran did full justice to his role that marked his comeback as a lead after a gap of 5 years. Arun Vijay's acting as a cop involved in exposing a medical racket was not only liked but received very well by the audience.