Top Tamil Heroes of 2013 - Critic & Popular Choice

PUBLISHED DATE : 03/Jan/2014

Top Tamil Heroes of 2013 - Critic & Popular Choice

Top Tamil Heroes of 2013 - Critic & Popular Choice


We have to separate the popular and critic choice in 2013 based on different criteria used for ranking the popular movies from critically acclaimed niche movies. 

 

Popular Heroes


1. Kamal Haasan tops the list for being a hero on-screen as well as in real life prior to Vishwaroopam release. Kamal Haasan was at the brink of bankruptcy as Vishwaroopam got delayed due to unknown reasons. There was a huge upheaval of support from all over India and overseas as public sent him home-keys and money orders and even refused to buy pirated DVDs and made it a point to watch the movie in theatres. This has given a big shot of confidence as Kamal gets ready to treat us with his Vishwaroopam-2 with increased vigor and energy.

 

2. Ajith Kumar comes second for holding an average script together with his towering screen presence and unflinching fan support. Ajith should be commended for his guts to sport his natural gray hair looks and do away without a heroine or dance around for a duet song. The movie turned out to be a commercial hit placing bigger smiles on exhibitors than the distributors who were able to secure only marginal returns. 

 

3. The hero who scaled greatest height during 2013 was Sivakarthikeyan. The media and industry producers could still not come to terms with the astronomical rise of a TV anchor and the fact that he is able to command Rs.5 Crores for a movie. Thanks to Sivakarthikeyan's Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam which had the biggest return on investment in 2013. Another comfortable hit for this rising star was Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga where he shared the screen with Vimal.

 

4. Suriya's Singam-2 helped consolidate his position as one of the leading stars by single-handedly carrying a run-of-the-mill script by Hari.

 

Others - Arya came under scrutiny for his dialogue delivery and modulations in all his four releases this year. But, the success of Raja Rani and Arrambam has brought him back to the fore. Jai also benefited from Raja Rani's success as he is back in demand. Jiiva also got a last minute recovery this year in the form of Endrendrum Punnagai which is going steady due to excellent word of mouth. Karthi had a terrible year as he delivered consecutive flops, Alex Pandian and Azhaguraja. Biriyani  restored some pride as the movie opened well. Siddharth is back to Tamil industry through his Theeya Velai Seyyanum Kumaru and Udhayam NH4.

 

Critic Choice


1. In reality, Vijay Sethupathy should have been listed under popular hero category. That is the kind of popularity he has been enjoying as he is now called as "Super Star of Small Movies". Vijay Sethupathy's Soodhu Kavvum gave him the hat-trick hit followed by his entertaining screen presence in Idharkuthaana Aasaipattai Balakumara.

 

2. Fans were in awe of Dhanush's acting talent in Mariyaan and Ambikapathy (Ranjhanaa). However, his subsequent release Naiyaandi came as a shock for fans who had walked in with high expectations. Commercially, Dhanush had a dream year in Hindi and a dull one in Tamil.

 

3. Adharva's performance and efforts in Paradesi were appreciated by critics. Somehow it felt that he was following Bala's instructions to the 'T' and could not bring his own acting chops on the screen.  

 

4. Vishal resurrected his career through arguably his career best movie, Pandiyanadu, which came after a series of mindless movies during the last few years. Prasanna stood tall with his mature performance in Kalyana Samayal Saadham in a challenging role that most of our contemporary heroes would have refused. 

 

Others - Bharath and Shaam were noticed for giving their heart and soul as they put in a lot of effort for 555 and 6 Candles, which turned out to be strictly average. Highly temperamental and talented directors Mysskin and Ram delivered memorable performances playing the lead roles in their respective movies -- Onaiyum Aatukutiyum and Thanga Meengal

 

Heroes who had not-so-good 2013


1. Vijay had a very difficult year as he got caved into political pressures prior to Thalaivaa release. Vijay could not create a similar upheaval that Kamal managed to do through the latter's bold speeches. Vijay's Thalaivaa was criticized for lack of freshness in script and people associated with the movie had to absorb steep losses.

 

2. Last few years have been difficult for Jayam Ravi as many of his movies have been faring poorly or facing long delays. Ameer's Aadhibhagavan wiped out all the hardwork and efforts put in by Jayam Ravi for almost 3 years. 

 

3. Simbhu/STR with no release this year (except one cameo) kept himself in the news through his long delayed Vaalu, Vettai Mannan, Love Anthem music album, Hansika relation, etc. 2014 appears to be looking up as his Gautam Menon and Pandiraj movies are fast progressing.

 

4. Rajnikanth's acting and talkie portions for Kochadaiyaan was completed long time ago. Rajini is waiting patiently for almost 2 years for the historical animation movie to be sold so he can start working on his next project. Tamil fans were disappointed by the not-so impressive trailer which was released after a lot of hype and delay. 

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