Why comedians prefer to play lead roles in K’town

Who said comedians hesitate to play lead roles in Kollywood? Tamil cinema has seen a few, who go the extra mile to do the lead role after establishing themselves as a successful comedian. The likes of Vadivelu, Vivek, Santhanam till the recent Yogi Babu are standing examples.

Though several offers come his way to play hero’s sidekick even today, Vadivelu has apparently decided that he would play only a heron screen and is listening to lots of stories.

Santhanam has enough in his kitty that includes a movie with Selvaraghavan (Mannavan Vanthanadi), Server Sundaram, A1 and a film with director Kannan. 

Vivek recently played part of an investigative thriller set in USA titled Vellai Pookal. Not far behind is Yogi Babu. The latest comical sensation in Tamil cinema is part of a couple of biggies – Gurkha and Dharma Prabhu.

Asked about playing the hero, Yogi Babu, said, “I would call it a meaty role. The story revolves around me. I still have half-a-dozen movies as comedian that includes Vijay63 and Rajinikanth’s Darbar.”

“People say that I have reached a position where none is there to compete. You can’t play in a place where there are no players. So, everybody is there and those who accomplish their jobs well will succeed,” he added.

In an interview recently, Santhanam, said, “I got really tired playing the hero’s friend who helps in his romance. After a point, these roles got so monotonous. So I decided to play the hero. No matter what decision you take in life, there’ll always be support and opposition. I still do humour in the films that I play the hero, but this is different. The humour I do as hero is not monotonous and boring.”

Vivek on his part, said, “I agreed to play the lead in Vellai Pookal for the storyline was different and there was a strong message in it. It showcased me in a different light.”

However, Soori is very cautious. “I still have a lot to achieve as comedian. I get many opportunities to play the lead. But I love to do what I love the most – play comedian,” he said.

Meanwhile, Raghu, an industry tracker, stated, “The problem arises when the focus is on building a hero image and not picking the right script. The likes of Karunaas, Ganja Karuppu and even Vadivelu failed in their attempts. Everyone should understand that it is the content that sells among audience.”