Merry Christmas: Vijay Sethupathi Is Not Just a Tamil Boy In This Sriram Raghavan Thriller | Opinion

Actor Vijay Sethupathi has many avatars. But none which even faintly resembles that of a hero – in the sense of the term we those playing leads. Minus the dashing good looks which have become a necessity to be a hero in Indian cinema, he has come a long, long way, and is now one who is known and recognised for his brilliant acting style.

Take Merry Christmas, for instance, which is now playing in theatres. He has, without a shred of doubt, understood the concept of acting in films. We know that a lot of which is churned out of the country’s movie factories is too dramatic, too loud. Understandably so. For, our cinema grew out of our tradition in theatre, unlike in the West where it emerged from photographs. And Sethupathi is one of the few men in the industry who understands this perfectly well.

There are so many scenes in Merry Christmas in which the actor talks with his eyes. Sometimes, he conveys what he wants to with a nod of his head or a half smile which lingers on his lips.

What is more, Sethupathi has essayed vastly different characters, sinking into them to push the plot further ahead. He bloomed late, when he was 32, in Thenmerku Paruvakaatru (2010). His restrained style of acting and his bold attempt to pick roles that no other Tamil hero would touch with a barge pole made him very popular and very soon.

As a middle-aged kidnapper, Das, in Soodhu Kavvum, he lifted the movie to great heights, and both he and the work attracted laudatory reviews. He became an icon after that. In 2016, although just in his mid-thirties, he stepped into the skin of a lonely old man in Orange Mittai. His poignantly sweet relationship with a par-medic was heartwarming, to say the least.

He became a lover in Naanum Rowdy Thaan, a macho cop in a film which carried his name as the title, Sethupathi. There was no end to the variety and his bold approach to experimenting with it. He cared little about how he looked, and Vikram Vedha in 2017 proved this.. He was excellent as Vedha in a tale that was inspired by the folklore, Vikram and Betal. He was a gangster, an anti-hero garnering more praise than the hero, played by Madhavan. Mind you, in the Hindi version of this work, Hrithik Roshan, was Vedha, with his chiselled body which resembled a Greek god! Finally, Sethupathi stepped into the shoes of a transgender, called Shilpa, in the 2019 Super Deluxe.

It was clear by then that Sethupathi would dare to do any part, not in the least caring about his image. And now as the hero in Merry Christmas along with Katrina Kaif, it has been amply proved that the actor is no longer just a Tamil boy. The movie in Hindi and Tamil is driven by a masterly performance by Sethupathi, and weaves in a very subtle romance between Katrina Kaif’s Maria and Vijay’s Albert. His wry humour and his unorthodox mannerisms said – all too loudly – that here was an actor who has arrived, and is all set to go beyond the shores of Chennai, dextrously crossing the lines of regionalism and language.