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Best Characters Played by Tamil Actors – Game-Changing Protagonist

Best Characters Played by Tamil Actors: It is a difficult task for a role in a movie to satisfy every one within a few hours, but very rarely characters turn out to be a favorite, unanimously. Most of the characters connect to the audience member due to a soulful connection and an entirely surprising factor hidden in it.

A successful collaboration of decent writing and good performers gained a remarkable status for these characters and also made it a permanent fixture in our memories. These characters turn out as a milestone and drive mileage to them in an actor’s careers, and with several roles already hitting the silver screen, we have picked widely accepted roles played by Tamil Actors that redefined their career in this list.

Also Read: Controversial Topics Explored in Tamil Cinema
Also Read: Powerfully Written Female Characters in Tamil Cinema


Krishna in Vaaranam Aayiram played by Suriya

It was a challenging movie, as for the first time, Suriya played both as a father and son in Vaaranam Aaiyiram. Particularly the character Krishna, as a friendly father and as a supportive guardian, stole everyone’s heart effortlessly. His practical lifestyle, easing going attitude, and most importantly, the endless love he showed towards his wife Malini (played by Simran) across ages made the character more lovable and friendly. This role gave us a companion feel at each stage of his life, and so the ending was impactful, which deposited the success of the character. One of the Best Characters Played by Tamil Actors.


Prem Kumar in NKPK played by Vijay Sethupathi

With several characters played by Vijay Sethupathi competing to make it to this list, the most memorable and unique character played by him in Naduvula Konjam Pakkathe Kaanom won the lot. A simple but effective line pitched by Director Balaji Tharanitharan was the highlight of the movie and the character.

Prem Kumar, being a temporary memory loss patient, had nothing much to score in dialogues, except the repetitive ones (‘Enaachu,’ ‘Paaah’), but, with a mesmerizing performance by Sethupathi, the character raised above to another level. Nevertheless, how many ever times you watch this movie, this character will make you giggle, and so undoubtedly, it takes a strong position in this list.



Kokki Kumar in Pudupettai played by Dhanush

Next on the list of the Best Characters Played by Tamil Actors, among the plenty of best performances of Dhanush, the role which he pulled out terrifically at the early stages of his career was our choice. Yes, it is Kokki Kumar. This character broke our thoughts and myths around the gangster’s life, and as written and directed by Director Selvaraghavan, it’s not a surprise that the role turned out to be a significant one. The movie showed us a complete life cycle of Kokki Kumar from his teens to him turning into a politician, and at each stage of his life, the character kept surprising us and made us watch him in awe.


Dasavatharam played by Kamal Haasan

Next on the list is not only a remarkable role played by Kamal Haasan but in a magnificent movie where he enacted ten exciting and different characters. As everyone would be familiar with all the characters, Rangarajan Nambi, Fletcher, Balraam Naidu took over the show effortlessly in their hands. Having a passionate actor like Kamal Haasan, each character got molded with a unique look, and body language, and that made the movie a trademark one in his career and also in Tamil cinema.



Karthik in VTV played by Simbu

Karthik in VTV was a role that broke all the earlier perceptions on Simbu and gave him an urban look and a beautiful character that was loved by all. As an aspiring filmmaker making love to an elderly girl, his role earned our attention instantly, and it got stronger with a well-written counterpart, Jessie (played by Trisha), who provided him a tough competition, not physically but emotionally.

The critical situations where Karthik suffers between his love and passion and how his life turns upside down resembled the lives of that generation, and it remained as a character close to our heart.


Kaali in Mullum Malarum played by Rajinikanth

Kaali in Mullum Malarum is one of the best-written characters in Tamil Cinema, and most importantly, it brought the finest actor out of Rajini. An inferior, egoistic, arrogant, and possessive winch operator also being an affectionate brother provided multiple dimensions to the role.

Being adamant even in his defeat showed the intensity of character, and the solid writing that left us perplexed in understanding this role and kept us engaged through and through. One of the favorite roles for Rajinikanth himself, it was loved very dearly by the audiences also. One of the Best Characters Played by Tamil Actors.



Jagdish in Thuppakki played by Vijay

Amidst the rivalry between fans, Thuppakki remains a favorite for all among Vijay’s movies. The intriguing plot yielded a new character sketch for the actor as an Army personnel with a modern outfit, a French beard, and effective dialogues. Holding a calm attitude with quick mood swings, despite handling the sleeper cells with sheer intelligence, Jagdish surprised us and remained memorable in our minds.


Split Personalities in Anniyan played by Vikram

As an actor who is fond of challenges, Anniyan presented three unusual characters for ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram to excel at. Introduced as Ambi, a man of honesty, then transforming into Remo and Anniyan, part of a split personality disorder, the actor provided us a complete performance treat. One of the Best Characters Played by Tamil Actors, the challenge in expressing three different persons with the same state of structure and appearance was superbly handled by the tremendous efforts of the actor and stood tall as a solid example of his acting skills.



Paruthiveeran, played by Karthi

The debut movie itself turning out to be a trendsetting role is a thing that happens once in a lifetime, and that fell in place perfectly for Actor Karthi. As a fearless villager, with a weird aim of visiting the central jail once, the character gained attention by his swag filled attitude. Being an arrogant fierce man and quickly swapping into a childish one with his love interest, Karthi gave an appealing performance that remains fresh to date.


Dheenadayalan in Dheena played by Ajith Kumar

Dheenadhayalan in Dheena turned out to be an exceptional role in Ajith Kumar’s career, not because it gave him the tag ‘Thala,’ but also, it made him enter into the action phase that earned him a great following. It was the usual character of a gangster’s brother that turned out to be intriguing with the emotional bonding that remained between them. This character amassed a rugged and lovely performance from the actor that makes Dheena a significant role in his filmography.



Arul Dass in Iraivi played by S. J. Surya

This role made us witness the tragic lifestyle of filmmaker Arul Dass and also the exceptional performance of S. J. Surya. A person suffering from depression turning out to be an alcoholic, he portrayed very well. In the unpredictable flow of his life, when he loses his control and suffers from his emotions, a realistic performance was portrayed by Surya. Arul Dass remained as a representation of most of the men in our society that made me not to avoid him in this list.


Karthik in Alai Payuthey played by R. Madhavan

Karthik in Alai Payuthey is one of the most solidly written romantic roles in Tamil Cinema. This character was also another debut film wonder that presented the chocolate boy credit for Madhavan. The charm and energy that Maddy contributed to the character provided a boy-next-door feel. The maturity of a joyful youngster turning into an entirely emotional one after marriage was splendidly managed by the actor that remains as one of his best acts to date. One of the Best Characters Played by Tamil Actors.



Raam played by Jiiva

Last, but not the least, on the list of the Best Characters Played by Tamil Actors, Raam is an interesting character in the list that seems to be dangerous in appearance but is emotional to the core. With nothing much to express physically and on the whole, conversing hardly a few lines with his mother, the character remained in everyone’s heart with a lively and hard-hitting performance by Jiiva. As an affectionate son being clueless after his mother’s death, the actor gave a composed performance in the movie and anchored the emotional plot very well.


Also Read: Powerfully Written Scenes in Tamil Cinema

Sanjay Sethuganesh. S

A normal human being following the map given by my family and in the process of finding my own. Not a free bird, but trying to explore and experience everything the world had to offer. Fascination towards theaters made movies, a permanent companion of my life and in some form, I will be attached to it.

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