It is Tamil film star Karthi’s birthday today. Karthik Sivakumar, who goes by his stage name Karthi, is the younger brother of actor Suriya. More than the Kaatru Veliyidai star himself, it’s his fans who are celebrating his birthday with great spirit.
Only yesterday, the poster of Karthi’s next film, Kaithi, was revealed. Fans have been excited with his next upcoming film that has been directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj of Maanagaram fame. The film’s final sequence wrapped up and it is now under post-production. Being produced under the Dram Warrior banner, Kaithi which in Tamil means a prisoner revolves around Karthi and his prison inmates planning a prison break, showcasing events leading to the escape from prison, all done within 4 hours. The film was shot over 62 nights. On the occasion of his 43rd birthday, we list five career-best performances.
Happpy bdayyyy @Karthi_Offl 😃 always be the happy person that you are. May you have a year as lovely as you are ! Stay blessed and keep killing it 😃😃 pic.twitter.com/e61bJh9u8Q
— Rakul Singh (@Rakulpreet) May 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/NRCharan26/status/1264418483934162944?s=20
Paruthiveeran
Karthi made his acting debut as a village ruffian in ‘Paruthiveeran’, which is regarded as one of the landmark films in the history of Tamil cinema. Set in a remote village in Tamil Nadu, it revolves around Paruthiveeran (Karthi), a carefree village rogue, who gets involved in a lot of troubles, Priyamani plays his lover Muthazhagu. The rest of the film is about the challenges faced by the couple, followed by a distributing climax that leaves the audience teary-eyed. ‘Paruthiveeran’ opened to rave reviews from critics and was celebrated by audiences globally. It was screened at several national and international film festivals and won two National Awards- Best Actress and Best Editing.
Naan Mahaan Alla
Suseenthiran directed Naan Mahaan Alla could be easily written off as your regular masala pot-boiler. The film feature Karthi in the role of a happy-go-lucky-guy whose life revolves around his simple middle-class family. But the film is a thriller inspired by some shocking real incidents. It saw Karthi deliver a very raw performance of a guy who sets out avenge the death of his father by a local gang. The movie was praised for his rigid narration and highly realistic stunts. A decade since its release, the film still has a very large fan base.
Madras
Madras, from director Pa Ranjith, gives us a realistic peek into the lives of middle-class families in a housing board in Vysarpadi, north Madras. The film is about how politicians use their egos to influence on the lives of common people and provoke them to promote the culture of violence, which is dominant in the country even today. In Madras, Karthi’s performance is easily his next best after his National award-winning debut flick, Paruthiveeran.
Komban
An angry young man trying to give up his violent ways after his marriage runs into trouble but his nemesis will not rest until he is killed. M Muthiah’s rural action-drama shows Kathi as Sporting thick handlebar mustache and dhoti, the film saw Karthi play a good-hearted village ruffian to a tee. Not many actors can convincingly pull-off rural-based characters in Tamil cinema as comfortable as Karthi, who slips into his role with the utmost ease.
Kathi
After making his solid debut with Maanagaram a few years ago, Lokesh Kanagaraj returned strongly with Kaithi, a relentless, punchy action film that has its heart in the right place. On paper, it’s is a story that spans across a single night and it follows events that happen in a span of four hours. However, it is set in a world where Kamal Haasan’s Virumaandi meets Die Hard meets Assault on Precinct 13. In unarguably one of his best on-screen avatars, Karthi never gets projected as the hero but he still makes one root for him with his solid performance.