When he moved us to tears...

A couple of days ago, I watched Thillu Mullu for the umpteenth time. It is, without doubt, one of the best comedy movies in Tamil. Visu's dialogues and screenplay couldn't have been better as K. Balachander turned Hrishikesh Mukherjee's runaway-hit Golmaal into a movie that was just as good, and one which had not a trace of being a remake.

Rajnikanth's acting prowess was matched by 'Thengai' Srinivasan's portrayal of Sriramachandra Moorthy, probably the latter's most memorable role since Kaasedhaan Kadavulada. A landmark in Rajnikanth's acting career, Thillu Mullu proved the superstar's ability to adapt to a comedy role with ease.

Surprisingly, I was drawn into thinking about the movies in which Rajnikanth essayed roles which brought to fore totally opposite emotions - sadness and melancholy. Here are my top five picks (in no particular order).

Aarilirundhu Arupadhuvarai

A simple movie which narrates the life of the eldest son of a large family, starting from the age of 6, when he loses his father. Singlehandedly, the boy raises the entire family and, at the cost of his own career and well-being, provides a good life to his brother and sister, only to be ditched by them later. Few directors other than KB could have visualised Rajnikanth in such a subdued role, and the actor delivered one of the best performances of his career. This movie features the melodious song Kanmaniye Kaadhal Enbadhu...

Mullum Malarum

Many of us, children of this generation, hasten to liken Kamal Hassan to Sivaji Ganesan, and Rajnikanth to MGR. However, during the days they learnt their trade, the reverse was true. It was Rajni who essayed the more mature, performance-oriented roles, whereas Kamal tried his hand a popular roles. The role of Kaali in Mullum Malarum stands out as Rajnikanth's finest acting performance ever. Not unlike KB, director Mahendran brought out the best in Rajni, who plays a brash villager who, without much reason, hates a city-bred engineer (Sarath Babu). Upon watching this one, I realised why films are called movies - for their ability to move the audience!

Shoba and Rajni as siblings brought inevitable comparisons to Sivaji and Savitri in Pasamalar. This movie, which features the evergreen hit song Senthazham Poovil... won Rajni his first State award for Best Actor.

Nallavanukku Nallavan

Rajnikanth's next movie, the eagerly-awaited Sivaji (The Boss), is produced by AVM. The superstar should feel indebted to the production house, because they gave him his first break as a hero in Murattu Kaalai. Rajni has acted in many other movies under the famed AVM banner, but Nallavanukku Nallavan should rank as the best of that lot. He portrays the transformation of a brash misled youngster into a refined and successful man with elan. Radhika, as the leading lady, excelled in an equally good role. Rajni's portrayal of a mature father won him critical acclaim.

Dharmadurai

This is personal favourite of mine. Rajnikanth doesn't utter a word for the much of the first 30 minutes, yet has a magnetic screen presence. Yet, as the characterisation begins to strike us, we realise how many sacrifices he has done for his undeserving brothers, and how they respond to it by milking him, and finally even sending him behind bars. Another fine example of a movie in which Rajni's character undergoes a sea-change due to the progression of events. How can one forget Maasi maasam aalana ponnu...?

Dalapathi

For all the success that it has achieved, Chandramukhi is a crass movie without anything to write home about. One wonders what reception a movie like Dalapathi would have got had it been released last year. Mani Ratnam, who had achieved iconic status with Nayagan, returned with another gangster movie, this time with Rajnikanth in the lead. It is a tribute to Mani Ratnam's genius that he can retell a story we all know, and making us remark that his version is the better. Based on characters drawn from the Mahabharata (Kunti, Karna, Duryodhana and Arjuna), Mani weaves an interesting tale of a gangster, siding with the man who took him in his arms, fighting his own brother.

Dalapathi marked the first occassion when Rajnikanth was paid a salary of Rs 1 crore. GV, who produced the film, must have surely felt that the money was well-spent as the public ascribed it instant cult status. Mammooty as Deva provided such a compelling performance that some people argue till date that he was the better actor - again, a tribute to Mani Ratnam's casting. Powerful scenes punctuate the movie, like when Rajni expresses his dilemma, when he confronts his mother (Srividya) or when he is confronted by Mammooty... scenes during which yours truly, a boy of 9 years old, jerked with tears in Chennai's Albert theatre.

Some other movies in the list: Engeyo Ketta Kural, Pudhu Kavidhai, Padikkaathavan, Muthu, Mannan.