Rewind 2022: When supporting actors took the lead in Malayalam cinema

Cast in roles, big and small, these actors immortalised their characters with some fine acts in Malayalam cinema

They came in from the sidelines to steal the show in several Malayalam films. While some of them have been in the film industry for long, some were new entrants.

Super Sharanya

The film engaged in parts. But one character that the audience loved was Vineeth Vasudevan’s Ajith Menon, a spoof on Arjun Reddy from Arjun Reddy. Vineeth had the audience in splits as he imitated the mannerisms and body language of Arjun Reddy, a character that became hugely popular but was also panned by many for propagating toxic masculinity. A Chakyarkoothu artiste, short filmmaker and co-writer of Allu Ramendran (2019), Vineeth also surprised viewers by playing the soft-spoken protagonist in this year’s much-talked-about short film, Anurag Engineering Works. His debut feature film as a director, Poovan, is getting ready for release.

Pada, Dear Friend

Pune-based Arjun Radhakrishnan made his entry into Malayalam cinema with two contrasting characters. In Pada, based on a real incident in Kerala, he played District Collector Ajay Sripad Dange, a Maharashtrian, who is held hostage by activists of Ayyankali Pada. Arjun held his fort as the efficient and calm officer, while sharing the screen space with established actors.

In Dear Friend, a coming-of-age story on friendship, he breezed through his character, Shyam, with his screen presence and nuanced acting. It has been a remarkable year for the actor who played former President and scientist APJ Abdul Kalam in Rocket Boys and will be seen in its second season as well. He also played Amitabh Bachchan’s son in Jhund.

Puzhu