Happy Birthday Silambarasan TR: It is time for Tamil cinema’s greatest enigma to step up to the pedestal

Between Vallavan and today, he has starred in 25 films, including nine cameo appearances. Hand to heart, it would be tough to say it was a golden run. This was a phase when actors who started with him became pan-Indian names. This was a phase when actors who started after him became superstars in their own right. This was a phase when actors who started before him continued to move up the ladder of superstardom. But this was also a phase when actors who started with him lost the plot. This was also a phase when actors who started after him fizzled out. This was also a phase when actors who started before him graduated to other roles. But Silambarasan, in his own way… persevered. 

It was in these two decades that he had the dreamy five-film run with Silambattam, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya, Vaanam, Osthe, and Podaa Podi. Each of these films portrayed a different Silambarasan to the audience, and interestingly enough, each of these characters endeared him to a different kind of audience. People still swear by Thamizharasan as much as they love Karthik. Their hearts still beat fondly for Cable Raja as much they accept Arjun as an unheralded hero of urban rom-com’s. Oh, and they also have six-pack-sporting, rhyme-dialogue spouting, badass Velan. 

But after this, what happened is clearly one of the most discussed downward slides in any superstar’s career. Tamil cinema has seen its share of actors losing their way, but it hardly happened in the public eye because social media wasn’t a thing back then. However, now… every move or rather absence of a move of Silambarasan became news. There was a never-ending series of blame games from filmmakers who accused him of being late to the shoots, not turning up for days, being inaccessible, being unprofessional, and a lot more. 

His films started getting delayed releases, and once again, the blame was put on him. There were also multiple stalled projects that buried the dreams of a couple of aspiring filmmakers. The delays started compounding, and it started affecting other films. In fact, Vaalu (2015) and Idhu Namma Aalu (2016) were delayed by a handful of years, and this effectively meant the team were stuck in limbo for that time. This horrendous phase also extended to 2017 with the film Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan, which lead to a public callout of Silambarasan’s behaviour, and even resulted in the issuing of the ‘red card’ that was a ban of sorts for him. Now, even though Silambarasan never really answered these criticisms, the writing on the wall was getting clearer by the day. It basically read that working with Silambarasan would be a nightmare, and it wouldn’t bode well for anyone who wanted to fund a film, make the film, and release it on time. 

In an industry like cinema where word-of-mouth is paramount, such statements should have sounded the death knell for any actor. All it takes is one rumour to tarnish an actor’s image, and here the accusations came flying thick and fast, and the radio silence of Silambarasan didn’t really help his case either. And then… Mani Ratnam cast Silambarasan in Chekka Chivantha Vaanam as the young and dynamic Ethirajan Senapathi. This was a role that stripped him of all the elevations and laid bare the acting chops of Silambarasan. It also showed to the world that he wasn’t an actor that was down and out. It proved to the discerning audience that the fire was still raging. 

And that’s what happened with the physical transformation of Silambarasan who had let go of himself. The man who could dance like a dream, and run like the wind, had pushed himself to such a drastic corner that he was huffing and puffing, but still throwing the punches. Yes, he became the subject of incessant trolls for his speeches. Yes, he became the subject of intense scrutiny for his views, especially during the Nadigar Sangam elections. Yes, he was criticised for wasting away his prime years, and becoming the poster boy of everything wrong with Tamil cinema and its prodigious talents.

In fact, I couldn’t help but wonder what went wrong with the boy who grew up to be a man in front of all of us. It’s probably because the boy grew up to be a man in front of all of us. There was no private space for Silambarasan. Every aspect of his 43-year-old life was there for everyone to see. Be it romance, pursuit, anger, sadness, devastation, ecstasy, challenges, roadblocks, insults, misgivings, missteps, proven allegations, unproven theories… everything was in the public eye. It isn’t easy being someone like Silambarasan. He outgrew his childhood at a much faster pace than his peers. He had to live up to the expectations of many. He had to become everything people around him wanted him to be, without taking a time off to just be what he wanted to be. He needed time off that wasn’t on someone else’s time. He needed space away from everyone’s eyes. He needed to be forgotten… for a while. 

The pandemic happened. The world was locked down. People didn’t care about cinema. People didn’t care about cinema stars. People didn’t care about Silambarasan TR. This oblivion worked perfectly for the man who grew up to be Atman away from all of us. He used this time to lose weight, regain his confidence, and become an all-new rejuvenated Silambarasan. And when Silambarasan is on song, the world listens. Venkat Prabhu’s Maanaadu was such a blockbuster success that people actually forgot he did Eeswaran, and a few others he did in the interim. The video of him running in that airport scene became morale boosters for many who were close to giving up on their own aspirations due to various setbacks. The video of his regime that sculpted him to be at his physical best was the stuff of dreams. 

In fact, the changeover of Silambarasan and the success of Maanadu, and the powerful performances in Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kaadu (2022) and Pathu Thala (2023), injected a new adrenaline rush to his slightly dormant fandom. Suddenly, he was everywhere. He was performing in Yuvan Shankar Raja’s concerts across the world. His entry during some award functions or audio launches of popular films became the talking point. Suddenly, everyone was excited about his choice of films. Right now, just as he has launched his production house, Atman Cine Arts, to back STR 50, directed by Desingh Periyasamy, he has three more films in the lineup that reminds us of his dream five-film run in early 2010s. 

Announcement posters of STR 49 and STR 50. Courtesy: Silambarasan (Instagram)

Just like that run, Silambarasan is following Maanaadu and Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kaadu with Mani Ratnam-Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life, Oh My Kadavule and Dragon filmmaker Ashwath Marimuthu’s next, and Parking director Ramkumar Balakrishnan’s sophomore film, before moving to the landmark STR 50, which is set to be a historical subject with him playing dual roles.

ALSO READ: Director Ashwath Marimuthu promises to bring back vintage Silambarasan TR in AGS Productions’ STR 49

Basically… it isn’t enough that we are made to believe that the bird that gets burnt to crisp and powdered to ashes is a phoenix. It isn’t enough that we trust that the grey mass in front of us is a mythical bird. That bird has to rise up from the ashes to prove that the myth is actually a legend. Well… It is time.