10 Thalapathy Vijay Movies: Favorite Performances

Vijay, a highly talented actor, has adorned the cinematic stage for 25 years, delivering memorable performances across various genres. Despite his exceptional skills, his potential often remains untapped, leaving audiences longing for more nuanced portrayals. Vijay’s versatility shines through in his roles, bringing laughter in “Friends,” emotional depth in “Kavalan,” romantic charm in “Sachien,” intense action in “Theri,” and powerful anger in “Ghilli.” His comedic prowess was evident in “Kushi” and “Friends,” while “Kannukkul Nilavu” showcased his solid emotional delivery.

A Call for Recognition: Unleashing Vijay’s Full Potential

Despite consistently delivering stellar performances, Vijay’s frequent casting in subpar ‘suspense thrillers’ indicates a disregard for discerning movie audiences. A positive shift in his cinematic journey would involve recognizing Vijay’s untapped potential and offering him roles that genuinely showcase his acting prowess.

LEO

Having collaborated with Shankar, Lokesh, AR Murugadoss, and Dharani, Vijay has delivered many incredible performances. My favorite is his portrayal of Parthiban in Leo. Vijay turns in a phenomenal performance, especially in the character of Parthiban. He is poignant, believable, and undeniably moving.

He has maintained his stardom and market dominance, yet not fully explored the depth of his talent. Let’s revisit some of Vijay’s most noteworthy film performances. The order is not based on the movie’s quality but solely on his outstanding acting.

Ghilli

Have you observed his eyes? They are sharp and, more importantly, incredibly expressive. Astute directors who have collaborated with Vijay have skillfully leveraged this feature. Consider scenes like the first meeting of Vijay-Trisha-Prakashraj or the sequence just before the ‘Arjunaru Villu’ song. This is why I yearn to see Vijay working with directors like Gautham and Selvaraghavan, who adeptly utilize silence and an actor’s eyes to convey nuanced emotions. Ghilli marked one of the most significant successes of that year, and this Dharani film ushered in a new phase in Vijay’s career.

Theri

Alright, I might not consider myself a fan of this movie, but I genuinely relished watching Vijay in this more than any of his films post-Ghilli. It’s a lot of fun, and I just love it! This movie encompasses a bit of everything. Vijay, in his characteristic style, invests his all in this film. His performance is notably controlled, unlike in Puli or Villu.

Priyamudan

This was the film where Vijay was finally able to showcase his range. Playing a psychotic murderer in this romantic-thriller, he seized the rare opportunity to display his dark side. I doubt he will ever again take on a negative character like this! If you haven’t seen it, give it a try. Watch out for the airport scene where he ignores a call on his mobile.

Kaththi

This movie features Murugadoss’s favorite ‘information’ giving and ‘questions’ asking scene, making it highly quotable. More than that, Vijay’s sound modulation was excellent. This is something we often forget to mention, especially considering films like Sura and Jilla. Vijay is one of the best in terms of sound modulation and dubbing, evident not only in classic movies like Vettaikkaran but also in films like Poove Unakaage, Love Today, Thuppaakki, and this one.

Kushi

It’s an extremely fun movie, and one of the best parts is the incredible chemistry between the main leads, Vijay and Jyothika. Jyothika is very cute in this, even though we see the blinking of Chandramukhi here and there. Since the topic is different, I won’t delve deep into that. They’re a joy to watch.

Thuppaakki

It’s a well-crafted action-thriller that rewards repeat viewings, particularly for two outstanding action scenes. As an example of what I mentioned earlier about Vijay’s voice modulation, the rooftop scene is so perfect that Akshay Kumar, in the remake, couldn’t come close to Vijay. Comparison is bad, but I just thought of Vijay while watching Holiday. That’s how it works.

Sachien

Disregarding the movie’s similarities with Vijay’s own Kushi, we see a very energetic and lovable Vijay. It’s amusing and enjoyable to watch him simply talking to Genelia with the Ooty-breeze-like background scores. This film is plain fun to watch.

Friends

Forget the forgettable climax action scene; this movie has some well-executed comedy scenes. Vijay’s comic timing is excellent, easily placing him after Rajini and Kamal, and now we have Siva Karthikeyan as well. Vijay and director Siddhiq work well together, and they should collaborate on more projects. The comedy scenes in the ‘Palace’ are a revelation, with memorable moments in their other movie, Kavalan, too. Who can forget that scene at the park!

Thullatha Manamum Thullum

The movie made me watch all his other movies. This should be higher in the list, but it doesn’t evoke the same feeling as in 2000. Thanks to irritating comedy scenes with some loudspeakers, or rather, the so-called comedy actors! Anyway, I occasionally watch this movie again (with a hand on the forward button) for Vijay, Simran, and the songs.

Nanban

This is one of the most calm and cool performances by Vijay! It’s not an extraordinary remake, but it is sure worth seeing for the different kind of heroism of Vijay.

What kind of movies would we like to see Vijay in? I wish to see him in a movie like Pa. Ranjith’s Madras, featuring realistic characters, the ones we encounter on the next street. He could be the actor perfectly suited for Pa. Ranjith films or, say, Gautham Menon movies. I hope his upcoming movies (good combinations are lining up) will offer a good scope for him. I hope he becomes more selective about the directors and scripts he works with.