Kollywood's double dhamaka

What���������s common between Siruthai, Singam Puli, Ponnar Shankar and Vikram���������s upcoming film with Suseenthiran? All these films have their heroes in dual roles!
While Karthi played a petty thief Rocket Raja and ACP Rathnavel Pandian in the hit film Siruthai, Jiiva will be portraying the role of a dirty fisherman and a stylish lawyer in his upcoming film, Singam Puli.And Prashanth will now be breathing life into the historic characters of Ponnar and Shankar. What���������s more, we hear that director Suseenthiran will be casting Vikram in two roles in his forthcoming film.
���������Heroes playing double roles in films is not something new. It has been happening in the Tamil film industry since the days of P U Chinnappa, who was the first leading man to play dual roles in the film Uthamaputhiran (1938). Interestingly, most of such films have been huge hits. They work even today. Take the case of Endhiran, which had Rajini playing the roles of a scientist and a robot. It was the biggest blockbuster of 2010,��������� observes a trade source.
Film historian Film News Anandan says, ���������Making a film with a dual role subject has now become a habit, thanks to the advancement in technology and graphics. Filmmakers are now better equipped to make such films convincingly. However, I don���������t think it���������s a trend here. If three films in the genre run to packed houses, more such films get made. This is almost similar to the trend where films on mythology were made in Kollywood back-to-back during the days of Sivaji and Gemini Ganesan.���������
Director Siva says that though the BO success of a film is one of the main reasons why directors opt for a dual-role subject, the script also matters. Says he, ���������I did not choose to make a dual-role film and then decide to spin a story around it. It was the other way round. I chose to make Siruthai with Karthi in dual roles because of the script.���������
There also seem to be other reasons for such attempts. Director Sai Ramani says the hype created by such films is an added incentive. ���������The story of Singam Puli is such that the hero and the villain have to look alike. Though it is a challenge for both the hero and the director to make the film click, such films raise the expectation levels of the audience,��������� he says.
But what is it that makes actors opt for such roles? ���������It���������s the challenge of delivering a believable performance that gets the actors excited,��������� says Prashanth. But he also quickly adds that the subject and feasibility of the project also play an important role. ���������Playing two different roles in the same film is exhaustive. It requires double the effort and time. When I signed Jeans, I didn���������t do any films for two years. Similarly, I haven���������t been working on any films for the past four years because my concentration was completely on Ponnar Shankar. An actor also completely trusts the director when he chooses to play dual roles,��������� he says.
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