Kamal Haasan to Vijay: Kollywood stars who played triple roles

Like any other industry, Tamil cinema is also known for its star-worship culture. There’s nothing better than watching your favourite stars on screen. It gets even better when the actor/actress plays dual or triple roles in films. From veteran actor Kamal Haasan to Vijay, we’ve compiled a list of Kollywood actors who played triple roles, thereby giving a triple treat to the audience.

Kamal Haasan is one actor who has everything to his credit. The multiple times National Award winner goes synonymous with the word ‘perfection’. Over the years, Haasan has earned a reputation for playing diverse characters in films. Kamal played triple role in ‘Apoorva Sagodharargal’, in which he played a police officer Sethupathi and his twin sons, Raja and Appu. Written by Kamal Haasan and Crazy Mohan, ‘Apoorva Sagodharargal’ went on to become one of the landmark films in the history of Tamil cinema. Upon release in 1989, the film opened to rave reviews from critics and audience and became the biggest hit in the industry at that point. The major highlight of the film was Kamal’s portrayal of the dwarf character Appu. The film has a cult following among the audience and rightly so.

Ask any ‘90s kid his/her favourite Rajinikanth film and the list would be incomplete without Thalaivar’s ‘Moondru Mugam’. Even after these years, the film remains to be one of Rajinikanth’s major hits and was remade in several languages. ‘Moondru Mugam’ is about an honest cop Alex Pandian, who gets killed by politician Egambaram. Many years later, Alex Pandian’s twin sons, Jhonny and Arun, who are separated by birth, avenge for their father’s death. ‘Moondru Mugam’ was extremely successful at the box-office, thereby winning Rajinikanth a State Award for Best Actor. Over the years, the film developed a huge following and the character Alex Pandian became a pop culture phenomenon.

Ajith Kumar is not someone who is known to experiment in films. However, the ‘Billa’ actor upped the ante with the 2006 romantic thriller ‘Varalaru’, in which he played a triple role. The film was in production for a long time and the release was delayed due to several reasons. When it finally released on Diwali, ‘Varalaru’ opened to terrific response from audience and was a monstrous hit at the box-office. It revolves around the life of a father and his two sons, all played by Ajith, who just excelled in this one. The songs composed by AR Rahman were a smash hit. On the other hand, Ajith Kumar was highly praised for his performance as the Bharatanatyam dancer.

‘Chiyaan’ is one of the few actors who completely justify the character he plays on screen. However, Vikram did not exactly play a triple role here, instead he played three characters. Vikram collaborated with Shankar for the first time in ‘Anniyan’, which follows the story of an honest lawyer, who suffers from multiple personality disorder. Vikram’s portrayal of the three personalities Ambi, a lawyer, Remo, a fashion model and a vigilante killer Anniyan won the hearts of the audience and rightly so. Even after all these years, the film is still remembered for the scene where Vikram is interrogated by Prakash Raj. ‘Anniyan’, which released in 2005, opened to terrific response across the state and became an out-and-out money spinner at the box-office. Upon release, it was highly praised for its breathtaking action sequences and visually-pleasing songs. ‘Anniyan’ also won the National Award for Best Special Effects that year.

After appearing in a string of mass films, Suriya made a stunning comeback in the sci-fi thriller ‘24’, which was directed by filmmaker Vikram Kumar of ‘Manam’ fame. In the film, Suriya played a triple role, Sethuraman, Aathreya and Manikandan. ‘24’ revolves around a scientist Sethuraman, who invents a time travelling watch. On the other hand, his twin brother Aathreya is on a mission to somehow acquire the watch. The rest is about how Aathreya gets the watch, which is now with his son Manikandan, a watch mechanic. Upon release, Suriya was highly appreciated for his performance as the menacing Athreya. Made on a lavish budget, the film became quite successful at the box-office. At the 63rd National Awards, ‘24’ won two National Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Production Design.

Vijay’s transition from ‘Ilayathalapathy’ to ‘Thalapathy’ has a story in itself. Last year, Vijay gave a memorable performance in Atlee’s commercial entertainer ‘Mersal’. Vijay plays a triple role for the first time in his career. The actor’s older avatar Vetrimaaran was unanimously appreciated by critics. Of the several things, the song ‘Aalaporan Thamizhan’, composed by AR Rahman, became a youth anthem of sorts. The film, which released on auspicious festival of Diwali, landed in a controversy after the BJP members took offence to scenes that criticised the GST regime and Digital India. Thanks to free publicity, ‘Mersal’ received nationwide attention and became the highest grossing Tamil film of 2017. Despite positive reviews, the critics found similarities between ‘Mersal’ and the Kamal Haasan-starrer blockbuster film ‘Apoorva Sagodharargal’.