Can you think of a comedian who has reinvented himself at every juncture of his career? The name is Vivekh. At a time when comedians were relegated to playing a sidekick, Vivekh broke away from that tried-and-tested staple and brought in a fresh voice to the Tamil comedy scene — whether it’s anecdotal comedy or slapstick. By all means, he could have merely entertained people — which is what his peers did and continue to — and could have remained the strongest in his league. But he chose not to. He constantly pushed boundaries, donned many avatars, and made efforts to initiate a social discussion through his comedic acts. You could say that he’s... the Kamal Haasan of comedies. At the same time, his whimsical take on societal taboos and gender inequality was relatable by the masses, also making him the Rajnikanth.
There’s always a Vivekh comedy for everything that’s wrong in society. To the point where we are reminded of his rib-tickling bits in Saamy , if the topic of contention was casteism. The train journeys were never the same after his ‘howlarious’ stretch in Anniyan . Every outsider sympathised with his character in Run , in which he made even ₹5 biriyani look cool. How many comedians have you come across, who took a backstage during the peak of their careers? Vivek did that in Boys , playing Mangalam Sir, a mentor of sorts who everybody would secretly wish for.
Comedy is meant to disturb our collective consciousness and Vivekh probably realised this much before anybody else.
Srivatsan S is convinced that morality is farcical and loves to make politically-incorrect jokes
Quick, dial your North Indian buddy Rahul and ask him if he knows ‘Nesamani’. I’ll bet a thousand bucks that he’ll say yes.
Okay, so I’ll give you three chances to pick the phone and call anyone in the world, and chances are that they’ll know ‘Nesamani’.
The guy who played it, Vadivelu, is no longer a Kollywood comedian. He is a worldwide sensation, mind you.
If there’s a Vivekh comedy for everything that’s wrong in society, as my colleague points out, there’s always a Vadivelu funny one-liner to forget about them and laugh. The Dubai sequences in Vetri Kodi Kattu. The ‘Nesamani’ portions in Friends . The ‘Body Soda’ character in Pokkiri . Or the wonderfully-funny king he played in Imsai Arasan 23m Pulikesi . I could go on. Heck, we might not remember the film names but we will remember the comedy scenes.
Hundreds of people in drawing rooms across Tamil Nadu go to dinner with plate in one hand and a TV remote on the other. They tune into Aditya TV or Siripoli and almost choke on their food, even as they laugh their guts out to a funny sequence that they might be watching for the dozenth time.
Not only that, this comedian has given meme makers fodder for the next fifty years — whatever the situation, there’s always a scene featuring him that will go with it.
Because, ultimately, Vadivelu will always be the Winner .
Srinivasa Ramanujam firmly believes that bad jokes are the hardest to crack
In this column we pit two Chennai icons against each other
