‘Thala'( short for thalaiva) Ajit is an enigma. He shuns the spotlight after shooting unlike others who seek it all the time. He seldom gives interviews and you will never find him sharing the podium with all and sundry for innocuous causes or at incongruous awards functions. He calls a spade a spade and at a rare do he attended, Rajni stood up and applauded when Ajit requested political parties not to force stars to attend gatherings that don't involve them. His ascendance to superstardom has been studied and gradual. His earlier films show that he was not keen on the number games but wanted to do a variety of roles. For me “Vaalee” first showcased his talent in a double role. He was riveting in the role of the mute twin who lusts for his sister-in-law. “Mugavaree” was another film in which his performance was poignant. I think it was with ‘Dheena' that he was accepted as an action hero and fans found it fit to form ‘ mandrams'(clubs). There followed a confused phase when Ajit seemed to sign all the wrong films like ‘Red', ‘Citizen' and ‘Jana' just to name a few. It's remarkable that even after a slew of box-office turkeys, fans faith in their ‘Thala' was unshaken. The initial box-office collections of ‘Mangatha' aided by the extra long festive weekend has taken the film industry by storm. That it has sustained after the holidays shows that the film will be one of the biggest grosser ever.
Ajit rocks in the film and is solely responsible for its success which also happens to be his fiftieth. He's the hero but plays a suspended cop who's after a huge cache of betting money which is in the safe keep of a local don. Ajit has to be lauded for playing the role with a panache unseen on the Indian screen especially for a hero. Even Kamal has not dared to sport grey hair when not portraying multiple roles. The George Clooney look suits him and none of his fans have protested. Ajit drinks, smokes, cheats on his girlfriend and even dumps her in his pursuit of pelf.
In fact, Arjun Sarja is the hero because he plays the good cop. Well, the credit for the film's success goes entirely to Ajit simply because the film is mediocre. Director Venkat Prabhu has been busy watching DVDs involving heist and betrayal. He fills the screen with his cronies who are regulars in all his films. Ajit's overpowering presence simply dwarfs all the other characters in the film.
In fact a much better film along similar lines is the recently released ‘Aranya Kandam' which flopped but is now being hailed as a classic. Ironically Ajit was so impressed with the film that he's supposed to have met the director Thiagarajan a few times. Let's hope something exciting emerges.
Never one to shy away from unconventional roles Ajit is emerging to be the enviable amalgam of Rajni and Kamal which is the dream of every Tamil star.
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