Showbiz is fickle, with Friday after Friday dictating an actor’s position in the industry, never mind that he is an established star. And lending the situation a certain piquancy is when the competition is from home itself.
Examples abound in Hollywood and the Indian film industry, be it Bollywood or the south. Incidentally, the Telugu industry is like one big family and we mean that literally! Coming to Tamil cinema, the spotlight now rests on siblings Suriya and Karthi—the elder brother an established star and the younger, the current darling of the box office.
Just two years might separate the brothers in age, but younger brother Karthi faced the arclights a good 10 years after Suriya. And what contrasting debuts we might add—while Suriya was rather stiff in his debut film 'Nerukku Ner', Karthi playing a village rowdy was a complete delight in his first outing, 'Paruthi Veeran'.
But before one could write off the first-born of veteran actor Sivakumar, Suriya changed gears and became a force to reckon with. And just when one is wont to use beginner’s luck and Karthi in the same sentence, he surprised everybody by delivering a row of hits.
One wonders then who is the better actor, the greater star. Actress Priya Mani who had the good fortune of working with both the brothers says, “Suriya has an edge over Karthi, given that he has more years of experience and is a fantastic actor to boot with a lot of commercial success as well. That said, Karthi has grown a lot in stature since 'Paruthi Veeran'.”
From the stilted actor that he was in the beginning, Suriya has since then grown as an actor of repute, courtesy the talented directors who believed in him and the many roles (ACP, hunchback, martial expert to name a few) he essayed. Karthi, in his very second movie 'Aayirathil Oruvan', took on a challenging role of a coolie while going on to play engaging characters ranging from a jobless, carefree person in 'Paiyaa' to a crook in 'Siruthai'. So are they evenly matched in the versatility stakes? Film historian and columnist Randor Guy says Suriya gets his vote given that he was there first and since has had greater opportunity.
And who better than a diehard fan to vouchsafe the greatness of either of the brother duo. Film buff and writer Swarupa Pillai insists that actor Karthi is a natural and that “he breaks formulas all the time”. In comparison, Suriya she says is monotonous. “Oh, but then Suriya is serious eye candy,” is one of Suriya’s fans’ glib retort.
While the brothers themselves pooh-pooh the sibling rivalry, it is the industry-watchers who made a big hue and cry about the supposed 'Maatran' (Suriya) and 'Saguni' (Karthi) clash at the box office. And where statistics dictate the order of the day, Karthi has to date not a single flop to his name. Did we just tip the scales in Karthi’s favour?