Unparalleled

Veteran Actor Nagesh passed away today. I purposely avoid referring to him as a comedian. The variety of characters he has portrayed along with the multitude of emotions he had to display is probably unmatched by anyone. Even Sivaji can be accused of 'overacting'. But not Nagesh. From the most famous role of a poor poet in Thiruvilayaadal (which catapulted him to an iconic status even overshadowing Sivaji in that movie) to that of a loving brother in Major Chandrakanth and a villain in Aboorva Sagodharargal, he has surely left no routes unexplored. Bama Vijayam, Neer Kumizhi, Edhir Neechal are some of my personal favourites. And the evergreen scene from Kaadhalika Neramilai. I can keep on adding. And just when everybody thought Nagesh's days are long past, he bounced back and acted in what is probably one of his all time funniest roles ever - as Avinashi in Michael Madana Kama Rajan. While Vadivelu and Vivek have been accused of getting monotonous and boring, no such accusations can be made against Nagesh. And I think Nagesh was the only remaining artist from that Golden era of Tamil Cinema.MGR, Sivaji, Gemini Ganesan, Muthuraman, Ravichandran, TS Balaiya, V.K. Ramasamy, etc. (Yes, SS Rajendran is still alive and Siva Kumar was in a pseudo generation sandwiched between the likes of these actors and the era of Rajini and Kamal). Here is to a great actor and an entertainer who will be an iconic inspiration for generations.