10 OF THE BEST ACTING PERFORMANCES OF THE DECADE in Malayalam Cinema

 

The decade from 2010 to 2019 was very rewarding for Malayalam Cinema. Grappling in the dark through uncertain territories in the previous decade when the Industry finally got to the end of the tunnel, we were lucky that it wafted with a breath of fresh air in every aspects of filmmaking. Although Malayalam Cinema has consistently given good acting performances over the years, the new breed of films that was made in this decade, unlike the previous one, gave larger and better scope of performance for the actors inside all their newfound concepts. Following is a list of 10 of the best performances among them.

 

10. Joju Joseph in JOSEPH

 

Joju Joseph had been around for much longer than we remember for his roles, although we did get glimmers of his talents when he was given the right kind of parts like the not so insignificant one in Action Hero Biju, but his breakthrough role as the central character in this moody and morose thriller about a man’s personal tragedies and his quest to find an end to his torments showed us his caliber in all its glory.

 

9. Indrajith Sukumaran in LEFT RIGHT LEFT

 

Indrajith, who has time again proven his mettle over many of his contemporaries, had previously displayed his skills vividly in Ee Adutha Kaalathu and City of God among others, but it came full tilt as the corrupt and foul-mouthed policeman called ‘Vattu’ Jayan in this gritty political thriller that raked up more controversy than the attention that it deserved.

 

8. Sajitha Madathil in SHUTTER

 

Sajitha’s wide-ranging experience in theatre paid off in this thrilling social commentary as the forthright prostitute who was Immune to the air of fake morality that surrounded her, forming a fitting balance against the double standards of the protagonist, with vernacular and candid humor along with her careless body language.

 

7. Suraj Venjaramoodu in ANDROID KUNJAPPAN VER.5.25

 

Actors playing character much older to them typically tend to overdo the execution with exaggerated mannerisms and voice modulations, but Suraj’s forlorn Bhaskara Poduval, almost double his age, was a treat to watch, with all the intrinsic aspects of the difficult senior skillfully juxtaposed on his physical characteristics giving us one of the finest performances of his career.

 

6. Salim Kumar in ADAMINTE MAKAN ABU

 

Having already done grim roles like the father in Achanurangatha Veedu, it came as no surprise when Salim Kumar, the master of rib-tickling wisecracks in Malayalam Cinema, stretched his spectrum further into the dingy territory, but what he pulled off as the aching elderly in Salim Ahamed’s directorial debut was soul-stirring and heartbreaking to such an extend that it even won over the year’s national award jury.  

 

5. Parvathi Thiruvoth in TAKE OFF

 

Parvathi meaningfully upped her game with an electrifying performance in this survival thriller as Sameera, the pregnant nurse in distress stranded in war-torn Iraq, with such nuanced depiction of hope and courage, struggling to stay alive in a horrific environment, with a realistic grab on every aspect of the character like a pro, especially all the subtle gestures that was exquisitely played on to mask the pain and fatigue caused by her condition.

 

4. Soubin Shahir in KUMBALANGI NIGHTS

 

Soubin, with his inherent energy to shape shift into any character he played, was in top form in Madhu C. Narayanan’s directorial debut as the garden-variety wastrel portraying all his foibles as endearingly as possible and effectively contributing in fashioning one of the key tools employed by the plot to deconstruct the idea of machismo.

  

3. Mammootty in MUNNARIYIPPU

 

This is where we witnessed all of Mammootty’s experience as an actor carving out one of his most flawless performances disguised in restrain and finesse as the seemingly naïve and harmless protagonist of Venu’s genre-bending Munnaryippu to eventually burst into a diabolic beast right before the end credits rolled, and gave us one of the most jaw-dropping final shots in Malayalam Cinema.

 

2. Vinayakan in KAMMATTIPADAM

 

Anybody who watched Kammattipadam would have noticed the tempestuous energy and the air of volatility that the immensely talented Vinayakan as an actor brought to the already unpredictable “Ganga” eventually becoming the strongest force of nature that prominently uplifted the epic Rajiv Ravi mob chronicle and owned it like a true gangsta.

 

1. Fahadh Faasil in THONDIMUTHALUM DRIKSAKSHIYUM

 

Fahadh must have hypnotized you with his powerful gaze and physicality of the god-man in Trance and made you cringe with the creepiness of the ‘macho’ nutcase in Kumbalingi Nights, but it was the sheer joy of watching him breath life into this small-time crook in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum that outplayed it all, where he was characteristically likable, mischievous, sad and dodgy all at the same time.

 

Then there are also…

 

Fahadh Faasil in Kumbalangi Nights

Pauly Valsan in Ee Ma Yau

Asif Ali in Kettiyolanente Malakha

Parvathy Thiruvoth in City of God

Rajisha Vijayan in Anuraga Karikkin Vellam

Fahadh Faasil in Trance

Jagadish in Leela

Biju Menon in Vellimoonga

Sarasa Balussery in Sudani From Nigeria

Baby Anika in Anju Sundarikal

Shine Chacko in Ishq

Also check out the List of Best Films of the Decade.