Celebrating Vadivelu!

"Adhu Pona Maasam.....Naan sonnathu indha maasam"

"Helloooo.....Dubai ah"

"Enna romba nallavannu sollitaan ma"

"Yovv... Naanum Rowdy ya"

"Mamanukku eppo kanji oothapora"

These are just some of the hundreds of dialogues by actor Vadivelu (known by his sobriquet Vaigai Puyal) in several movies, along with various mainstream actors in his Quintessential style. No one in the Tamil Film industry has touched people with their comic sense as much as Vadivelu. Any role or any situation, you name it, the guy has played it - from a policeman to a rowdy, a politician to a common layman, a college going guy to a middle class family man and much more. These scenes are not just one time laugh scenes. These have become an inextricable part of our daily lives. Whenever we encounter a situation, and if you are familiar with some of Vadivelu's scenes, you cannot help but relate to any of his comic situations. There is a split second of funny relief feeling. I think this cannot be emphasised enough.

The beauty in Vadivelu's comedy lies is in its staggering degree of practicality and relatability. Unlike most of the contemporary comedians who garner laughs mainly at other's expense and are most often crass humour steeped in stereotypes, in Vadivelu's scenes it is almost always about the situation. The situation mostly ends up in Vadivelu failing miserably or self-deprecating himself that leaves the audience in splits. Apart from the strong situational comedy setup, Vadivelu has a lot of other things that works for him well.

The supporting actors, many times aiding him in a gang, are a crucial part of the situation. It is they that provide strong content for Vadivelu to work on. Sometimes it is the Hero who accompanies in the scene. Ah, who can forget the Parthiban-Vadivelu scenes?! Easily, one of the best pairs in any category. Wish they made a comeback.

Next is his dialogue delivery in a variety of modulations, dialects and moods. God, they are uncountable. Be it the village idiot's romance or the proud male family earner's relationship with his wife (Kovai Sarala _/\_ ) or the rogue's rambunctiousness or  the narcissistic emigrant's recount of his Dubai tales or a dummy rowdy's hilarious encounters or an innocent shopkeeper/ layman's tribulations or a uncle's conspiracy to stop a marriage or even a stupid King's courtroom atrocities - the list goes on - every dialogue is highly and hilariously distinctive.

Yet another strong point of Vadivelu is his body mannerisms. For the most part, he doesn't try too hard and it clicks. The Kaipulla from Winner, Soona Paana from Kannathal, Sudalaimuthu from Vetri Kodi Kattu are just three masterpieces I instantly remembered. For instance, Kaipulla, the faux pas village goon - the way he assembles his gang, admonishes his rival in a very funny way and ultimately gets whacked in different means is etched in memory. Especially the scene where he attempts to burgle. Body language, I feel is a lost art among the current comedians.

Vadivelu has set a very high benchmark in the Tamil comedy scene, for he has performed solo and also as part of a gang, pure situational comedy that doesn't feed on people's physicalities with a variety of body languages and getups.  The scenes are natural and exhibits multiple extended exchanges.

In simple words, in other comedian scenes, it is about one-liners but in Vadivelu scenes it is almost always about the entire Scene. And that is why his scenes are really memorable and he is the most fondly quoted to this day.

Not to bring in any comparisons here but I also think we are not celebrating Vadivelu as much as we ought to, not even commensurate with that of Superstar Rajinikanth. Yes, with the advent of social media, Vadivelu has become the figurative Siachen glacier for meme content. Evoking laughter in a sustained way is one of the toughest aspects of the entertainment industry. Vadivelu therefore must be celebrated more extensively - perhaps declare a Vadivelu day every year or a Vadivelu hour every work week in Tamilnadu!