Jodi Porutham

Sify last week had a slideshow on Kamal's heroines over the years. This was one of those things that gave us no new information and was put together by Sify probably because it was a slow news day(with Dasaavathaaram again getting postponed - this time to June 13 - and other movies holding off to avoid clashing with the behemoth, we can probably expect more of these in the coming days). But it did give rise to a few nostalgic moments as it talked about some of Kamal's old movies and his legendary chemistry with his heroines. Sridevi was ofcourse listed first on the slideshow and with good reason. If ever a dictionary was compiled on Tamil cinema, we could just put a photo of Kamal and Sridevi next to the word 'chemistry' and be done with it. They made an evergreen pair. Good-looking and undeniably talented, the two romanced, fought, laughed and cried perfectly in sync. Even today, one just has to catch a few scenes in Guru, Vaazhve Maayam or Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu to understand what onscreen chemistry is all about.

Was thinking about more such pairs and realized such perfect pairs have been few and far between in Tamil cinema. Our stars have cut down on the number of movies they do and that naturally restricts the number of movies in which the same hero and heroine can be paired up with each other. And in our notoriously hero-centric industry, the selection of the heroine depends on the whims of the hero. With our heroes being superstitious(causing them to reject a heroine they were paired with in a flop) and insecure(which keeps them always on the lookout for the next PYT), it takes a lot for one heroine to be repeatedly cast with the same hero. And considering the heroine's miniscule role in most of our heroes' movies, the roles - and by extension, the actresses playing them - are indistinguishable from one other and create no special relationship with the heroes. So its no wonder that we haven't had any real long-lasting screen jodis for a while now.

After Kamal and Sridevi, I think we'd have to move quite a ways forward to find the next well-matched jodi in Tamil cinema. I think Karthik and Revathi fit the bill quite nicely. His enthusiasm and high energy worked well with her cuteness and confidence. Apart from being part of one of the best romances of all-time in Mouna Raagam, they also managed to infuse energy into duds like Idhaya Thaamarai and exhibited good chemisty in out-of-the-ordinary romances like Kizhakku Vaasal too.

After them, we'll have to fast-forward to the late 90s to hit upon the next great jodi in Surya and Jyothika. The boy-next-door Surya and the always-bubbly Jo looked perfectly matched on screen in all their outings right from Poovellaam Kaettuppaar though Kaakka Kaakka was probably the film that caused people to sit up and take notice of them as a great screen pair. Ofcourse, this jodi went on to become a jodi in real life too, making them quite the perfect pair.

Among current pairs, the Vijay-Trisha pairing looks like one that could go the distance. They have already done 4 movies together; they are both well-ensconced in their positions near or at the top of the heap; and they both have a few years left in Kollywood. They look good together and though neither of them has displayed any particular acting talent - and doesn't seem inclined to do so in the near future either - that hasn't stopped them from reaching the top so far. Among the stars of the next generation, I'm rooting for Arya and Pooja. He is already a pin-up boy while she looks pretty and seems to have overcome the flop jinx. They looked perfectly matched in both movies(Pattiyal and Oram Po) they've done so far and have a biggie coming up in Naan Kadavul, which, going by Bala's track record, should showcase the actors in both of them.

Here's to the next reel jodi of Tamil cinema...