New generation comedians of M-town

Malayalam cinema has over the years have seen some great comedians who have entertained the audience with their amazing talent. Starting from the lineage of Adoor bhasi, Jagathy Sreekumar, Kochin Haneefa, Salim Kumar and many more legendary performers, Malayalam cinema never failed to produce comedians for every era. The present generation also has a crop of talented artists who haven't failed this great lineage of comedians. Here we look at five of the most highly regarded comedians in contemporary Malayalam cinema.

Introduced to Mollywood by his college mate Vineeth Sreenivasan, Aju Varghese has come a long way from his debut movie ‘Malarvadi Arts club’. Aju was drafted to ‘Malarvadi...’ by Vineeth when the former was working in Chennai as HR manager after completing his engineering degree. Enacting the role of an innocent and energetic youngster named Kuttu in his debut movie, Aju's performance got attention instantly.

The actor from Pathanmthitta, soon become an integral part of Malyalam film industry. In his debut year itself, Aju was drafted in three more movies. In 2012 Vineeth again trusted Aju's capabilities and handed him a major role in the massive romantic hit ‘Thattathin Marayath’ where he shared the screen with the emerging super star Nivin Pauly. Since then Aju has worked in more than eighty movies playing a variety of small and big roles. Aju's signature style of acting, dialogue delivery, easiness of body language and adaptability has given him an added advantage over his contemporaries. His humour oriented roles in movies like ‘Om Shanthi Oshana’, ‘Adi Kapyare Kootamani’, ‘Two Countries’ has established him as a bankable comedian in the industry. His last movie 'Mohanlal' is running successfully in theatres.

One of the most highly rated comedians in Mollywood at present, Dharmaja Bolgatty started his career as a scriptwriter for comedy scripts before being a television artist. Always associated with comedy oriented television programmes, Dhramajan's rise to fame was through the stand-up comedy show 'Badai Bunglow' along with his longtime friend Pisharadi. Dharmajan first appeared on the big screen through the Dileep movie ‘Pappi Appacha’ where he played the role of Dileep's side-kick through the movie. But, the actor couldn't continue his film career in full momentum due to his commitments in television programmes. After his debut in cinema, the actor got small time comedy roles in few more movies, before he again associated with Dileep in the movie ‘Villali Veeran’. Though the movie was a flop, Dharmajan's character Biju Brahmanan was a hit among the audience. His character Captain Cleetus in the cult comedy movie ‘Aadu oru bheekara jeeviyanu’ gave him a much-needed breakthrough. Dharmajan's timing and expressions while portraying comic roles are perfect that has put him alongside the best comedians in the industry. His roles in Kattappaniyile Hrithik Roshan, Godha, Pretham etc were much appreciated by fans.

Hareesh Perummanna, popularly known as Hareesh Kanaran, is one of the most loved comedy artists in M-town recently. He is distinguished by his Calicut slang that comes naturally to him. The actor came to cinema as a mimicry artist. He was part of many prominent mimicry troops that was well noted in television comedy shows. Hareesh became famous for his comical character Jaliyan Kanaaran, that of an old ex-freedom fighter who cracks humungous lies. Kaanaran's popularity landed Hareesh to movies. He debuted in the 2014 release Ulsaha Committee which was a flop in the box-office. The actor then was seen in similar kind of roles, mostly characters that speak Calicut slang. The actor got a major breakthrough in the satirical movie ‘Kunjiramayanam’ in which he played the role Kauta Ratheesh which was highly rated by movie lovers. The actor's naive but witty counters and foolish characters became a hit among audience and soon Hareesh established his position in the industry as a comedian of a different style. His best performances were seen in movies like ‘Godha’, ‘King Liar’, ‘Rakshadhikari Baiju’ and ‘Puthan Panam’.

Coming from the capital city of Trivandrum, Noby Marcos became popular through television comedy programmes. Noby along with fellow performer Nelson created waves of laughter among audience through their comedy skits in television. Noby's Trivandrum slang, bulky physique and funny expressions became an instant hit among the audience. Noby made his film debut through the movie Annum innum ennum released in 2013. The actor's performance in Anoop Menon movie 'Angry Babies in Love' gives him a breakthrough. The actor then got few notable comical roles in movies like ‘Guppy’, ‘Oru Cinemakaaran’, ‘Shikhamani ‘etc. The actor's career highlight was his role in Mohanlal's hit movie ‘Pulimurugan’ which released in 2016.

One of the youngest actors in Mollywood, Balu Varghese has made a signature style in the industry with his vibrant and energetic on-screen presence and dialogue delivery. His similarities with veteran comedian Harisree Ashokan, especially the Ernakulam slang both possess, has made him a favourite in new generation movies. Debuted in cinema as a child artist in the hit Dileep movie ‘Chandupottu’, Balu's breakthrough movie was Asif Ali starrer ‘Honey Bee’. Balu's speedy dialogue delivery and zestful onscreen presence never give a dull moment for the audience. His notable roles include the ones in ‘Ithihasa’, ‘King Liar’ and ‘Honey Bee’. The actor played a lead role in the movie Chunkzz, which was but a flop at the box-office.