How Ajith's reported involvement in Tamil remake of Pink could prove to be a gamechanger for Tamil cinema

Last week, media reports suggested that Thala Ajith will be acting in the Tamil remake of Hindi blockbuster Pink. Ajith and Boney Kapoor, who is likely to produce the actor’s next, neither confirmed nor denied the news. But if Ajith gives a green signal to the Pink remake, it will be a game changer for both the actor and Tamil cinema. [caption id=“attachment_5061981” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  File image of Ajith. YouTube[/caption] Ajith is a big inspiration to many young actors in Tamil cinema because he achieved stardom without a godfather. Each and every milestone in his journey belongs to him and it goes hand in hand with his hit dialogue from _Billa— “_In my life, I sculpted every day, every minute, and even, every nanosecond.” If you look at his career, you can tell that Ajith has been a big risk taker. When he sported multiple looks in Citizen (2001), he was just 30. The actor pushed the boundaries by acting in triple roles in Varalaru (2006)— a dancer with an effeminate body language, a psychotic villainous son seeking revenge and a rich, carefree youngster. When everyone felt insecure about signing multi-starrers, Ajith said ‘yes’ to the classical family drama Kandukondain Kandukondain. Ajith’s villainous performance as a lustful businessman who secretly loves the wife of his twin brother in Vaali is another example of his ability to take risks in Tamil film industry, where heroes are treated like Gods. They are also expected to be morally upright and to not set a bad precedent. Even his deadly performance as Vinayak Mahadev, a corrupted cop in Mankatha was enjoyable. But of late, the actor seems to be enjoying the comfort zone provided to him by filmmakers. Moreover, it seems like Ajith doesn’t want to experiment much but wants to be in formulaic entertainers. The spark witnessed in the actor in the early 2000s and late 90s is missing now. As pointed out earlier, Ajith has a big fan base not just among the general public; many upcoming actors idolise him but the actor’s recent moves and reluctance to try out new things no longer make him an apt role model. Ajith’s rival Vijay had also gone through this phase. There was a time when Vijay was trapped in the typical ‘masala’ film zone with back to back failures like Azhagiya Tamizh Magan, Villu, Sura, Kuruvi and several questions were raised on the market status of the actor before he delivered a decent hit Kaavalan. Though Nanban (remake of 3 Idiots) wasn’t a big hit due to its exorbitant budget, the film changed the approach of Vijay as an actor. He understood that teaming up with good directors and promising technicians is the key to success. Only after Shankar’s Nanban, did Vijay team up with big names like AR Murugadoss, Vijay, and Atlee. Similarly, if Ajith gives his nod to Pink, which is likely to be directed by Vinoth of Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru fame, it will not only change his future choices, young talents who consider Ajith their idol will also follow his footsteps, just how Nayanthara and Jai followed his route by staying out of promotional activities and stopped attending audio launch events and press meets. But now, Nayanthara, cleverly teaming up with newcomers, opts for the path less traveled. She doesn’t think much the budget and focuses on the content. Maybe for a change, Ajith could follow Nayanthara in picking quality scripts. Reports state that Ajith would be reprising Amitabh’s role in the Tamil remake of Pink but considering the actor’s recent choice of films, movie buffs raised doubts on the authenticity of the news. Leave aside Pink, Ajith’s idea of joining hands with Vinoth itself is a promising move and this will set a new trend in Tamil cinema. Vinoth is not a regular filmmaker, he is known for his tremendous research work and aesthetic filmmaking. Ajith can always do films like Vedalam, Veeram, and Viswasam. But if he occasionally signs a quality flick like Pink or a film with promising directors like Vinoth made on a controlled budget, it will be a big boost for the trade and also for the Tamil film industry because other stars will also become more open to content-driven films.