After actor Suriya made a striking comeback with the box office success of Karuppu, which put an end to his 13 years of struggle to deliver a theatrical hit, now the whole Kollywood’s eyes are turned towards Vikram with a lot of hope that he will also make a massive comeback with his upcoming tentative titled Chiyaan 63 project.
The major reason behind this expectation is that Vikram is also one of the star performers in Kollywood, with a huge legacy, similar to Suriya. He has also ruled the industry by delivering back-to-back solid entertainers with his captivating acting performances, particularly during the 2003 – 2005 period.
However, unfortunately, the actor is currently in a tragic phase of his career and his film I released in 2015, was his last solo film to create an impact at the box office. However, a few weeks ago, the glimpse of Chiyaan 63 directed by Anand Shankar was released and went viral. Consequently, many people believe that Chiyaan 63 will put an end to the streak of failures and the actor will make a massive comeback to reclaim his throne.
In this article, we’ll take a quick look at the verdict of Vikram’s films and which films have created a massive impact on his career to emerge as a huge star actor in the Kollywood industry despite heavy competition.
Vikram debuted as a lead actor in the Kollywood industry with the film En Kadhal Kanmani under the direction of T J Joy. Since this was a very low budget film, no one knew about the release of the film at the time and also because of the very poor response, the film went unnoticed. This film failed to create an impact at the box office and ended up as a terrible disaster.
Following the terrible debut, Vikram joined hands with the legendary director CV Sridhar for the film Thanthu Vitten Ennai. Although this film helped Vikram to register his arrival in the Kollywood industry among the audience, the film failed to satisfy the expectations of the audience and became a commercial failure.
Kaaval Geetham directed by SP Muthuraman was yet another romantic drama film from Vikram in his early stages. The music album of this film, composed by Ilaiyaraaja was a viral hit at the time. However, the film failed to perform well commercially.
Vikram’s Meera was the legendary cinematographer PC Sreeram‘s debut film as a director. Even though the film had a solid technical crew and the musical album composed by Ilaiyaraaja, the film failed to meet the expectations of the audience and ended up as a terrible failure at the box office. Additionally, Sarathkumar, who was at the peak of his career at the time, appeared in a cameo role in this film.
After the 4 consecutive failures in Tamil, Vikram moved to the Malayalam industry and acted in a supporting role in the film Dhruvam directed by Joshiy. This film gave the first much-needed success for the actor, as the film received super positive responses from the audience and became a hit film at the box office.
Simultaneously, after the Malayalam debut, Vikram debuted as a supporting actor in the Telugu industry with Akka Pettanam Chelleli Kapuram directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. This film was a remake of the Tamil film Pondatti Rajyam and Jayasudha and Rajendra Prasad played the lead roles in the film. Even though Pondatti Rajyam was a successful film in Tamil, Akka Pettanam Chelleli Kapuram failed to meet the expectations of the audiences and ended up as an average performer at the box office.
Immediately after acting in a supporting role in Akka Pettanam Chelleli Kapuram, Vikram debuted as a lead actor in the Telugu industry with the film Chirunavvula Varamistava directed by NH Chandra. Unfortunately, this film received disastrous responses from the audience and went unnoticed at the box office.
Mafia was Vikram’s 4th film in 1993 and the second Malayalam film for the actor. In Mafia, Vikram played the secondary lead character alongside Suresh Gopi. This film was directed by Shaji Kailas. This action thriller film received positive responses from the audience and emerged as a commercial success.
Following the success of the Malayalam film Mafia, Vikram returned once again to the Telugu industry with the film Bangaru Kutumbam directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. While Vikram acted in a supporting role in the film, the lead roles were played by Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Jayasudha. This film received a positive reception from the audience and became a successful venture at the box office. Also, this film was the first hit film for Vikram in the Telugu industry.
In this phase of his career, Vikram simultaneously acted in both Malayalam and Telugu films as a supporting actor. Sainyam is a Malayalam film directed by Joshiy and the lead role was played by Mammootty. However, this war action film failed to impress the audiences and ended up as an average performer at the box office.
After a small gap, Vikram returned to Kollywood as a lead actor with Pudhiya Mannargal directed by Vikraman. The musical album of this film composed by AR Rahman, was a viral hit at that time and it created massive hype for the film. But, unfortunately, the film wasn’t upto it’s expectations and became a commercial failure. Also, Vikram’s failure streak in Kollywood was continued.
Immediately after the failure in Tamil, with the intention to bounce back Vikram collaborated with the director duo Babu and Anil for a Malayalam film Street. Unfortunately, it didn’t give the expected result for the actor and became the first failure for Vikram in the Malayalam industry.
Aadaalla Majaka is Vikram’s 2nd film as a lead actor in Telugu. This film was directed by Muthyala Subbaiah and this film is a remake of the hit Malayalam film Pidakkozhi Koovunna Noottandu. Unfortunately, this film failed to satisfy the expectations of the audience and ended up as a commercial failure.
Vikram tried his best to give a solo hit in Telugu at that time, but all his films continuously failed and Ooha was yet another failure from Vikram in Telugu. Ooha was directed by Sivala Prabhakar and Vikram was paired with Uma Maheswari in this Romantic thriller film. Even though the film was a commercial failure, Vikram’s performance as an antagonist was appreciated by many critics at that time.
Following the back to back failures in Telugu, Vikram returned to the Malayalam Industry as a supporting actor in the film Mayooranritham directed by Vijayakrishnan. However, Mayooranritham also ended up as a disaster and Vikram’s struggle continued.
Akka! Bagunnava is a Telugu film directed by Mouli and starring Jayasudha and Anand in the lead roles. Vikram acted in a supporting role in this drama film. But, surprisingly this film also failed to connect with the audience and became a commercial failure.
Indraprastham finally put an end to Vikram’s failure streak and gave some relief to the actor. This Malayalam film was directed by K K Haridas and Mammootty and Simran played the lead roles in this film. This political action thriller received positive responses from the audience and many people appreciated Vikram’s acting performance in the film. Consequently, the film emerged as a commercial winner.
Following the success of Indraprastham, Vikram acted in a supporting role in the Malayalam film Rajaputhran directed by Shajoon Kariyal and starring Suresh Gopi in the lead role. This action thriller film earned a positive reception from the audience and Vikram tasted two back-to-back successes as a supporting actor with those films.
After two back to back hits in Malayalam, Vikram returned to the Telugu industry with Merupu directed by Gopichand Nadella. He acted as a second lead and the main lead role was played by Anand. This romantic thriller film failed to impress the audiences and ended up as a commercial failure, but Vikram’s acting performance in this film as a villain was praised by the critics.
Itha Oru Snehagatha directed by Captain Raju, was Vikram’s first film as a lead actor in the Malayalam industry. Since Vikram acted as a supporting actor in multiple hit Malayalam films, many believed that this film would become a successful venture and he would get a breakthrough in the industry, but unfortunately the film landed as a disappointment with the mixed reviews from the audience.
Once again after a short gap, Vikram returned to the Kollywood industry with the film Ullaasam directed by the duo J D and Jerry and this film was produced by the Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Ajith Kumar played the lead role and Vikram played the second lead in the film. Even though this film had a massive hype because of Ajith Kumar, it ended up as a disappointing film due to the poor screenplay and execution. Consequently, the film crashed at the box office and ended up as a commercial failure.
Kangalin Vaarthaigal directed by Muktha S Sundar was a Tamil remake of the Kannada film Nammoora Mandara Hoove. This romantic drama film also received negative responses from the audience and went unnoticed.
Following the back to back failures, Vikram collaborated with the director R Parthiban for an experimental thriller film, House Full and played the second lead role. Although this film also didn’t give the expected result for the actor, it received positive responses from the critics.
Sethu was the game-changer in Vikram’s career. After the back to back failures, Vikram made a risky move and collaborated with the debutant director Bala for Sethu. Vikram’s captivating acting performance in this psychological thriller had won the hearts of the audience, and he even won many accolades for his performance in this film. Also, this film performed well at the box office and emerged as a blockbuster success. Till now, Sethu is considered one of the peak films in Vikram’s acting career.
Despite getting a major breakthrough in his career with the blockbuster success of Sethu, Vikram failed to continue the momentum because after Sethu, he acted in a Malayalam film Red Indians directed by Sunil and it ended up as a terrible failure at the box office.
After the failure of Red Indians, Vikram simultaneously acted in another Malayalam film Indriyam directed by George Kithu. This horror film wasn’t upto it’s expectations and received disaster responses from the audiences. Also, after the failure of this film, many people started to criticise his poor script selection.
Following the back to back failures in Malayalam, Vikram returned to the Telugu industry with the film 9 Nelalu directed by Kranthi Kumar. Even though this film received positive responses from the audience, it didn’t connect well with the general audience and many people commented that the movie feels like a mediocre drama film. Consequently, this film ended as an average performer at the box office.
Since Vinnukum Mannukum directed by Rajakumaran was Vikram’s immediate next film in Tamil following the success of Sethu, it had huge expectations among the audiences. But, unfortunately, the film wasn’t upto it’s expectations and many people criticised the director Rajakumaran for his poor execution. Additionally, with Vikram, Sarathkumar played one of the lead roles in this film. However, due to the poor responses, Vinnukum Mannukum failed to create an impact at the box office.
After a streak of failures, Dhill directed by Dharani gave a huge relief to Vikram. This mass commercial entertainer received super positive responses from the audiences and critics. Also, the success of this film gave a new identity to Vikram as a mass commercial actor. Also, this film earned a high repeat value and many people showered with appreciation for the acting performance of Vikram in this film. After the massive success in Tamil, Dhill was later remade in multiple Indian languages.
Kasi directed by Vinayan is yet another experimental attempt from the actor and also after Sethu, this film once again proved why Vikram is one of the best actors in Indian cinema. This film is a remake of the Malayalam film Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum. Vikram’s acting performance as a blind village singer had won the hearts of the audience and many people started celebrating Vikram for his remarkable acting performances. With the super positive responses from the audiences and critics, Kasi performed well at the box office and emerged as a super hit film.
Following the success of Kasi, Vikram maintained a loop of doing a mass masala entertainer film for general audiences, simultaneously making an experimental film. Accordingly, after the critically acclaimed Kasi, Vikram joined hands with the director Saran for the commercial entertainer film Gemini. This film received positive responses from the audiences and especially Vikram’s classy acting performance in this film helped him to acquire the B and C centre audiences. Consequently, Gemini went on a rampage at the box office and became a blockbuster success.
Samurai is an experimental vigilante action thriller film directed by Balaji Sakthivel. Since Vikram returned with Gemini, following the hat-trick hit films, Samurai had massive expectations among the audiences. The film received positive responses from critics, but failed to connect well with the general audience, and many people have stated that the film felt draggy in many places. With the mixed reviews, Samurai ended up as an average performer at the box office.
After the setback from Samurai, Vikram with the intention to make a comeback, collaborated with the director Prabhu Solomon for a comedy entertainer film King. Even though the comedy portions in the film worked well, due to Vikram’s sudden increase in popularity with the streak of successful films, audiences failed to accept a light-hearted entertainer from the actor. Therefore, despite the positive responses from the critics, King failed to perform well at the box office and became a Commercial failure.
Following the back to back setbacks from Samurai and King, Vikram reunited with the director Dharani for Dhool. This mass masala entertainer film gave the expected result for the actor. Dhool received super positive responses from the audiences and critics. Consequently, the film went on a rampage at the box office. With the massive success, Dhool became another feather in the crown of Vikram’s filmography.
Kadhal Sadugudu directed by V Z Durai was a romantic comedy drama film, similar to Vikram’s old film King. However, Kadhal Sadugudu also failed to meet the expectations of the audiences and failed at the box office similarity like King. Despite the failure, Vikram’s performance in the film was highly appreciated by the audience.
Immediately after the setback from Kadhal Sadugudu, Vikram joined hands with the peak commercial director Hari for the film Saamy. Saamy joined the peak commercial films list of Vikram. This film received overwhelmingly positive responses from the audiences and critics. Subsequently, the film did wonders at the box office and collected more than 25 crores at that time. Also, this film is still considered one of the peak films in Vikram’s filmography.
2003 turned out to be a golden year for Vikram with three blockbuster films and Pithamagan is one among them. Pithamagan, directed by Bala is an iconic film in Vikram’s career and still now this film has a cult fan following. Vikram’s intense acting performance in this film won the hearts of the Kollywood audiences and also earned him his first National award. However, the film didn’t perform up to Vikram’s previous blockbuster films, yet it managed to become a profitable film for the production house.
Arul marked the second collaboration of Vikram and director Hari after the Blockbuster success of Saamy. Since Saamy was a huge blockbuster success, Arul enjoyed a massive opening, but surprisingly, this film didn’t satisfy the expectations of the audience and many have shared mixed responses. Due to the mixed reviews, Arul ended up as an average performer at the box office.
Youth is Vikram’s long-pending Telugu film. The shooting of this film was almost completed in 2002, but due to some circumstances the release of this film was held for a very long time. However, the film was released in 2005 and became a disaster at the box office, even Vikram’s star power wasn’t able to save the film due to the unanimous negative responses.
Following the back to back setback from Arul and Youth, Vikram joined hands with the legendary director Shankar for the psychological thriller film Anniyan. This film gave the audience a different experience and the Kollywood audience went awestruck for Vikram’s intense acting performance as a person affected by multiple personality disorder. Anniyan received super positive responses from the audiences and critics. Consequently, the film did wonders at the box office and collected more than 70 crores at that time. After the massive success in Tamil, this film was dubbed in Hindi and released with the title Aparichit.
With the intention to maintain the momentum gained through the massive success of Anniyan, Vikram joined with the director Shafi for the film Majaa, which was a Tamil remake of the successful Malayalam film Thommanum Makkalum. Since Anniyan was a huge blockbuster success and created a massive impact, audiences hesitated to accept a light-hearted entertainer film from Vikram. Subsequently, the film ended up as an average performer at the box office. But the comedy portions in this film still have a huge fan following.
Following the setback from Majaa, Vikram took a short break and returned with an action film Bheemaa directed by N Lingusamy. The musical album of this film composed by Harris Jayaraj was a viral hit and it paved the way for a massive opening for the film. However, this intense action thriller failed to satisfy the expectations of the audience and resulted in a loss.
Kanthaswamy directed by Susi Ganesan was one of the most hyped films in Kollywood’s history. This film was made with a huge budget and especially since the album for this was a viral hit, it created massive expectations among the audience. Consequently, Kanthaswamy enjoyed a massive opening. But surprisingly, due to the draggy screenplay and long runtime, it received mixed responses from the audience. Hence, Kanthaswamy resulted as an average performer at the box office and ended up as a huge loss venture for the production house.
Mani Ratnam‘s Raavan and Raavanan were shot at the same time. Raavan is the Hindi version of Raavanan and it marked Vikram’s debut film in Bollywood. Even though both films were shot simultaneously, Raavan got released earlier than Raavanan. In Raavan, Vikram played the protagonist role as a police officer and Abhishek Bachchan played the main antagonist role. Raavan received positive responses from the critics, but the film didn’t work well for the general audience and performed as an average performer at the box office.
Raavanan is the Tamil version and in this version, Vikram played the lead antagonist role, whereas the protagonist role was played by Prithviraj. Raavanan performed better than Raavan at the box office and Vikram’s acting performance in this film earned him a lot of appreciation. With positive responses from the audiences, Raavanan emerged as a hit film and emerged as a commercial success.
Deiva Thirumagal is yet another iconic film in Vikram’s filmography. This film was directed by Vijay and it’s based on the Hollywood film I Am Sam. Vikram’s acting performance as an intellectually disabled person won the hearts of the Kollywood audiences and earned him multiple accolades. The musical album of this film composed by GV Prakash Kumar was a viral hit at the time. This film received positive responses from both the audiences and critics; consequently, the film became a commercial success.
Following two back to back experimental films, Vikram joined hands with director Suseenthiran for a commercial entertainer film Rajapattai. A song in this film, named Villathi Villangal composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, became a viral hit at that time and in this song Vikram sported multiple looks of the deadliest villains of Cinema, which was highly enjoyed by the audiences and it created massive expectations for the film. But surprisingly, the song and the multiple looks of Vikram don’t have any connection to the movie’s plot. Subsequently, the film ended up as a disappointment and with an average performance at the box office.
Thaandavam marked the second collaboration of Vikram and the director Vijay. Since the duo’s first film Deiva Thirumagal was a successful Venture, Thaandavam had massive expectations among the audiences. Vikram’s acting performance as a blind person earned him massive appreciation, but as a film, it didn’t land well amongst the audiences and resulted in an average performance at the box office.
David directed by Bejoy Nambiar was a multistarrer film starring Vikram, Tabu and Jiiva in the lead roles. The musical album of this movie was composed by multiple music composers including Anirudh. However, the only positive thing in this film was the viral hit of the song Kanave Kanave, composed by Anirudh Ravichander because the film received disastrous responses and crashed at the box office.
For the milestone 50th film of his career, Vikram collaborated with Shankar, who initially gave him a pan Indian hit Anniyan. Since the announcement I had massive expectations among the audiences because of the huge success of the duo’s first film Anniyan. This film was made with a massive budget of around 100 crores and Vikram’s body transformations in this film stunned the whole Kollywood industry. Many people started comparing him with the legendary Hollywood actor Christian Bale. However, the film has received above-average responses from the critics, but it worked well for the audience. Consequently, the film went on a rampage at the box office and collected more than 200 crores worldwide.
After I, Vikram’s downfall was started and 10 Endrathukulla was the first film in the failure streak. 10 Endrathukulla was directed by Vijay Milton. Since it’s Vikram’s immediate next film after a huge blockbuster success of I, it had massive expectations among the audiences, but surprisingly this film ended up as a disappointment and even Vikram’s Stardom wasn’t able to save the film’s failure at the box office.
With the intention to make a comeback from the setback of 10 Endrathukulla, Vikram joined hands with the director Anand Shankar for an experimental science fiction film Iru Mugan. Although the story was fresh, due to the slow and draggy screenplay, the film didn’t land well with the audience. Despite the mixed reviews, the film managed to collect around 90 crores at the box office. But, especially since this film was made with a massive budget, it resulted in a loss for the production house. Therefore, this film is considered an average performer.
After 10 Endrathukulla and Iru Mugan, Vikram took a short break and returned with a mass commercial entertainer film, Sketch directed by Vijay Chandar. However, the film failed to satisfy the expectations of the audience and the film became a failure at the box office.
When everything went out of his hands and Vikram was striving to deliver a hit, he collaborated with the director Hari for the sequel to his biggest blockbuster commercial film Saamy. Unfortunately, Saamy Square didn’t give the expected result for the actor. This film received disastrous responses from the audiences and many people criticised the Saamy Square team stating that it’s an unnecessary extension. Consequently, the film crashed at the box office and ended up as a terrible loss.
Following the streak of failures, Vikram joined hands with the director Rajesh M Selva for the film Kadaram Kondan, which is an official remake of the French film Point Blank. Shockingly, Vikram’s stunning look was the only positive takeaway from the film and the film has received terrible reviews from the audience.
Vikram’s Mahaan directed by Karthik Subbaraj, was released directly on the OTT platform due to the COVID lockdown restrictions. Although this film received mixed responses from the critics, Vikram’s stylish screen presence won the hearts of the Kollywood audiences. Also, despite the mixed reviews, this film still has a cult fan following and some people felt it was the best film of Vikram in recent years.
Cobra directed by R Ajay Gnanamuthu was one of the highly anticipated films in Vikram’s filmography. Although the film had a unique storyline, due to the poor execution by the director, the film ended up as a failure at the box office. But, Vikram’s acting performance in this film and his dedication to sport multiple looks in this film earned him a lot of appreciation.
Poonniyin Selvam was Kollywood’s dream film because many legendary directors and actors including Kamal Haasan tried to make the Novel Ponniyin Selvam as a film, but Mani Ratnam after a lot of struggle, has finally achieved it. With Vikram playing one of the lead roles, many star performers were part of this film. Since it’s a dream film, it had massive expectations among the audience. Consequently, it enjoyed a blockbuster opening, but surprisingly, the film received mixed responses from the audiences and critics. However, the film managed to collect more than 500 crores at the box office and emerged as a blockbuster success. Although this film was a massive success, it’s not considered in Vikram’s account of successful films, because it’s a multistarrer with a Stellar star cast.
Ponniyin Selvan was made into a two-part film. Accordingly, after the first part, Ponniyin Selvan: I’s release in 2022, with a short gap Ponniyin Selvan: II was released in 2023. Although Ponniyin Selvan: I was a huge success, due to the mixed reviews Ponniyin Selvan: II didn’t performed upto it’s expectations and collected only around 350 crores.
Following the success of the Ponniyin Selvan franchise, Vikram with the intention to maintain the momentum, joined hands with the director Pa Ranjith for an experimental period film Thangalaan. Unfortunately, Thangalaan didn’t satisfy the expectations of the audience, but Vikram’s intense acting performance earned him a lot of appreciation.
Vikram after a long gap, tried a rooted mass commercial entertainer film Veera Dheera Sooran under the direction of SU Arun Kumar. Although Vikram’s screen presence as a mass gangster was highly praised by the audience, the film as a whole doesn’t land well. Many people shared mixed responses for the film stating that the film looks draggy and boring in many places. Consequently, the film ended up as an average performer at the box office.
Dhruva Natchathiram is Vikram’s long pending project directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. Even though the shooting of this film started in the year 2019, due to some financial problems, the release of this film was delayed multiple times. However, after a lot of struggle from Gautham Vasudev Menon, Dhruva Natchathiram has almost crossed all the hurdles and is gearing up for a worldwide theatrical release soon. Therefore, we have to wait and watch whether this stylish spy thriller film will satisfy the expectations of the audience and will emerge as a blockbuster success after all these struggles upon its release.
Over his long Journey, Vikram has earned a huge fan base with his captivating acting performances. With this verdict list, it’s clearly evident that during the early 2000’s period, especially during the 2005-2007 time period, Vikram ruled the Kollywood industry with back-to-back blockbuster successes. But unfortunately, over the last few years, his attempts didn’t give the expected result and he is currently in the tragic phase of his career, striving to deliver a hit.
However, the Kollywood audience and his fans believe that he will come back for sure and will again rule the industry with his breathtaking acting performances. Ultimately, it remains to be seen how Vikram is going to make a comeback in his acting career and which film in his lineup is going to give him his much-needed breakthrough in the future.
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