In today’s Tamil movie industry we have a generation of actors who are are actors simply because their parents were. It is sad that the spawn of the stars of yesteryear haven’t been able to savour success as their parents did. Some are just not meant to be actors, and yet they continue to grace the screens thanks to their parents’ connections (we’re looking at you, Aishwarya Arjun!). Today we discuss one such actor, Sibi Sathyaraj.
Sibi Sathyaraj is one of those actors who never made it past his father’s fame. An article in the Times of India depicting the top 10 love songs of 2017 called him Sathyaraj in the caption below a picture of him. And well, we can’t really blame him for that. Sathyaraj is a household name and it is difficult for anyone, including his son to reach his level of popularity. In spite of his inherited height and well coiffed beard, Sibi just seems to be lacking charisma and some acting skills.
He has had a string of mediocre movies, most of which were failures despite having his dad act by his side. Jore, Mannin Maindhan, Vetrivel Sakthivel and Kovai Brothers all starred Sibi and Sathyaraj only to receive tepid reviews from the masses. Sathyaraj went the extra mile for his son, and even produced Sibi’s Lee, where the latter played a footballer in the action thriller movie. It paid off, and the film fared well. Lee was probably Sibi’s most successful work to date.
After a short sabbatical, Sibi returned with Naanayam, where he performed well in a negative role, only to receive a lukewarm response again. Following his stint at the New York Film Academy where he took acting classes, Sibi returned with Naigal Jakirathai, which fared well with critics. In fact, this venture of his was hailed as one of the best animal featured Tamil movies. Sibi played the second hero, and the Idoh the dog was the hero of this movie.
He then took on a few projects which didn’t fare well. They were Pokkiri Raja, Jackson Durai, and Kattapave Kaanom.
Mum Maheswari Sathyaraj produced his next venture, Sathyaa. Sibi bought the Tamil remake rights for Kshanam, a Telugu thriller for his home studio, Naathambal Film Factory to be remade as Sathyaa which was released late 2017. Sibi plays a scorned lover who comes back into the picture to help his ex girlfriend locate her kidnapped daughter. While the movie itself was average, the story line was captivating. And yet, it didn’t translate through.
Sathyaa is a movie that has a lot of potential, but doesn’t quite live up to it. Was it caused by Sibi’s lackluster attempt at acting? Or Remya Nambeesan’s overacting, an overcompensation for Sibi? The saving grace for the movie however, is Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, another bud that is blooming quite well off late.
Sibi’s next project is Ranga, an action thriller directed by newcomer Vinod. We are surprisingly optimistic about this movie for Sibi, solely because Vinod has come up with some good quality short films thus far. Sibi may have reached Sathyaraj’s height physically, but will he ever reach his father’s acting prowess? Only time will tell.
Watch if you have the time: Naaygal Jaakirathai, Sathyaa
