Best comebacks by Mollywood actors

Film industry everywhere is a tricky one and not everyone could handle the fame game and sustain popularity forever. It feels great when you are in the limelight and are being celebrated. But, it is not the same when you get out of the limelight. Many actors have faded out with time and have never got back to their former celebrity status once out of the industry. However, there are also others who have managed to come back on the big screen and prove their capabilities. Here we look at some of the best comebacks by Mollywood actors.

Considered currently as the best actor among the new crop of M-town heroes, Fahadh Faasil's entry into big screen wasn't a cake walk. Fahadh's first movie 'Kaiyethum Doorath', directed by his father, was a major flop in which he played the role of a chocolate hero. The movie released in 2002 went unnoticed and left Fahadh out of Mollywood for some time.

The actor then pursued his studies in the US and away from the silver screen for nearly five-years before being drafted to play a role in one of the movies in the anthology ‘Kerala Cafe’ released in 2009. There was an evident improvement in Fahadh's approach towards acting on his return after his failed debut. The very next year Fahadh got a small but significant role in few more Malayalam movies, but Fahadh still was a shadow of his present stature. It was the 2011 release of ‘Chappa Kurish’, an experimental movie directed by Samir Tahir which gave Fahadh a much-needed breakthrough.

Fahadh's character Arjun, that of an ambitious young corporate head, was a platform to reveal his potential as an actor and he did it with style and substance. After ‘Chappa Kurish’, there was no looking back for this actor as he went from strength to strength and finally won the National Award for the best-supporting-actor this year.

A rare actress, who could handle comedy and sentiments with ease, Urvashi was among the most sorted actors during the 90's in Malayalam cinema. She has won the Kerala State Awards for best actress three times of which three came consecutively from 1989 to 1991. Urvashi's the girl next door image, engaging screen presence, peculiar dialogue delivery and command over humour made her one of the finest actresses of that time.

Until 2000, Urvashi was part of many successful movies and played memorable characters. The actress in 2000 married actor Manoj K Jayan and took a break from cinema. The relationship didn't last long as the actors got a divorced in 2008. Even before that Urvashi started living separately from her husband and in 2005 after a five-year break, Urvashi returned to Mollywood with a strong mother character in the movie ‘Achuvinte Amma’, which won her the National Award for best supporting actress. Urvashi then continued her career and started doing roles that suited her age.

The ageless chocolate romantic boy of M-town, Kunchacko Boban had also felt the highs and lows of the cinema industry. The actor became a heartthrob for youngsters with his debut movie ‘Aniyathipravu’, directed by Fasil. Soon, he got a handful of movies in which he played the lead role. Kunchacko Boban established as a promising hero within a few years and was part of many movies, mostly as a romantic hero. Though the actor couldn't create blockbuster hits, his movies maintained mixed response from critics and audience. But, the actor couldn't escape from his chocolate boy image, and soon got characters that are repetitive in nature. After the success of multi-starrer movie ‘Swapnakoodu’, most of his movies failed miserably at the box-office and soon he was out of the limelight. The actor took a break from cinema for two-years, from 2006 to 2008 and tried his luck in real estate business during that period.

In 2008, Kuchacko returned to Mollywood through an item song in the multi-starer ‘Twenty 20’. Soon, the actor got opportunities in movies again and 2008 release ‘Lollypop’ marked his return to the industry. But it was the comedy movie ‘Gulumal’ that gave Kunchacko a breakthrough on his second coming. The actor then did humour-oriented roles and found success. His combination with actor Biju Menon created many successful movies like ‘Ordinary’, ‘Romans’ etc.

Manju Warrier, regarded as one of the best actresses Mollywood has ever produced, also had a break in her career when she was at the peak of her career. Even before her marriage with actor Dileep, Manju has proved her acting abilities with a number of memorable performances. Debuted in the 1995 movie ‘Sakshyam’, the actress got noticed in her second movie ‘Sallapam’. Soon, directors, understanding her potential, roped her to play lead roles in many successful movies.

After 1997, roles were written for Manju as she got many versatile characters other than the usual heroine roles romancing the hero. She portrayed strong roles in movies like ‘Kanmadam’, ‘Pathram’, ‘Kannezhuthi Pottum thottu’ etc, before getting married to Dileep in 1999.

After a 14-year break and a troubled married life with Dileep, the actress returned to the big screen in 2014 and played a heroine oriented role in the hit movie 'How old are you?'. The movie's success enabled this talented actress to stand firm in the industry on her second coming. Soon, movies were made for Manju Warrier as she played the lead roles in movies like ‘Rani Padmini’, ‘Karingunnam Six's’, ‘C/o Saira Banu’, ‘Udhaharanam Sujatha’ and established herself as the lady superstar of M-town.

He has marked his mark as an actor, director, producer and writer. Pratap Pothen is a one of a kind talent in M-town. The actor with his unique style of dialogue delivery and body language became a cult hero of 80's. His performance in movies like ‘Chamaram’, ‘Novemberinte Nashtam’ etc was much acclaimed.

The actor, soon after his success in Malayalam industry, tried his luck in Tamil and became a popular actor there. He played the lead role in many successful Tamil movies between 1980 and 1990. Films dried up for Pothen after 1990 and the actor wasn't seen on the big screen for a long time until 2005.

The actor returned to play a father’s role in the Tamil movie ‘Priyasakhi’ released in 2005. The actor then played small-yet-character oriented roles in few more movies before he made his presence felt in Mollywood through the 2012 release ‘22Female Kottayam’, in which he played a heinous character that of a rapist. He then got a notable role in the critically acclaimed movie ‘Ayalaum Njanum Thammil’, which had Prithviraj in the lead.
The actor, soon after his success in Malayalam industry, tried his luck in Tamil and became a popular actor there. He played the lead role in many successful Tamil movies between 1980 and 1990. Films dried up for Pothen after 1990 and the actor wasn't seen on the big screen for a long time until 2005.