In a recent interaction, when asked about a hero she’d like to pair with in Tamil cinema, Jyotika said, “I am shouldering my films for a long time. I don’t think… I need a hero.” In an industry where male actors are not just stars and superstars but deified to stratospheric levels of admiration, such a statement might seem out of place, and even arrogant. But, it isn’t so when she backs it by being in films that test her versatility as an actor.

Yes, Jyotika has the financial independence to make the films she wants. But what is this independence used for speaks for the kind of films she wants to do. Since her comeback to acting in 2015 after the sabbatical that started post her marriage to Suriya in 2007, Jyotika has built her own brand of films. Right from 36 Vayadhiniley to the recent Malayalam film Kaathal, Jyotika has built a repertoire of playing strong women who find a way to live life on their own terms. We have always seen the hero play the do-gooder who saves the day, and many didn’t bat an eyelid. However, when Jyotika did something similar, there were people who boxed her in categories. 

But it is this financial capital that allowed her to act in films like Naachiyaar, Magalir Mattum, Jackpot, and Kaathal. It is the financial capital that allowed her to produce a Jai Bhim, Meiyazhagan, and Soorarai Pottru. It is the financial capital that has allowed her to have an extended run in Hindi with films like Shaitaan and Srikanth. But to say she did all these films only after her comeback is a baseless statement.

ALSO READ | Happy Birthday Jyothika: 7 must-watch Jo films that showcase her acting excellence

Even during the peak of her acting career where she was starring opposite every top star like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijay, Ajith Kumar, Prashanth, Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna, Chiranjeevi, Ravi Teja, Vikram, Madhavan, Arjun, and of course… Suriya, Jyotika never stopped trying. Even during those trying times where author-backed roles were hard to come by for heroines in Tamil cinema, Jyotika tried. And that is the greatest facet of Jyotika’s career. She always tried. Even when there were criticisms about her choice of films, choice of co-stars, sartorial choices, and her physique, Jyotika never gave up. Come on, she is the most celebrated actress in the Tamil Nadu State Awards. She is leading the list with four. 

There is a beautiful saying in Tamil that goes, ‘Anaiyara vilakku prakaasama eriyum,’ which loosely translates to ‘an extinguishing lamp glows the brightest’. So, on the occasion of her birthday, here’s a look at the final four roles of her pre-comeback career that was almost like she was prepping the audience and filmmakers to understand her capabilities, and remind everyone that she was leaving on her own terms, and will be back at the right time. 

It is beautiful how Gautam Vasudev Menon makes DCP Raghavan meet Aaradhana. There is no big flourish. There is no lightning in the rainy skies. She is there in the same hotel as him, and just run into each other. Both are Indians, and Tamil people, and there is a certain sense of warmth in the familiarity in an unknown place. Aaradhana is in tears. In fact, there are many scenes in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu where she is in tears, but it is beautiful how the reasoning behind those tears change in every scene. And, in a very subtle way, Jyotika expresses the difference.

The best scene of the film is undoubtedly the one where Aaradhana reveals to Raghavan that she is not just a divorced woman but also a single mother. Once again, the writing is on point, because it cuts to the chase, and allows Aaradhana to dictate the narrative. And what about the way she responds to Raghavan’s sudden proposal in the airport. Another writing flourish is how the place that is quintessentially known for being the conduit to join lovers becomes the place where a prospective couple separates.

Jyotika is brilliant in Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu, and holds good alongside the subtlety of Kamal Haasan, just like how she held her own against the OTT-ness of Kamal Haasan in Thenali. 

Sillunu Oru Kadhal is still the final film that featured Suriya and Jyotika as the leads. Despite working in six films before this, it is interesting how Sillunu Oru Kadhal showcased their romance the strongest. Was it real life finding its reflection in the reel life? Was it the wonderful music by AR Rahman? Was it the effective writing of Obeli N Krishna? Or was it simply a no-frills romantic film that warmed the cockles of our heart, especially since we knew they were getting married soon?

Nevertheless, Kundhavi seemed like an extension of the beautiful role of Ganga from Dumm Dumm Dumm. Considering there is no backstory for Kundhavi, what if Ganga doesn’t get married to Adhi, and is forced into an arranged marriage with Sillunu oru Kadhal’s Gautham. Anyhow, Kundhavi is one of the most layered characters played by Jyotika.

It is also probably why Kundhavi continues to be one of the favourite wife characters in Tamil cinema. Of course, it can also be because she tries to reunite her husband with his ex-lover. But it also could be because she did have old-school sensibilities, but wasn’t a complete pushover either. She was sensitive, but tried to be defiant in her own way. It was definitely warped, but the weirdness came from a place of love, and Jyotika was quite convincing in a role that required her to be a lot of things. Also, she is an excellent crier. 

Mozhi was the crowning achievement of Jyotika’s career. It was the pinnacle of everything she’d done in her then almost decade-long career as an actor. As Archana in the brilliant Radha Mohan film about love and friendship, Jyotika pulled off something beautiful. What would happen if you took away the greatest weapon in an actor’s arsenal? As much as body language is important for an actor, the diction and throw of their voices too play a very integral role.

But what if you ask an actor, known for being bubbly, charming, intense, and talkative on screen, to play a role that has her portray a deaf-mute person? What if she has to express everything through her expressive eyes? What if she has to come to terms with the fact that somebody actually loves her for what she is, and not what she could be? How does such a person emote their base emotions?

Jyotika, not only played the role to a T, she also took up sign language as a challenge, and literally dealt with it with her left hand. As I said, Mozhi was truly the crowning moment of Jyotika in Tamil cinema. It was even more special because it was a tale of someone who wanted to be loved for what she is, and not the facade the world painted on her, and finally, through Mozhi and Archana, Jyotika got that recognition too.

ALSO READ | Jyotika reveals what she loves about Mammootty, Rajinikanth and Suriya, adds she doesn’t need a hero for Tamil films: ‘I am holding them alone’

In her very first Tamil film, Vaali (1999), Jyotika played the figment of a very active imagination. An almost mythical character that served the narrative, and was overlooked after her job was done. In some ways, Pachaikili Muthucharam, her last Tamil film before the self-imposed sabbatical, had somewhat similar beats to Vaali. As in, her Geetha was the figment of a very active imagination too. She played an almost mythical character that served the narrative, and went missing halfway through it.

Pachaikili Muthucharam also allowed her to play the villain in a movie where she gets to do rather despicable things. Even the vilest of people would relent if there is a child with a debilitating disease suffering due to their crime. But Jyotika’s Geetha, I mean… Smitha wasn’t one to be moved by these restrictions.

In the same film, she played a survivor, an oppressor, a ghost, a no-nonsense antagonist, and a seductress. And it was the most interesting role of her career, and it made perfect sense that it was given to her by her Kaakha Kaakha director Gautham Menon. Basically, Jyotika kicked some serious ass in Pachaikili Muthucharam, and she didn’t even spare the likes of ‘Supreme Star’ Sarathkumar, who starred alongside her.

It was a well-rounded character that received its justifiable end, and Jyotika sold the vulnerability as good as her toxicity. She was as effective as the brooding stranger on the train as she was as the sleeved-up shirt-wearing, gutkha-chewing bad ass.

Jyotika quit the scene on a high that very few of her contemporaries got. A high that started off as a dream in 1998, had become a decade-long quest to become a bonafide actor… and a star.

Basically, Happy Birthday, Jyotika…The brakes might have been applied on this quest in 2008, but deep down, doston, we always knew that… ‘Picture abhi baaki hai’ and what a ride it has been since your return!