Main image via Behindwoods 

Every movie needs a perfect balance of drama, romance and comedy. Laughter has always been the selling point of tamil movies, and even in horror or serious melodramas, every Tamil movie has its share of comedy. 

Laughter is the best medicine! 

Tamil movie comedians crack us up into laughter and their precise sense of comic timing has become a crucial element of every movie and some of the iconic comedies have merged with our lifestyle.

 Here are the top five comedians of all times in Tamil cinema:

Vadivelu

Hands down the best comedian Tamil cinema has seen. 

He has been praised for his comedy by many legends such as Sivaji Ganesan, Kamal Hassan, and Rajinikanth. He shared screens with many top actors and almost every movie he's been featured in has been a blockbuster. 

His presence in films makes them the perfect stress buster. Even after a decade with only a few movies of him released. he still rules our hearts through memes with his expressions. 

Nagesh

The Legendary actor himself, one of the pioneers of tamil cinema comedy. Nagesh has already acted with many legends such as MGR, Sivaji, Kamal, and Rajinikanth. He's acting has also been highly praised, in movies such as Nammavar. 

His comedy speaks for himself. Nagesh's style of comedy was largely inspired by Hollywood actor Jerry Lewis. Similarities between Nagesh and Lewis earned Nagesh the sobriquet the "Jerry Lewis of India". He was also a fantastic dancer. The song "Kanni Nathiyoram" in the movie Neerkumizhi shows some of his comic dance skills.

The actor was brought back to life through 3D motion capture technology in the 2014 Kochadaiyaan. 

Vivek

Legendary comedian Vivekanandan, popularly known as Vivek, won millions of hearts with his social message-incorporated comedies. Sadly, he passed away on April 17th while undergoing treatment for cardiac arrest in a hospital at Chennai, India. 

In comparison to other comedians in Tamil films, Vivek is more of a satirist than a slapstick comedian. Most of his humour makes people think about a social issue and its solution. His roles usually draw humour from scenes of daily life in India. Some of his most popular jokes involve serious subjects such as bribery, over-population, and political corruption. Nevertheless, he has appeared in lighter parodies too.

Goundamani

A dominating comedian in the 90's. We’ve seen him at his best while working with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, in movies such as Yejaman, Baba, and Indian. He has the ability to give counter dialogues on the spot and off-script on stage and during shooting has won the hearts of millions. 

Thengai Srinivasan

He was given the prefix ‘Thengai’ after his role as a coconut-seller in the play Kal Manam. Although originally a comedian, he also performed in other genres and played negative shade characters. Srinivasan mostly enacted the role of a comedian or a sidekick. 

He played the lead in Vaali's play Sri Krishna Vijayam, which was later made into a feature film named Kaliyuga Kannan. The makers originally intended to cast Sivaji Ganesan in the role, but Ganesan, being impressed by Srinivasan's performance in the play, suggested that Srinivasan may be retained for the film version. Kaliyuga Kannan went on to become a high commercial success and is considered as one of Srinivasan's most notable films

By Thineshkan