Anyone who thinks of including the Kamal Nasser antipathy in the list of standard Cat and mouse tales and 'Hero gets the better of Villain all the time' stories , must be completely out of his mind. Till date, I have not witnessed a single saga of on screen animosity which is as explosive, as intense and as intelligently and diligently plotted out as that of Shakti and Maayan, Adi and Badri, Nalla Sivam and Kandasamy Padayachi. Were these plots planned with Kamal and Nasser in mind, or was it the very presence of Kamal and Nasser that made these plots what they are now ? (Legendary). We do not know. But what we do know is that every time they have been protagonist and antagonist, they have ended up stunning us with breath taking presentations of roles, characters and lives, becoming the most recognisable faces from dramatic tales of bitter enmity and grudge. This article is a look back at some of the blockbuster performances that this great duo has given us. Through this article, we also look at how each of them has approached the particular roles along with discussions on the nuances.

Maayan is complicated. The quintessential representation of the anti Christ on earth. A cerebral genius who has a permanently corrupt soul. He is dark, handsome and very powerful. The constantly scheming mind is low on dialogues, but when he has to make a point, he comes out like a burst of poisonous air. To pull of something as heavy as that on screen needs more than just possessing a twisted nose which Nasser is 'blessed' with. The man who finds himself standing against the brutal force of Maayan is Shakti. Forced into a bloodbath before even knowing how things work - which essentially is re-represented by the climax sequence, Shakti needs to be silent, strong and most importantly, good. Adding gravity to the battle is the fact that pride is the only issue being fought for. Not women. Not money. Pride - that drives mankind to madness. Except for the climax and a couple of other sequences, Kamal's acting is mostly spontaneous and he works through the eyes. Expressions of great desperation, regret, anger and the such. Nasser, on the other hand can be seen working hard on maintaining that constant look of treachery and working more with the body. The very famous "Aiyya,Aiyyow, Yow" scene is trademark Nasser coming out all guns blazing all of a sudden. Every dialogue of theirs including the talk in the hotel room where each vows to keep the name of their land builds up perfectly to the grand one on one climax fight. Maayan, driven out of base is mad and wants only blood. Shakti is fighting for peace. The rivalry ends, with one man dead and the other in tears of madness. It can't get better than this.

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Or so we thought. Three years later came a tale that stunned Tamil Cinema. The police captures the driver of a car belonging to a highly dreaded terrorist organisation. The cop behind the operations (kamal) later realises that the person he has caught is actually the TOP GUY of the terrorist group (Nasser). The war begins. First played in the mind, then in the family and finally with the lives. Every move has a counter and a harsh one at that. Ultimately the terrorist proves he is mentally stronger, mainly because there is no family that depends on him. The cop makes one final successful dash to save the operation but only at the cost of his life. Again Kamal and Nasser bring with them great essence and unputdownable chemistry. In presence of each other, u can feel the animosity growing. Even though the tone of the dialogues is deliberately on the cooler side, the characters borrow from the situation to make things very intense. Unmatchable portrayals, these. Truly rivers of blood.

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And to round things off, is one last war of a very different kind. This is the fight of the socialist worker against the capitalist boss. The fight for justice against hypocrisy of the first order. In Anbe sivam, Kamal and Nasser take things to a higher level and their rivalry this time deals with much more important issues than just pride or defence. And they stun again. Kamal is great, both as the high voltage activist and the matured, enlightened,angel who knows how to get the work done. Nasser is perfect as the miser who wont give anything more than nine hundred and ten rupees to his workers. Their final interaction minutes before the marriage scene speak volumes of how these master performers have matured with the years and have ultimately hit the peak of conveying issues with subtlety and skill. Their war has moved from panache to purity and will forever remain unmoved in the minds of the audience. This is a tale of great on screen rivalry, which with just a handful of films to boast off, has overtaken most other rivalries repeated in more than two dozen movies.