The good guys gone bad in the South: Saif Ali Khan in Jr NTR’s Devara to Sanjay Dutt in Leo
It is a villain in the film that makes a hero ‘heroic’. Specifically, talking about South Indian films, every movie-goer loves the bad guy. There is no denying they make it a complete masala movie. Also, it’s a fact that nobody better than the South Indian film industry can represent a villain as a villain to give a popcorn entertainment movie. For example, Vijay Sethupathi in Vikram Vedha and Vikram, and in recent, if I can recall, it is Prithviraj Sukumara in Ayyapanum Koshiyum. One of the rarest movies, where a villain got screen time more than the hero.
The new ongoing trend is that Bollywood actors are seen playing bad guys in South cinema. Some recent actors who have played villains include Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood, and Jackie Shroff
Kabir Duhan Singh- a tall, young actor with great looks made his debut as a baddie in the Telugu film, Jil and continued the streak with movies like Ajith-starrer Vedalam. In Mohanlal’s Lucifer, it was Vivek Oberoi who was the villain. Jackie Shroff played JK Sharma, a baddie in Vijay’s Tamil film Bigil. Actors from the mainstream Hindi film industry have been seen playing bad guys in South Cinema. There are a lot of villains in the Tamil and Telugu industry who are from the north. They have turned out to become the most happening villains, for example- Sonu Sood. The antagonist in Dabangg to evil Tantrik Pashupathi in Arundhati, he is killing it, and how!
Sanjay Dutt’s character of a robust villain ‘Adheera’ in Yash starrer KGF: Chapter 2 was the highlight of the film. It was a treat to see him as a baddie in Prashanth Neel’s film. Next, he will be seen in Thalapathy Vijay’s Leo and Dhruva Sarja’s KD, which clearly means he has become a favorite for the South makers. Joining the club next is Bollywood’s nawab- Saif Ali Khan. He steps into the antagonist’s role of Lankesh in Prabhas’ upcoming film Adipurush and as a baddie again in Jr NTR and Koratala Siva’s untitled film.
Remember Pradeep Rawat from BR Chopra’s TV serial Mahabharata? He made his mark on regional cinema with AR Murugadoss’ Ghajini. Another Bollywood regular, Mukesh Tiwani has spread his infectious energy in quite a number of Tamil and Kannada films.
However, this has mainly got to do more with business. For example, Akshay Kumar played the villain called Pakshiraja in Rajinikanth’s 2.0, quite a strategic choice to capture both, the Tamil and Hindi market. This also helps to get good numbers with digital rights!
Makers of South Indian movies have clocked success nationwide in the last few years. The South cinema is always looking for something new, in terms of content, marketing and casting. The villain, a star from Bollywood also has to be someone who can match the hero’s image among the audience in the South and other languages. The industry is only looking for a variety of villains and hence, we see the South film industries’ obsession with casting Bollywood actors as ‘villain’.
Amrish Puri as a villainous jail warden in Mohanlal’s Kaalapani was actually the highlight of the film. He effortlessly pulled off the role.
However, as far as Kannada cinema is concerned, they are not much in favor of the trend compared to the other three industries. A lot of factors fall into place, while some say it is for business reasons. Over the years, South Indian cinema has imported many Bollywood stars to act as the villain and there’s no stopping.
Nandamuri Balakrishna’s next, tentatively titled NBK 108 will see Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal in a negative role. Most recently, we had Dino Morea in Agent and Tarun Arora in Rama Baanam.
Back then, Priyadarshan got more actors from Hindi cinema, to not just play villains but also heroes and heroines. However, the cinema has no language and the trend needs to be encouraged!
