WHERE ARE THE K-TOWN VILLAINS?

WHERE ARE THE K-TOWN VILLAINS?

They ruled the roost in the 80s and 90s, but true-blue villains have become a rarity in Tamil cinema these days

Lata Srinivasan

There's one on-screen character that seems to be missing in action in today's Tamil films — no, not the sultry seductive siren but the villain! Gone are the days when there were notable villains who shared screen space with the heroes.
In the 80s and 90s, if Sathyaraj and Raghuvaran played the perfect villains and epitomized all that a villain should be, other notable actors who kept the 'evil' flag flying high were Nasser, Ponnambalam, Mansoor Ali Khan, Anandaraj, Babu Antony, Radha Ravi and Napolean. Who can forget Sathyaraj in Mr Bharat or Nooravadhu Naal, and Napoleon in Kizhakku Seemayile or Ejamaan? These characters are forever etched in our minds and some of these villains' famous dialogues are also part of everyday lingo now!
So, where has today's villain vanished? While Bollywood actor Sonu Sood did impress in Osthe and Prakash Raj made a mark in Tamil and Hindi in Singam, there's no one actor who can claim to have filled the vacant spot. Says an industry insider, "Today, lead heroes themselves have taken to playing shades of grey in films, so where is the need for a true-blue villain as in the 80s or 90s? Also, today's films don't always have a 'villain' role per se; they have numerous bad guys who are nowhere on par with the hero, except in some cases like Prakash Raj."
Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff essayed a well-etched bad guy last year in Aaranya Kaandam but again, can he fill in the shoes of say, a yesteryear S A Ashokan? In fact, Ashokan's son, Vincent Ashokan, continues his
legacy of playing the baddie but is yet to make an indelible mark like his dad. But there are two actors in the Tamil film industry who are definitely romancing the hero's and the villain's role — they have made a mark in both but refuse to be typecast in either. Prakash Raj, today, is the most soughtafter villain in Bollywood and has captured a market in the south and the north. Sathyaraj, who changed tracks to hero, was the surprise package in Nanban where he played the authoritarian professor. Having made a transition back to the villainous kind, he's surely grinning and asking, 'Ennama kannu sowkyama?' I'M A BAD MAN

• M N Nambiar

• M R Radha

• S A Asokhan

• Raghuvaran

• Nasser

• Prakash Raj

Sathyaraj in a still from
Nanban

Sonu Sood