made his high impact debut with Dhill. You would have guessed the name by now, Ashish Vidhyarthi. This man has created a stamp for himself in the industry, playing a number of negative roles in both Tamil and Telugu. However, he has not allowed himself to get stereotyped. He has also played some very enjoyable character roles including that in Ghilli and his attempt at comedy in Malaikottai.

If anyone fits the bill of a smiling assassin, it has to be Kota Sreenivasa Rao. Sometimes he is better known up north as Selvar Mani (after the role he played in Sarkar) or down south as Perumal Picha after the role he played in Saamy. Among the numerous roles that he has played, the one that has created the maximum impact is the astrologer of Dhanam. The scheming and cunning man behind the mask of a pious astrologer was brought out to near perfection. This actor too has proved his versatility with other kinds of roles, the recent one being the character he played in Kaartic Anithaa.

Then there are imports from Kerala. Rajan.P. Dev; this senior artiste can handle just about anything and he has proved it in Tamil cinema too. His villain roles will make you fret and fume. How can one overlook the menacing Lal when talking about villains! His Sandakkozhi act is still fresh in our minds. His height and heavy voice make him one of the easiest to cast as a villain. But, if you watch his performance as ‘Bigilu’ in Oram Po, you are sure to understand the versatility that he possesses.

Sayaji Shinde: When he started as Subramania Bharathi in the film Bharathi, no one thought that he would eventually do negative roles. His performances in Dhool and a few other films have cemented his spot as one of the lead villains in Kollywood. But, he keeps doing mellow roles like the one in Santhosh Subramaniam.

Now, to challenge them all, here comes a fresh import. Danny Denzongpa. Many down south might not be familiar with this name. You will be, as soon as Endhiran releases. This reputed actor from Bollywood will be seen pitching against Superstar in Sankar’s big budget extravaganza. Let’s see if he too can make a mark.

As mentioned earlier, let us give a possible explanation for this obsession with imported villains. Can’t Tamil cinema produce good villains on its own? Well, proximity breeds contempt, it can also sometimes breed a lot of familiarity which is not good when a character has to induce anger and/or fear in the audience. That is why may be actors from other industries are used to make that big impact. That is not to say that actors like Daniel Balaji don’t give the same kind of results.