presently set and we wonder “Where have the
villains of Tamil Cinema gone?” Have they all
adorned the protagonist hat? Don’t we need fearful,
evil, chillingly and calculative antagonists to make
our heroes look even more adorable and charming?
Tamil cinema has not explored the anti-hero perspective
extensively except for the occasional Andha Naal and
Sivappu Rojakkal but stuck to the formulaic hero villain
to work the magic at the box office. That being said
isn’t the market ripe for actors to choose the
less trodden path and establish themselves as evil
and cunning checkmates? In the years of Thespian Sivaji
Ganesan, the character was the main focus in the film.
As much as we appreciated his performance, the other
side of the equation was equally scrutinized thus
ensuring that the balance was well-maintained and
the bar always raised. If we recollected Parasakthi
Sivaji, we were also quick to remember Ratha Kaneer
M R Radha. When we gleefully clapped for MGR in Naan
Aanayittal, we were even more excited to see Nambiar
submit.
Zoom into the Thalaivar era. Muratukkalai changed
gears for two people. Rajni turned hero and Jayshankar
turned villain. That was a great cross over and a
daring attempt. Sathyaraj was the Villadhi Villain
- From Kakki Sattai to Amaithipadai. Nobody could
have challenged the hero as much as he did. He could
play the good and bad guy with equal aplomb but even
he would agree that he was at his best when he played
the bad man. He stood tall with his nimble legs and
his foxy glare and sly grins worked wonders. Speaking
of tall, one cannot forget the legendary Raghuvaran.
For Baasha to click, Mark Anothony had to click. His
“I know, I know” in Nooravathu Naal was
the exquisite work of a mistrustful husband played
to the tee. His poise was vulpine and he created a
niche with his dialogue delivery. Nasser emerged as
the strong contender and anger flared through his
nose. Even when he played the philandering womanizer
in Magalir Mattum we could see past his comical mishaps
to the lusting manager he really was. Such was the
level of his performance.
After that the line seems to have blurred. We had
innumerable Tata Sumo chases, veechu aruval, velkambu
fights and all the villains were exports from our
neighboring states. While we stirred in our seats
anxiously at their horrific dubbing, Kota Srinivasa
Rao and Ashish Vidyarti were the silm picks. Even
before we entered the theater we tuned our heads not
to cringe at the “Daiii” echoes. Apparently
being loud made you devious. It was like Vijayakumar
playing Nattamai. Before the man appeared we even
knew the dialogues he had for the scene. As we tried
to stifle our yawns, we dreamed for that perfect Satan,
seething cobra and a crouching tiger all tied in one.
As always in typical Tamil cinema style, there is
light at the end of the tunnel. Prakash Raj entered
the scene. He could sport both a mafia don in Pokkiri
and a Madurai rowdy in Ghilli with equal ease. He
changed the name of the game. But there was only so
much a man can do and there is such a thing as overdose.
Not only were we tired of seeing him in every movie
but seeing him as a caring father and a vicious villain
confused our neural networks. Are we supposed to be
scared or choke with emotion? It’s all fine
and dandy when you can camouflage into any role but
I would rather he pick a side and stick to it.
Suman in Shivaji was the Kasimedu Aathi we wanted
and Suresh in Aadu Puli was the Black Jack. Both had
immense promise but did not grace the screens as much
as we wanted. Pasupathi in Dhool and Virumaandi shimmered
with hope but the light was put out sooner than it
shone. All our heads would nod in unison when I suggest
that Jeevan was better off as Pandian in Kaaka Kaaka
rather than the Naan Avan Illai sequels.
But before we throw our hands in frustration and decide
that Tamil cinema will never see the class of villains
ever again, there is a faint shadow emerging through
the horizon. Ajmal in KO quenched our longing and
Jayabalan in Aadukalam proved that you don’t
have to look menacing to be a villain. Both these
characters had one thing in common. They proved that
the other side of the coin was equally lucrative.
You don’t always have to play the hero to get
noticed and a sincere performance would never go unnoticed.
This is what I like about Tamil Cinema. The rare gems
emerge from the places we rarely dare to see. So we
would have our share of the devil too, only they were
getting more intense and artful. It would be suffice
to say the crouching tigers were hiding beneath the
sheep skin.
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