offset our need to see larger – than –
life perfection emulated by our leading men. After
all every good protagonist needs a worthy antagonist.
Even Superstar Rajinikanth needs a Mark Antony, Neelambari
or a shrewish wife to fully display his powers against
the forces of evil and overbearing females.
There is something about a truly evil villain that
stokes the imagination in the most exciting way imaginable.
And while most people would be happy to give evil
– doers a wide berth in real life, they are
more than happy to lap up their gory doings on the
big screen. From a psychological point of view this
piece of perversity is easy enough to explain. Viewing
the machinations of a loathsome villain in a darkened
theatre or in the air – conditioned comfort
of a home theatre system one has the luxury of enjoying
the thrill of an entire gamut of negative emotions
like fear, panic, and loathing without the added inconvenience
of a real threat to personal safety. Few things are
more pleasurable than the sight of a truly evil villain
receive his comeuppance at the hands of the hero.
Over the years, a number of memorable baddies have
graced the silver screen with their loathsome presence.
Some even had the temerity to win the hearts of the
audience despite being rotten to the core and went
on to become huge stars. A thorough examination of
the bad boys who created an impression with their
misdeeds is guaranteed to make one delight in the
guilty pleasure it affords.
The Rich Baddie
Traditionally, the rich man is a political type who
has no qualms about misusing his power. The heroine
is almost always his daughter and needless to say,
she loses her heart to the hero who is poor, noble,
and courageous. The star - crossed lovers are then
hunted by the villain’s henchmen and have to
struggle to escape their clutches long enough for
a rain - drenched romantic interlude. In commercial
ventures, the lovers are united in the end and true
love conquers all but if the film seeks to kick you
in the gut, then the unhappy couple are killed off
by Daddy dearest’s hellhounds. Movies like Punnagai
Mannan and Kadhal had Daddy villains who made your
stomach churn with righteous indignation.
Another old favorite is the rich villain who gorges
on every excess imaginable at the expense of the poor
people who are dependent on him. And if this were
not enough he is invariably a rapist and murderer
to boot. His sexual target is usually the hero’s
sister or if the writer is feeling truly sadistic,
the hero’s wife. This type of villain was ubiquitous
at one time in action movies. The noble hero sheds
copious tears for the loved one who had her modesty
violated and promptly committed suicide and then proceeds
to avenge the loved one using the most violent means
at his disposal.
There are a number of actors who specialized in playing
this particular type of baddie. Malaysia Vasudevan
rocked this role in Oru Kaidhiyin Diary as the incorrigibly
corrupt politician who uses his followers for his
own ends and had the audience applauding kamal haasan
when he finally got his bloody vengeance in a deliciously
over – the – top climax scene. Charan
Raj and Raghuvaran did similar roles in Rajini films
and were duly detestable.
However, the honors for playing the rich villain who
abuses his financial and political clout to molest
pretty young things and speedily dispatch them from
the world of the living as a final coup de grace goes
to Sathyaraj, the Granddaddy of all villains. He played
exactly this type of villain in 24 Mani Neram with
the punchline “En characteray purinchika mattengirenga”
(Nobody understands my character). He played the lecherous,
murdering, politician with so much gusto that it was
fun to hate him and when he laughs at the hero who
is out to avenge his wife and goes about it in the
most inept manner imaginable you are tempted to laugh
with him. Tamil cinema will never again see an actor
of the caliber of Sathyaraj who raised villainy to
such glorious heights.
The Serial killer
Unlike Hollywood which has long been enamored of serial
killers, the serial killer is a very rare commodity
in Tamil cinema. This is probably because the general
public is of the consensus that there are things that
no respectable villain should ever do and serial killing
in one such thing. Mass killing, rape, torture, theft,
and the like are perfectly acceptable but full –
blown psychosis is a risky premise as Gautam Menon
found out to his detriment with his superbly crafted
Nadunisi Naigal that had a stellar performance by
new find, Veera.
Kamal Haasan however got away with playing a serial
killer and as always with style. His turn as the dishy
serial – killer, Dileep in Sivapu Rojakal is
believed by connoisseurs to be one of his best performances.
Credit goes to Bharathi Raja for creating this deeply
troubled character who is in chronic pain from the
scars of his traumatic childhood. His coping mechanism
involves lashing out at predatory females by allowing
himself to be seduced and then killing them, videotaping
the proceedings for the viewing pleasure of his equally
deranged mentor.
The movie was a resounding success for its foray into
hitherto unexplored territory. No other film or actor
has come close to recapturing the depth of evil a
true psychopath is capable of achieving. Simbhu did
his best in Manmadhan but his serial killer was not
as convincing or well – fleshed out as Kamal’s
Dileep or Gautam Menon’s Veera.
The Superstar Villain
16 Vayathinile marked a turning point in the careers
of its three protagonists – kamal haasan, Rajinikanth,
and Sridevi. It was made by Bharathi Raja and it was
his first film making it all the more special. Sridevi
plays an alluring sixteen year old who pays too terrible
a price for the follies of youth. kamal haasan was
the memorable Chappani, the country bumpkin who loved
her with the simplicity of a simpleton. The third
pivotal character was Parattai portrayed by a scenery
– chewing Rajinikanth with his famous refrain
“Idhu eppadi irrukku?” (How is it?) uttered
every time he commits an act of foul infamy.
Rajini’s Parattai was there only for a handful
of scenes but the great man was so marvelous as the
evil villager who thinks nothing of destroying a sixteen
– year old’s life by casually casting
aspersions on her virtue and taking immense pride
in doing so that he easily eclipsed the other two.
Parattai was malicious and vindictive and this is
apparent when he makes a cowardly attempt to rape
the heroine after she spits on his face which is more
or less what he deserves and winds up with a smashed
skull for being such a rat. Never in the history of
Tamil cinema has vileness been such a treat to watch.
In an earlier venture, Rajinikanth created yet another
memorable villain, Prasad in K. Balachander’s
classic Moondru Mudichu again with kamal haasan and
Sridevi. He plays a young man who is so besotted that
he allows his best friend to die in order to give
his own twisted love a chance to survive. The crucial
scene that has Superstar crooning a song that has
poignant meaning to give himself the iron nerves needed
to watch a beloved friend in his death throes, condemned
to a watery grave by terrible betrayal, even as the
love of his life pleads desperately with him to save
her lover still lingers hauntingly in the memories
of all who watched this film.
Rajinikanth recaptured his glorious days as a villain
for a brief span in the more recent Chandramukhi and
Enthiran to colossal success proving that there are
few in the world who can hold their own against him
on the big screen. Never is his shining talent as
apparent as when he plays the bad guy making him the
quintessential villain.
The Anti – Hero
The current crop of actors are loathe to play loathsome
evil – doers as they are very conscious about
their image with the masses. And with good reason
since their brand value will take a beating as nobody
wants a man from their nightmares to endorse their
products. Consequently, experimentation with such
roles has been kept to a minimum. This attitude lead
to the anti – hero that is the hero who is actually
a good guy who does bad things or a bad guy who does
good things depending on your perspective.
Vijay played such a character in Piriyamudan with
Kausalya. He played an obsessive lover who was willing
to murder all who stood in the way of his winning
his lady love despite being a genuinely sweet guy
and a loyal friend. However, the writers gave him
a lot of extenuating circumstances to win the sympathy
of the audience. Even so, Ilaya Thalapathi was superlative
in this role.
Ajith had his Vaali and was simply brilliant as the
evil deaf and mute twin who wants his brother’s
wife. Arguably it was the best performance in Ajith’s
career. He was lecherous, spiteful, devious, and manipulative
to the core. But you can’t help feeling sorry
for the guy and secretly liking him because he was
so intense and well, ridiculously handsome.
Dhanush also deserves a mention for his Vinod in Kaadhal
Kondaen. Selvaraghavan wrote the role of a lifetime
for his brother and Dhanush did full justice to it.
Vinod was a troubled genius, a tender lover, and a
psychopathic killer. In short, he was magnificent
and kept you riveted to the screen.
And that concludes our examination of the great screen
villains Tamil cinema can boast of. We love them for
being unabashedly evil and for showing us the depths
of darkness human beings can descend to, given the
right set of circumstances. It has been fun hating
them and we hope there will be many more from where
these came from.
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