Bowled over by the baddies

No Telugu film is ever complete without a villain. While earlier films had scary looking meanies, who twirled their moustaches as they ruthlessly committed crimes, today’s villains are evil geniuses, who are suave, intelligent and cunning, with such charisma that they leave you confused as to whether you love or hate them!

Whether it is Arvind Swamy in Dhruva, Tarun Arora in Khaidi No. 150, Aadi Pinisetty in Sarrainodu, Kabir Duhan Singh in a series of films or Jagapathi Babu in Ism, these guys may not have the best intentions but are sure giving the heroes tough competition in terms of their looks, style and physique.

“These characters are more a reflection of the present times. We have a complete corporate wave in the country and so, it makes absolute sense to design the roles in such a way. People will also be able to relate to it,” says actor Tarun Arora. So, are characters being designed in a more realistic fashion as opposed to the cinematic villain the audience has been treated to for so long?

“Yes,” says director Anil Ravipudi, adding, “I think this realism that is being portrayed is solely because of the change in the way writers are thinking.” But how does one portray these good-looking men as baddies? “My character in Dhruva was designed to make people feel bad for me. It was consciously structured in such a way that he doesn’t drink alcohol or do any of the activities which are generally associated with a villain, which makes him likeable. This factor of likeability makes it hard for audiences to believe that he is the baddie,” says Arvind Swamy.

Tarun Arora agrees and says that it’s possible to leave the audience surprised too.

“It’s probably a play on the audience’s mind. ‘Is it possible to have someone like this be a bad guy?’ is what they think,” he says, adding that this characterisation helps elevate the hero. “Imagine a powerful man. Very strong and almost invincible. It adds to the whole elevation of the hero,” he says.

Nakkina Trinadha Rao, who has roped in Naveen Chandra as a character with grey shades in his film Nenu Local says, “The idea is to not let the viewer know till the end as to what could happen. Of course, the hero always gets an edge, but there should be no chance left to let the audience think otherwise,” he says.