Jun 25, 2005

Villadhi Villains

Recently, when Amrish Puri died, I felt that Indian cinema has lost one of the most charming actors.. Though he acted in a few non-negative roles towards the end of his career, he was obviously famous for his villainous roles. When I think of the most notorious villains Tamil cinema has seen, here is what comes to my mind...

1) Maayan in Thevar magan - Nasser in a really deadly role as Kamal's pangaali.. The climax scene "Vaada, Thevar Magane.. " is unforgettable...

2) Neelambari in Padayappa - Not that a Kamal's villain has to be followed by Rajini's.. but, usually in Rajini's movies the villain's role would be only for the fight scenes.. but, Ramya scored over Rajini. As even Rajini acknowledged, "Neelambari ille-nna Padayappa ille".

3) Amavasai in Amaidhi Padai - After long time, Satyaraj got a chance to be a baddie and, didnt he give a scare to the other villains? Smart, cunning and thick-skinned, he completely eclipsed the 'son' Satyaraj.. "vazhkkaiyile munneranumna naayi ennanga.. edhu vandhalum midhichu pottu poitte irukkanunga..."

4) Badri in Kurudhipunal: Again Nasser.. never yielding to the psychological interrogation of Aadhi (Kamal), he had something in him that even Aadhi was afraid of.

5) Madan in Kanakandaen: A young and handsome person with always a smile on his lips shows his real face as the money-minded crook. As much as he was loveable as a gentleman, he earns our hatred later.

6) MN Nambiar in Mandhirikumari: As the bald and notorious minister, Nambiar was a villain personified all the way - his looks, walking, speech, voice everything.

7) Madhavan in Aasai - As the army officer-turned-Ravana, Prakash Raj was irrepressible. The climax was top class act.

8) Deva in Vaali - As the deaf-and-dumb but immensely intelligent elder sibling, Ajit gave his best performance so far. Bone-chilling performance.

9) Annachi in Chatriyan - Thilagan as the old fox taught a new lesson in villainry by not going overboard. "Chatriyan-ku saavu illennu sollittu ippo enn kaaladiyile eppadi sethu kidakkiraan paar.."

10) Veerabadran in Captain Prabhakaran - I think he was the first portrayal of Veerappan.. Dirty, ugly and deadly.. Mansur Ali Khan would have given Veerappan a real run for money. His scream "Pirabhakara" is still echoing in my ears..

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

good list. to me I would have to say Prakash Raj's role in Assai as the notorious villain with a charming personality would be #1.The way he kills his wife, and tries to create a bad impression of Ajit, never seen a casual acting from a villain before. Have fun in Atlanta, and enjoy Anniyan. Waiting for your review.

Balaji said...

gp, great list. good villains r so rare these days. one of my fav among the recent crop of villains was the cop in dhill. but he got stereotyped after that.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Nitin and Balaji..

I thought of Ashish Vidhyarthi too.. but he just fell short of the final 10. Another impressive villainy act was Prakash Raj's in Ghilly..

Anonymous said...

I didn't think of Prakash Raj as a great villain in Ghilli, dont know why. He seemed more of a comedic villain, whenever he says "Chellam" I start laughing because he makes a funny expression. But he definitely acted well in Ghilli. yeah, Ashish Vidhyarthi is a good villain. what about Sornaka, and her gang in Dhool?

Ram C said...

'en characteriyee purinchukka ....' satyaraj of '24 mani neram' can be added to your list..

ada-paavi!!!! said...

ennongo, neengal raghuvarana vuttutengala?? anthony, mrak anthony, rajiniikku equala act pannara!!

barathiraja in ayutha yeathu, nalla pannar, annal avar oru pucca villan illaia,

paupathy in virumandi, sama acting super
jeevan in kakha kakha, (avannala than padam oodichu)

16 vaithula rajini a marakamudiyuma?? pucca villan illai annal nalla pannirukkar!!

Anonymous said...

The villain in Agni Natchathiram..Was his name Chidambaram?? He was simply superb!

Also remember Nasser's chilling performance as the 'Seth' in Thalaivasal.

Anonymous said...

Ram, his 'nakkal' in 24 mani neram almost earned him a second entry in the top 10 but lost to Mansur.

Srivatsan, I really like Raghuvaran.. I think he was the only other 'considerably evil' villains in Rajini movies... In Manithan, Raja Chinna Roja, Voor Kavalan and Baasha, he was the preferred choice of villain for Rajini, but I couldnt figure a film in which he acted in a deadly role. Mudhalvan was closest entry in my opinion.. BTW, which was the Anthony, Mark Anthony movie? I remember the dialogue but ...

And, your other choices were really in consideration by me.. (except that I forgot to think and analyze about Rajini in 16 vayathinile)

Vijay, Chidambaram did indeed perform incredibly well.. he was a rich businessman in real. But, he didnt have enough screen time in Agni Natchathiram.. He was more like a forced entry of a baddie just for the climax fight and for the union of the two families.

Nasser, in 1992, had three meaty unforgettable villain roles in Thevar Magan, Thalaivasal and Avarampoo.. I had to choose only one..

Unknown said...

My favorite is 'I know' Raghuvaran

Anonymous said...

Jayan, he was good too.. Just missed, really..

RamaDrama said...

I think Raghuvaran in Shiva(alias Udhayam in tamil) is one of the most awesome villain roles ever played.The character Bhavani is quintessential Raghuvaran.

Nice list there buddy!

Raju said...

Motorama, yeah.. Raghuvaran as 'Bhavani' was deadly indeed.. very subdued.. When I think of Raghuvaran-the-villain, Bhavani comes to my mind.. but i just couldnt accomodate him at the top..

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