Heroes of 90s turn villains

Breaking the moulds and norms of the industry, heroes of the 90s like Arjun, Srikanth and Jagapathi Babu are turning villains in their second innings, unlike their predecessors, who opted for character roles

Nithiin’s ‘Lie’ failed both critically and commercially but 90s hero Arjun Sarja’s turn as villain drew unanimous praise. His unique mannerism with hands, baritone delivery, grace and poise were an instant hit. The action king in his comeback film (second innings) in Tollywood, has scored albeit as a villain.

The trend of heroes of the yore, turning villains started with Jagapathi Babu’s majestic turn as Jitendra opposite Balakrishna in ‘Legend’. The actor’s unique voice and rather over the top antics were an instant hit, with the mass audience. The actor’s career which was in a lull until then due to a string of flops in his stint as a hero, got a new lease of life. He was catapulted into stardom on parallel to that of heroes, so much so that he is most sought after for negatives roles not only in Telugu but also Tamil and Malayalam film industries. His antagonist role opposite Mohanlal in Malayalam film ‘Puli Murugan’ means that there is no looking back for the actor.

However, Jagapathi Babu credits the revival of his career to director Boyapati Sreenu, who convinced him to take the role of a villain. His compatriot Srikanth, who was seen in more than 100 films as a hero throughout the 90s and 2000s, is donning the role of villain in Naga Chaitanya’s next ‘Yuddham Saranam’.

The film industry has a tradition in which one-time stars in their second innings turn character actors. It all started with Chittoor V Nagaiah, who donned father roles to the younger heroes of late 40s and 50s Akkineni Nageswara Rao and NT Rama Rao. However, the superstardom and longevity enjoyed by NTR and ANR meant that they broke the tradition. But, their compatriot, TL Kanta Rao followed tradition and even donned the role of father to NTR and ANR.

Heroes of 60s and 70s Krishna and Sobhan Babu also followed their predecessor’s suit of playing protagonist until ripe age. But their immediate successors, the likes of Ranganath, Giribabu, Sarat Babu and others rather adopted character roles a bit early.

Narasimha Raju, who garnered mass appeal following his frequent collaborations with legendary director B Vithalacharya in movies like ‘Jaganmohini’ and others, had a gap after his star waned. It was in Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Prema Katha’, he started his second innings as a character actor.

The heroes of the 90s are breaking the mould but taking on the roles of antagonists and they have seen success too. And success in the industry means that the trend is likely to stay.

Aditya Parankusam