It pays to be a dreaded villain

Popular Telugu and Tamil film heroes wouldn’t have even dreamt that one day they would be drawing remuneration in crores, since they were content with pocketing Rs 30 to 40 lakh while playing the protagonists for two decades. Leading the pack, is Tamil star Arvind Swamy of ‘Roja’ fame who charged Rs 2.5 crore for his suave and stylized baddy role in ‘Dhruva’.

Followed by popular family hero Jagapathi Babu who is fattening his bank balance with a pay cheque of Rs 1.5 crore after his menacing performance in ‘Legend’ and ‘Nannaku Prematho’. Now it’s turn of another famed lover boy Srikanth with hits like ‘Pellisandadi’ will be showcasing his dark side in upcoming action film ‘Yuddham Sharanam’.

“Actor Srikanth was a very popular hero and has rightly chosen to follow the footsteps of his colleagues like Jagapathi Babu since it pays big to play a villain these days,’ says director B Gopal.

Besides good money, heroes-turning- villains are playing it safe since it sustains their hard-earned brand value. “Definitely, they would have toiled hard to become popular heroes and they have to safeguard it. After doing 80 or 100 films, hero roles dry up for them and they have to choose playing a character role or a villain.

In Telugu films, villains get equal footage and mileage on par with superstars, so these heroes have taken the right path. Instead of playing an uncle or father to hero or heroine, which would have demeaned their value and screen time,’ producer Bandla Ganesh points out.

Joining the bandwagon, action king Arjun impressed with his wicked act in recent spy thriller ‘Lie’. “Popular actor Arjun showcased his acting brilliance as a baddy who is master of disguise and walked away with acting honours,’ adds director Samudra, who also praises young actor Aadi Pinisetty who played a ruthless villain in ‘Sarainodu’ and Vijay Sethupathi for accepting to don a negative role in megastar Chiru’s 151st film and a film for Arun Vijay on cards. ‘Young Tamil stars are ready to change colours on screen to laugh all the way to the bank,’ adds Ganesh.