A film is not complete without the hero facing a formidable adversary. Audience simply love to hate the villainous characters in movies. There are many instances when the villains have stolen the limelight from the heroes due to their exceptional portrayal of the evil. South Indian movies feature both local talents and Bollywood actors who have made a mark for their villainous roles. Some of them have been mentioned here.
1. SJ Suryah
SJ Suryah is a film director, composer, screen writer, film producer and actor. He ventured into acting with the movie New and subsequently appeared in Thirumagan and Vyabari. His first role as a villain in the 2017 thriller Spyder established him as a leading villain. In this movie, he played the role of a sadist with double personality disorder. Thereafter, he starred in the role of a villain in many other movies such as Mersal, Maanadu, Mark Antony and Don.
2. Prakash Raj
Prakash Raj is an actor, film director and producer with a career spanning Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, English and Hindi films. He is an iconic villain with numerous memorable performances in villainous roles. Raj is particularly famous for playing the role of villain Muthupandi in the hit movie Ghilli starring Thalapathy Vijay and Trisha Krishnan in the lead roles. Prakash Raj has several awards to his credit, including a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the movie Iruvar and a National Film Award for Best Actor for his role in the Tamil movie Kanchivaram.
3. Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt is a major Bollywood actor with a career spanning over four decades. He mainly played the roles of protagonists in both romantic and action films before starring as a villain in the superhit South Indian movie KFG Chapter 2. His role as Adheera in the movie, complete with a Viking look and double-edged sword, enthralled the audience and soon we can see him in the list villains of Bollywood movies.
4. Vinayakan
Vinayakan is an actor, composer and former dancer who is mainly seen in Tamil and Malayalam films. He gained widespread popularity after playing the role of the antagonist Varman in the superhit Rajnikant starrer Jailer. His role of an eccentric and evil idol smuggler in the movie was widely appreciated and established him as a leading villain. Vinayakan is set to play the role of a villain in the Tamil spy action thriller Dhruva Natchathiram: Chapter One-Yuddha Kandam.
5. Ramachandra Raju
Ramachandra Raju, better known by his screen name Garuda Ram, is an actor who predominantly works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. He gained widespread popularity due to his role of an antagonist named Garuda in the superhit movie KGF Chapter 1. Ramachandra Raju has played the role of a villain in many other South Indian movies such as Sulthan, Kodiyil Oruvan and Yaanai.
6. Kabir Duhan Singh
Kabir Duhan Singh is well known for his villainous roles in Telugu, Kannada and Tamil films. He debuted in 2015 with the Telugu film Jil in which he played the role of an antagonist and received positive reviews. Subsequently, he appeared in the movie Kick 2 as a villain and received appreciation from the audience. Till date, Kabir Duhan Singh has played the role of a villain in many other films such as Vedalam, Dictator, Sardar Gabbar Singh, Pailwan, Kanchana 3, Hebbuli and others.
7. Sonu Sood
Sonu Sood is known for portraying negative characters in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. He first played the role of a villain in the Telugu film Hands Up released in the year 2000. Subsequently, he performed the role of a villain in many other movies such as Arundhati, Vishnuvardhana, Dookudu, Ek Niranjan and others. Sonu Sood is a recipient of several awards including Andhra Pradesh State Nandi Award for Best Villain, Apsara Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role and Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor Telugu.
8. Jagapathi Babu
Jagapathi Babu predominantly works in Telugu cinema but also appears in Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada movies. He first appeared in the role of a villain in the Telugu film Legend in the year 2014. In the same year, he appeared in an antagonist role in the movie Lingaa opposite Rajnikanth. Recently, he appeared in the blockbuster movie Salaar: Part 1- Ceasefire.
9. P Ravi Shankar
P Ravi Shankar is an actor, dubbing artist, director and director. He debuted as a lead actor with the Telugu film Aolochinchandi in 1986. His first performance as a villain came in the Telugu film Tholi Valapu. However, his breakthrough performance in a negative role was in the 2011 Kannada movie Kempe Gowda.
10. Arun Vijay
Arun Vijay mainly works in Tamil cinema but has also appeared in Hindi, Kannada and Telugu films. He played the lead roles in a number of movies such as Malai Malai, Manja Velu, Thadam and others. However, he is more popular for his villainous roles in Yennai Arindhal, Chakravyuha and Bruce Lee.
