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Top 10 Villains of South Cinema

Indian Cinema has always played fiddle to its "heroes". It's, however, the baddies who bear the cross of heroism. They indulge in rape, arson and looting (in the first half) and find themselves hosting a barrage of 'dishooms' and 'gaalis' (in the second half).

We have for you, exclusively, a section which hasn't ever been ventured into, in this realm of cinematic tributes. We have a collection of this decade's "most notorious villains" of South Cinema.

Read through, and choose the man you love to hate!

Prakash Raj

Prakash Raj is probably the only actor of South cinema who has played memorable bad-man roles, in movies of all four South Indian languages.

And while at that, Prakash has emphatically been wining national and regional film awards. His notable films in the negative role include 'Vaanavil' (2000), 'Ghilli' (2004), and 'Anniyan' (2005) from Tamil cinema.

In Tollywood, he was popular for his roles in hit films such as 'Idiot' (2002), 'Okkadu' (2003) and 'Pokiri' (2006). His hits in Kannada include 'Athithi' (2002), 'Bimba' (2004), and 'Ajay' (2006). His Malayalam movies of the decade were 'Thekkekera Super Fast (2004), and 'Pandipada' (2005).

Ashish Vidyarthi

In a career spanning over two decades, Ashish Vidyarthi has defined and redefined evil on the south Indian screen.

His hits in Tamil include 'Kanthasamy' (2009), 'Kuruvi' (2008) and 'Dhill' (2001). His performance in 'Chirutha' (2007), 'Gudumba Shankar' (2004) and 'Law & Order' (2002) won him a lot of admirers in Andhra.

Ashish has also acted in Kannada films such as 'Sainika' (2002), 'Akash' (2005), 'Yodha' and 'Devru' (2009). His hit baddie roles in Malayalam include the ones in 'CID Moosa' (2003), 'Bhasmasuran' and 'Rakshakan' (2007).

Kalabhavan Mani

Kalabhavan Mani is another versatile and accomplished actor in South Cinema. Mani has proven his mettle as a seasoned actor, playing characters of various hues.

His stupendous popularity in Malayalam cinema came from laudable performances in 'Kuberan' (2002), 'Balettan' (2003), 'Ravanan','Aandavan' (2006), 'Chotta Mumbai' (2007), and 'Twenty: 20' (2008).

In Tamil cinema, Mani gained immense popularity with the portrayal of the baddie in 'Gemini' (2003). He went on to do negative roles in 'Aaru', 'Mazhai' (2005) and 'Vel'.

Mukesh Rishi

Mukhesh Rishi preferred South Indian screen for his second innings in movies. Nevertheless, Telugu cinema found its quintessential villain in Mukesh.

From playing the dreaded Veerashankar Reddy in 'Indra' (2002), to the vengeful factionist in 'Saleem' (2009), Mukesh has enthralled audiences with his loud portrayal of the negative.

His other pivotal roles in Telugu cinema include the ones in 'Simhadri' (2003), 'Bangaram' (2006), and 'Shambho Shiva Shambho'.

Sonu Sood

Make way for Tollywood's latest sensation in villainy. The suave, sexy Sonu Sood! He is surely one mighty contender for the top spot in this 'infamous' line-up.

Debuting with the much-celebrated 'Super' in 2005, Sonu created waves with 'Ashok'.

In 2009, Sonu came back on screen in the role of a nasty, womanizing prince named Pashupati, who turns into a vengeful spirit; 'Arundhati' became a colossal hit and Sonu won the Telugu Filmfare award for his performance.

Sayaji Shinde

Known for his cacophonic dialogue delivery, Sayaji Shinde has had his share of good luck in both Kollywood and Tollywood.

His hits from Tamil include 'Dhool' (2003), 'Azhagiya Tamizh Magan' (2007), 'Thoranai' (2009) and 'Aadhavan' (2009). In Telugu, Sayaji featured prominently in 'Tagore' (2003), 'Veerabhadra' (2006), and the recent hit 'Arya 2'.

His on-screen histrionics and ability to adapt to new roles have also made him one of the top character artistes in Tollywood.

Raghuvaran

Noted for his one-of-a-kind voice, on-screen presence and flowing charisma, the Late Raghuvaran showed us all that even good looking men can be menacing and villainous.

Raghuvaran acted in over a hundred Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada films. His popularity was attributed to a special style of dialogue delivery and a unique vocabulary of expressions.

His most popular roles of the decade include the ones in 'Bheema', 'Sivapathigaram' and 'Alaudin'. In Telugu, he played memorable baddies in 'Mass', 'Bobby', and 'Aazad'.

Suman

It was the Rajnikanth starrer, 'Sivaji: The Boss' (2007) that marked Suman's comeback to Tamil films... and a bang it was!

Viewers and critics appreciated Suman for his portrayal of the negative character, Adiseshan, which aided the success of the film considerably. The film was a hit in Telugu and Kannada as well.

Suman also acted in Vijay's 'Kuruvi'. He then played the baddie in the Malayalam period film, 'Pazhassi Raja', starring Mammootty.

Sai Kumar

An actor instrumental in aiding a host of super stars find their pitch, Sai Kumar is quite a watch when he plays the villain on screen.

Though the Kannada film enthusiast would have seen him more as a hero, Tamil and Telugu audiences are accustomed to Sai, the Baddie.

His recent films in Tamil, as a villain, are 'Thirunamgalam' and 'Irumbu Kottai Murattu Singam'. 'Aadi' and 'Samanyudu' were his notable Telugu releases of the decade.

Simbu

Simbu played the villain in 'Manmadhan' (2004); his performance as a psychotic womanizer won him the Tamil Nadu State Award for the Best Villain. The film ran well in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as well.

His next venture, 'Vallavan', was released in 2006; though his character had negative shades to it, the film didn't do well at the B.O.

Ajith

Every actor would love to do an anti-hero role at least once in their career. From Rajnikanth to Silambarasan, there are no exceptions to this craving. Mankatha is Ajith's 50th film and the actor unleashed his charm doing a baddie in Vaali repeats the act. Director Venkat Prabhu, known for doing light-hearted films, takes up an action-packed thriller in the company of the mass hero. If cricket was the basic crux of Venkat Prabhu's Chennai 600028 (his debut film as a director), Mankatha is also based on the willow game, albeit with a difference. The spotlight here is not on the field but on betting, money and the men behind it.

The actor who failed to cheer his fans in his previous flick Aasal, has managed to satisfy the appetite of his fans in Mankatha. Ajith slips into the role of the baddie whom we love to hate with �lan, hogging the limelight with his charismatic screen presence. While the first half is more an extension of the director's earlier films like Chennai 600028 and Saroja, the later half is dead serious, action-packed and racy. Vinayak Mahadevan (Ajith) is a suspended cop in Maharashtra police. He falls in love with Sanjana (Trisha), daughter of an influential local goon Arumuga Chettiyar (Jayaprakash). Vinayak is a man behind money. He has least respect for values in life, wants to become the richest. A suicide by a police officer investigating the betting mafia involved in Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket hogs headlines. Assistant Commissioner of Police Prithvi (Arjun) takes charge to free the sport from betting. Meanwhile, Arumuga Chettiyar, who comes to know that Rs 500 crore betting money for the finals of the IPL is coming to Mumbai, uses his underworld links to route it through his recreation centre.

Sumanth (Vaibhav) is Arumuga Chettiyar's prot�g�. He hatches a conspiracy to take away the money in the company of his friends - a police officer Ganesh (Ashwin), Mahanth (Mahanth), who runs a bar, and Prem (Premgi Amaran), an IIT graduate. When he comes to know of their plans, Vinayak steps in. He promises to help the team members and divide the wealth between them. They even succeed in taking away the money and decide to wait for an appropriate time to share the fortune. In the meantime, a shocked Arumuga Chettiyar begins his hunt for the treasure though every move of him is being closely followed by Prithvi. The attention then shifts to Vinayak and the battlelines are redrawn - it is nowVinayak vs Prithvi.

After a long gap, Ajith sheds the stereotype tag. Arjun plays the Action King role to perfection. Trisha, Andrea, Anjali and Lakshmi Rai play minuscule roles. Vaibhav and Jayaprakash leave their mark on screen. Yuvan Shankar Raja's music is passable with a couple of racy tunes. Sakthi Saravanan's cinematography is a major strength. Venkat Prabhu seems to have played to Ajith's strength in Mankatha. The actor's mass appeal has given the director the liberty to add more of action and punch lines. On the flip side, the first half is too lengthy and long sequences mar the flow. All said, Ajith fans will love this film.

Sudeep

Sudeep is an actor, director, producer and singer, who hails from Shimoga, Karnataka. He stars primarily in Kannada films and is well-known in Sandalwood, Tollywood and Bollywood.

The buzz is that 'Naan Ee' villain Sudeep is going to fight with Vijay in 'Yohan Adhyayam Ondru'.

Vidyut Jamwal

You may not recognize his name, but if you have been watching the promos for the action packed Force then we are sure you have taken notice of him. We are talking about the villain of the piece who is played by a newcomer Vidyut Jamwal. An expert in martial arts, he says he has been training for this role since he was about three. We got the exclusive chance to chat with Vidyut and had a great time talking about the film, working with John Abraham and his absolute favorite thing - action. May we introduce Vidyut Jamwal.