Liked Vijay Sethupathi as Kaali in Jawan? Check out his other villain roles

This is perhaps the weakest antagonist role played by Vijay Sethupathi, but he still manages to do his best in making it a worthy opponent to Kamal Haasan’s Vikram. Sandham doesn’t have a conviction as Uppenna’s Rayanam or Master’s Bhavani. Though he is psychotic and impulsive, he is at the end of the day a cog in the wheel, who is terrified of the super boss Rolex. Despite the limited scope, Sethupathi brings humour and a sense of desperation to the role. And, of course, there’s Sethupathi’s trademark cynical demeanour that stays with him till the end of the film. It is sad that we won’t be seeing more of Sandham. But with Lokesh Kanagaraj, one cannot be sure.

Jithu in Petta:

Vijay Sethupathi as Jithu in Petta is fun. The introduction scene of the character where he gatecrashes a Valentine’s Day party as a Hindu outfit member is hilarious. “Vaangada kalachaaratha kaapatha polaam (Come let’s go save our culture),” he says with natural sarcasm. In the bigger scheme of things in Petta, Jithu is the most pitiable character as he goes up aganist Petta Velan (Rajinikanth). However, the role despite being a villain is mostly used for humour that’s subtle and effective.

Casteist in Uppenna: 

While the Telugu film Uppenna is regarded as the first film to feature Vijay Sethupathi as a villain, he had played characters with similar shades even as early as 2014 in Vanmam. Though the film didn’t feature him as an out-and-out baddie, it definitely showed the actor could be effortless as an antagonist. He later played a small baddie role in the Kannada film Akhaada. All such teasers came to fruition in Uppenna (2021). Sethupathi played the role of the zamindar named Rayanam, who puts caste pride and honour before anything else. When his daughter elopes with a Dalit fisherman, (spoilers ahead) he castrates the guy. However, that doesn’t stop his daughter from seeking out her lover. It is easy to understand why Sethupathi had to play the role. For an actor, who aced playing Shilpa, a transgender woman, in Super Deluxe, a film that redefines masculinity is a natural and enticing choice.

Child Killer in Master:

At the audio launch of Jawan, director Atlee said that no one is grasping what Vijay Sethupathi is doing with his career. “Nobody understands the things that he is pulling off. They will only understand it in retrospect… the height you have scaled.” It is true because the Tamil industry is a place where stars like MG Ramachandra emerged, who steered away from playing hardcore antagonist roles. Even in the films where MGR played the baddie, he invariably becomes a good guy. On the other hand, there have been pretty horrific villains like Sathyaraj who played a pedophilic rapist Ramarathinam in 24 Mani Neram (1984). Sathyararaj could go hardcore because he made his career playing villain roles before transitioning into a hero. On the other hand, heroes who turned to the dark side, though umpteen, never dared to go full monstrous like how Vijay Sethupathi did in Vijay’s Master. Bhavani (Vijay Sethupathi) in Master, despite his swag and devil-may-care attitude, is a child killer at the end of the day. Imagine being called Makkal Selvan and accepting a role where you have to kill a juvenile with a chicken bone and later hang him in the very classroom he studies.

Vijay Sethupathi can do such roles because he is not a hero but an actor. He can be whatever he wants to be.