(This article is authored by Alar) 

Seeing the hero as a villain is nothing new in Tamil cinema. We can see this transformation in the actors like Raghuvaran and SJ Surya, while Sathyaraj made into the cinema as a villain and later played lead roles. Who would forget SJ Surya's pity character in 'Monster' and his spooky face in 'Spyder'? In Unnale Unnale, actor Vinay came in as a charmful young hero and made a mark in the hearts of young fans. But he came as a villain in 'Doctor' and 'Thupparivilaan' films and shook the bar.

Similarly, for the fans who are used to relish Suriya as a mass hero on the screen, in contrast, he gave a chance to be an anti-hero in the film, 24 and as Rolex in the recently released blockbuster 'Vikram' and made the fans quiver in the theatre. Noteworthy to add is Ajith's negative performance in 'Vaali' and in 'Mangatha', which have become his notable project to talk about.

But these biggies, performed as good characters, in giving new watching experience to the fans, rarely tick out to act as in the role of villain. But, in this sequence, Vijay Sethupathi has come from a completely different angle, if we look into the films he acted in so far, he has materialized as an anti-hero role more than a hero. Now in the queue for his projects, Pushpa 2 has also joined the queue of his antagonist films.

Vijay Sethupathi is already an Antagonist:

Even though Vijay Sethupathi has been acting since the early days, his latest films have become the talk of the town, as he is sheer successful in playing an antagonist and he is more liked by fans in the same way. Vijay Sethupathi has become a lucky charm of sorts for all mainstream filmmakers. 

Sethupathi played 'Jegan' in Sundarapandiyan, but as a negative role who dwells with jealousy and vengeance against the hero and lastly, he was the main planner to sketch the death game for Sasikumar and his friends. Maybe 'Pizza' is a horror film, but with a twist. Throughout the film, Michael aka Sethupathi sported a frightening face, but in end, he was revealed as a villain for the story as he drew a plan with his girlfriend to theft diamonds for their own sake.

'Soodhu Kavvum' is a black comedy treat, but had Vijay Sethupathi as a kidnapper. Jigarthanda gave himself a cameo to play Young Sethu (Bobby), who is a cold-blooded gangster. The 2017 released movie 'Vikram Vedha' is a major turnover in his film history, as the main antagonist for full time in the film. Fans who witnessed him as a young charming hero before 'Vikram Vedha', such as Dharma Durai, Rekka, Kavan, Sethupathi, Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum, 'Vedha' role was terrifically thrilled the audience with his greyish, dark sporting lookover.

His next 'Petta', served the same as 'Jithu', who was loved by fans as much as Rajinikanth in the film. He flawlessly suited the son of political rowdy in North. In 'Master', Vijay Sethupathi played the role of 'Bhavani', in which he uses children from the juvenile home as the scapegoat for his criminal activities. He gave a remarkable performance as a ruthless and brash persona in the film. The recent Kollywood smash hit, Vikram had Vijay Sethupathi’s role as Santhanam, a gangster. The deadly drug lord role was a breakthrough character in the line of his works. 

Now the hottest news doing the rounds in Kollywood and Bollywood is that Vijay Sethupathi has been approached to play the villain against Shah Rukh Khan in 'Jawan' directed by Atlee. He also ticked for Allu Arjun starring, 'Pushpa -2' by Sukumar, who was inspired by his 'Santhanam' in Vikram. The Pushpa-1 final act revealed Fahadh Faazil as a cop Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat and with Sethupathi now signed in, the drama between Allu Arjun, Vijay Sethupathi, and Fahadh Faazil will be more riveting than ‘Vikram’, the sources say.

Now the busiest star, Sethupathi will be making his Bollywood debut through 'Jawan', and so would Atlee and Nayanthara, who will be pairing up with Shah Rukh Khan. The makers of 'Jawan' had initially approached Rana Daggubati of 'Bahubali' fame. But he could not be a part of this project due to a lack of dates. Witnessing Vijay Sethupathi's striking roles he chooses for films makes us ask the famous quote by Kamal Hassan, 'Are you a Villain? or Hero?'. But Vijay Sethupathi's hopeful signature works say, he is picking as an actor.. not as a hero, as they both have a distinguishable essence.