Nikitin Dheer: We have stopped celebrating villains in Hindi films

Nikitin Dheer’s role as the rough and tough antagonist Thangaballi in Chennai Express (2013) further cemented his skills at playing the baddie.But even before that, Nikitin Dheer had been the villain in films such as Dabangg 2 (2012) and Ready (2011).

It was in Shershaah recently that he got a chance to break away from those kind of roles, and play an Army officer. Ask him if he feels this image became a problem for him in his career, and he is quick to say, “I don’t think anything is a block as long as you are doing your job well. That counts. In other parts of India, be it Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, the villain is celebrated as much as the hero, not only in the narrative, but also story telling.”

The 41-year-old adds that somehow, that has gone for a toss in the Hindi film industry in the last couple of years. “I really hope that comes back to life, so that young actors like us can aspire to be the next Amrish Puri, Praan saab, dream of achieving something like that, which is not only negative but a whole range of characters. People never treated Amrish ji as villain, they loved him as Mogambo, Gabbar (antagonist in Sholay), aise characters roz roz nahi likhe jaate. Villains can be celebrated again, somewhere that is lost,” says Dheer, who will be seen next in Antim: The Final Truth.

He says that he has just ‘started off’, and tried his level best to not be repetitive in any way. “I see my career, whatever little I have done, it is all different from one another. I can’t do the same things again, I don’t repeat any character, and I am in a space I am comfortable in. That has always been my endeavour,” he ends.