Vijay Sethupathi on portraying vicious villain in Tamil blockbuster Master

By: Mohnish Singh

Vijay Sethupathi is one of the finest actors working in Tamil cinema. He has to his credit several memorable performances that left an indelible impact on viewers’ minds. The talented actor is presently riding high on the riotous success of his latest release Master (2020) which opened to great critical acclaim and packed houses in cinemas.

The Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial sees Sethupathi in the role of a deadly villain. Though he has essayed villainous characters in several films before, his outstanding act in Master stands out from the rest.

Sharing his experience of playing the antagonist in the much-loved film, Sethupathi tells a publication, “My director Lokesh Kanagaraj and I had to be very careful about not making my character Bhavani’s evil look attractive. I believe it is cinema’s responsibility to not glorify evil.”

He goes on to add, “Whether it is good or evil, it is all within all of us. It is up to us to tap which side of our personality we want to show. I can tell you with confidence that I am not a basically good guy. But I want to be a good guy.”

In Master, Sethupathi’s character Bhavani kills two children. It was definitely a disturbing thought for the award-winning actor. “The idea of killing two kids in Master really worried me. I did not want to make the violence anything but disturbing for the audience. The director and I had several discussions on this. We decided not to show the actual killings of the children. We wanted to show how evil the man is,” he concludes.

Vijay Sethupathi next stars in Uppena, Tughlaq Darbar, Kadaisi Vivasayi, Maamanithan, Laabam, Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelir, Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kaadhal, Mumbaikar, and Idam Porul Yaeval, to name a few. Buzz also has it that he is set to star alongside Katrina Kaif in Sriram Raghavan’s next Hindi film.