Mollywood comedians turns baddies !

Comedians are generally perceived as loveable and jovial people. But what happens when one fine day they take a dark turn to portray a role, which is diametrically different from what they have been doing on screen so far? If the success of some of the comedians who have turned villains in Malayalam in the recent time is any indication, Malayali audience love it when they make them laugh, but it feels even better when they play someone who the audience loathe.

It was Jeethu Joseph's thriller Drishyam that catapulted mimicry artiste Kalabhavan Shajon to popularity. For the first time, the audience saw the actor playing a full-fledged negative character. Shajon's roles in Jeethu Joseph's My Boss and Drishyam are as different as chalk and cheese. The audience have lapped up his villainous avatar, but Shajon says though he is open to playing diverse roles, it is not easy for a mimicry artiste to bag a negative role or a character role. "Directors were ready to give me only comedy roles, but Jeethu decided to take the risk. He had narrated the script to me while I was shooting for My Boss. But at that time I was unaware that Jeethu had a negative role for me in Drishyam," says Shajon.

Although Shajon's role as Sahadevan was well-received by the audience, the actor says he does not intend to continue playing negative roles in films and has taken up comedy roles in his forthcoming projects. "I don't intend to do a negative role immediately as there are chances of viewers drawing a comparison with my role in Drishyam," he says.

Actor Tini Tom, who has proved his mettle playing comic and negative roles, says he enjoys playing characters with negative shades. After Beautiful, in Lal Jose's latest offering, Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal, the actor portrayed a similar role. However, Tini says he don't want to continuously play such character as he might get stereotyped.

Like Shajon and Tini, Suraj Venjaramoodu too has showcased his brilliance as a comedy star and villain. It was Avira Rebecca's Pigman that brought out his 'villainy' to the fore. Suraj, who portrayed Dr Daniel in the movie, says, "An actor should be able to fit into any role with ease. For me, doing negative roles is easier than playing comedy roles."

After flaunting the funny side in comedy show Marimayam, S P Sreekumar successful essayed the role of a serial killer in Memories. In an earlier interview with us, he had said, "Acting is my passion and hence I don't mind playing a comic role, a serious one or even a character with grey shades. It all depends on the quality of work, and whatever role I do, I will do it with all sincerity."

Kalabhavan Mani is another 'hilarious baddie', who now has his hands full with villain roles, not only in Malayalam but in Tamil and Telugu as well. The actor recently even won awards for villain roles in Malayalam and Tamil.

We can hope that these actors, who cast aside their clownishness to chill us to the bone, will inspire many more to come out of their comfort zones and try out new roles.