'Heroes are playing villains now'

Earlier the villain used to play a pivotal role in a film and efforts were made to establish his character. They would be given quirky dialogues like kitne aadmi the or Mogambo khush hua, and every time a distinct background score would introduce them on screen. Those were the days of presentation villains,” says Govind Namdev of Satya fame. “But things have changed now because subject-based films are being made. Heroes are playing villains now,” he adds.

The 56-year-old actor points out how this shift has wiped out the image of the dreaded on-screen villain whose evil, malevolent ways who were loved and hated in equal measure. “People used to love them. and they would get the best dialogues . Which is why we have so many popular dialogues by iconic villains like Amrish Puri,” he adds.

Namdev, who has mostly played villainous roles and has featured in films like Shola Aur Shabnam, Bandit Queen, Virasat and OMG-Oh My God! feels that an actor has to develop a certaintype of body language and vocabulary to work on fictional characters. “I can’t play every negative role with same characteristics. So, it becomes a challenge to develop a character and his characteristics in your mind and employ them,” he tells Metrolife.

Namdev has been in the industry for over two decades, and feels he is becoming mature as an actor. “I feel I am a better actor now. I am trying to change the way I act. For instance, when I watched Garv: Pride and Honour, I thought my character was too loud. So, I started to tone down the loudness”. “It is important to break the monotony,”
he adds.

His upcoming projects are a departure from what he has done so far. He is essaying the role of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai in Solar Eclipse. The story is an action drama that focuses on the lives of three police officers, who are well aware that Mahatma Gandhi’s life is at risk and they must act according to the information they have received.

“It is a pivotal character because Morarji shared an emotional bond with Gandhiji. He(Morarji) was extremely authoritative at that time,” he says.

For building this character, Namdev relied heavily on research papers and books. “There wasn’t much video footage available. So I developed his actions and attitude in my mind after reading exextensively about him,” he says.

According to him, playing real-life people on screen is challenging because “one has to tread cautiously”. “There isn’t much scope for improvement. But such roles inspire me to work hard, to imagine and think,” he says, adding he will also be doing a film on Anna Hazare in which he will be playing a villain.