Opinion | Enter Real Khalnayak: How Sanjay Dutt Became South's Favourite 'Villain'

When director Prashanth Neel signed on Hindi actor Sanjay Dutt for KGF Chapter 2, no one thought much of it. In fact, Neel's casting of the Khalnayak star as 'Adheera' was peculiar. The 65-year-old Sanjay Dutt, who made his stunning debut over four decades back with Rocky (1981), had played everything from Bollywood hero to villain, and yet, his career had been in the doldrums for the last few years. But KGF 2 proved to be an unexpected turning point. 'Adheera' turned Dutt into one of South cinema's most sought-after 'villains'. But why, and how?

Making A Pan-Indian Film

South cinema has long had a propensity for signing on Hindi actors to play the anti-hero: Sonu Sood, Jackie Shroff, Arjun Rampal, Akshay Kumar, Neil Nitin Mukesh, are just a few examples. But 'Sanju Baba' seems to have outshone most others. "Filmmakers here believe that the audience gets bored of seeing the same old villains from their respective film industries. Moreover, the concept of pan-India cinema is seeing them cast actors from across industries. So, if they have a familiar face from Bollywood, it will help them promote their film in Hindi as well," says Bhargavi, who tracks the Kannada film industry. Dutt's gritty roles in the past have something to do here too. "His Khalnayak made a major impact and it was easier to convince the audience that he's a badass villain. The way Prashanth Neel presented him on screen made him more famous, and all the neighbouring South industries wanted to follow the same route. It was probably 'FOMO', or a belief that 'if we have Sanjay Dutt in our film, even our film will be as successful as KGF'," Bhargavi adds. 

Post-KGF 2, Dutt went on to play a villain in Leo, a Tamil film starring Thalapathy Vijay and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. Essaying the role of Anthony Das, Dutt was as intense and ruthless in Leo as the fierce and menacing Adheera in KGF 2. Leo cemented Dutt's position as a larger-than-life antihero who had both the physique and persona to take on a South star. Dutt's are not villains who are 'weak' or unconvincing; his age, experience and screen presence allow South directors to create roles that he can pull off with elan. Atlee, too, roped him in for a cameo in Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan,and though Dutt played a cop, the fact that the filmmaker wanted him in the film showed how popular the Hindi actor has become with South filmmakers.

The Irony Of Dutt's Past

In hindsight, it now seems ironic how Dutt's bad-boy persona off-screen, which he consciously tried to change over the last decade or so, affected his Hindi film career. To many, Rajkumar Hirani's 2018 film, Sanju, a dramatised biopic of the Rocky star, seemed like an attempt to redeem Dutt's past. And yet, today, it's this very ' bad boy' image which Dutt tried so hard to shed that has made him South's favourite antihero. Dutt himself seems to be in the mood for something new. "It's a risk that I took in my career when I played characters with different shades. It paid off because I was convinced that I could challenge myself as an actor. If I'm not convinced, then how will audiences be convinced? It was when I did Khalnayak that I realised that I should look for roles out of my comfort zone," the actor said in an interview in 2022. 

Come August 15, the Munna Bhai star will be seen as a 'baddie' again in the Telugu film Double iSmart, directed by Puri Jagannadh and starring Ram Pothineni. Another South film that will see Dutt essay a negative role is the highly anticipated KD: The Devil. "It's going to be exciting to see Sanju Baba as Dhak Deva in KD: The Devil. The first look had the audience hooked; it seems like he's playing a villain with a comical edge, which is something right up his alley. I still remember how brilliantly he balanced menace and humour in Agneepath. I have a feeling that director Prem will tap into that same energy, blending the intensity of Agneepath with the charm of Munna Bhai MBBS. The Kannada audience is in for a treat," says Bhargavi.

A Spirit Of Experimentation

At a song launch in Hyderabad this week, Dutt spoke about why he loved playing a villain in South films: it allowed him to explore a diverse range of emotions. That works well for the South industry too, which isn't scared to "experiment". "In South cinema, the villain has shades and a character arc - he is not a template 'bad guy' who just goes around beating or killing people. We want the villains here to be larger-than-life and yet different in every film - so we experiment," says a Tamil film director.

Naturally, Dutt's newfound glory in the South has given a fillip to his overall career. He has five films lined up this year. Two years back, shortly after the success of KGF 2, Dutt revealed in an interview that the film was his first-ever offer from the South. "I don't know why [I was never approached before]. I believe there is no segmentation today as the whole industry is one big family, which is a good thing for Indian cinema. We now represent the Indian film industry," he said. Going by the roles he's essaying, Dutt's resurrection as a star villain is symbolic of not just the emergence of a new Indian film industry, but also the arrival of a new-age, kick-ass Indian villain who is more than just guns and swank. 

(The author is a senior entertainment journalist and film critic)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author