Vijay Sethupathi As A Villain, Ranked

In trailer of Jawan, as Shah Rukh Khan warns “Naan villain ah munnadi vandhu ninna (If I come and stand in front of you as a villain), the video instantly cuts to a white-haired Vijay Sethupathi holding a rifle, whose eyes and weapon look straight into the camera. He plays Kalis, the fourth-largest weapon dealer in the world. Donning suits and sunglasses that accentuate his white beard, the silver fox Kalis is arguably Sethupathi’s most stylish antagonist yet.

Each year, a slew of films starring Sethupathi hits the screens. In fact, Jawan is his seventh release (including the Farzi series) in 2023, and he has Merry Christmas in line to finish this year in style. While some of his roles stand out, a few fail to make an impact. But whenever he breaks bad, he certainly makes a lasting impression. With Jawan as an excuse, we revisit his swag villains, ranking them in descending order.

Sundarapandian (2012)

Streaming on: SunNxt

For a lot of them who were introduced to Sethupathi in the past few years, here is a little flashback about his first villain role that came much before in 2012, the same year when he played a grey-shaded Michael in Pizza. Fresh off his successful debut as lead and a sophomore outing, he played Jegan, a rice mill owner in Sundarapandian. It is only after an hour into the film that we see Jegan, but warningly we are told that if he wants something, he will go to any extent to get it.

We don’t see the nefarious antics of Sethupathi’s villains that we see today, but the sparks of it are clearly visible. It is probably because Jegan has a very limited screen presence. But he pulls out all the stops in the final sequences of the film, where he oscillates between committing suicide and murdering his best friend to make sure he marries the girl he loves. 

Petta (2019)

Streaming on: Netflix

Tamil cinema doesn’t have many strong villains who go head-to-head with stars. That is probably why it was interesting to see Sethupathi fight Rajinikanth in this action entertainer. If you dismiss Sethupathi’s Jithu Singh as the kind of antagonist who boasts so much only to be offed too quickly, you are not wrong. If not for the big twist in the end, Jithu doesn’t get any powerful sequences. 

However, it is also evident that Karthik Subbaraj has crafted Jithu as an all brawn and no brains character. Sethupathi convinces us as a north-Indian gangster who leads so many evil men but also constantly feels insecure. Jithu burns an enemy alive in his quarry with no remorse but not before he is warned by his father that he might face the same fate if he fails to kill Petta (Rajinikanth). He easily falls prey to Petta’s trap. However, when it finally hits him, his bloodshot eyes only soften and he doesn’t even move; Jithu is too exhausted to fight back. Probably he is not the best among Sethupathi’s menacing villains, but there are so many layers in his character (though not fleshed out effectively) that make Jithu special among the many Bhavanis.

Vikram (2022)

Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5

Vikram was his last outing as a villain and arguably not only do none of his antagonist roles share similarities in writing but his looks and mannerisms are also largely varied. If we were going to rank Vijay Sethupathi’s body language as a villain, Vikram is going to be the top contender. Unlike his other villains who are carefree to some extent, Sethupathi never slouches as the drug lord Sandhanam, not even for a second in Vikram. There is always a certain charm or relatability in his villainy, but Sandhanam exudes none of those. 

But this complexity in his look, body language and characterisation is like a double-edged sword. On one hand, he appears unique and frightening at times, like during his introduction or pre-interval sequence. On the other hand, you mostly don’t feel he is a threat. The writing doesn’t seem to back him, especially with him also leading a huge family, which lends to many rib-tickling sequences. That said, his drug-powered action sequences and hard-hitting punches are something to watch out for. We could only hope that if he were alive, we could get to see more of him in the LCU.

Uppena (2021)

Streaming on: Netflix

Between 2019 and 2021, Sethupathi’s Jithu and Kotagiri Sesha Raayanam share a huge age gap. If Jithu is the son of an aged politician, Uppena's Raayanam is the old father of an 18-year-old girl. I didn’t think Sethupathi would actually make you entirely dislike any of his roles, but here we are. For Raayanam, honour comes first. He says, “My honour and life are inseparable from one another.” Without any signs of the actor, Raayanam is also the cruellest and the most relatable of his roles, one that you would detest so much that when he sort of realises or accepts his errors in the final stretch, it doesn’t feel enough. Sethupathi does everything to help you accept the sudden shift in the narrative that happens over a long pending conversation between the father and daughter. While it begins with him proudly narrating his evilest deed, he melts in the last few seconds. Yet you think he deserved a bigger lesson.

Master (2021)

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

Though Lokesh Kanagaraj didn’t fully crack the complexity of Sethupathi’s antagonist in Vikram, the knots are superbly placed in Master. The concept of Vikram Vedha where there is no good and bad is driven up a notch in this film. Bhavani could be the typical antagonist in the good vs. evil template of this Vijay-starrer, but having a backstory for this evil man, especially at the beginning of the film, changes a lot. The first 14 minutes of the film are solely dedicated to telling us how and why Bhavani chose to become a villain.

When Bhavani takes revenge against those who burnt his parents in front of his eyes, it could have all been the build-up to a tale of a vengeful hero in a different narrative. But here, he kills them to gain power. It is also the parallelly built hero-arc of Vijay who is shown as an alcoholic that adds complexity to the narrative. Like in most of his films, Sethupathi’s villain remains like a ghost. He appears on screen rarely but his threatening presence is almost always there. It is also why the film’s high moments like the first time Vijay and Sethupathi meet, where the former threatens him with a pen, work brilliantly. The initial complexity of the character gets watered down over the course of the film, but nevertheless, the way you go from sympathising with him and whooping for his revenge to fearing his heartless deeds makes Bhavani, an impactful character in Sethupathi’s filmography.

Vikram Vedha (2017)

Streaming on: ZEE5

Vedha is Sethupathi’s coolest villain. It is not that he doesn’t roam around with knives and guns, but he can also win your trust with his charm and swag. Like us, even Madhavan’s Vikram couldn’t help but listen to his stories in trance-like stage. At first, you get a deadly introduction about Vedha, but every time these leads meet, you begin to like Vedha a little more.

It is also in Vikram Vedha that you can see a lot of the actor’s personality, sarcasm and swag to name a few. He is always laidback but if he decides to scare you, you can’t escape. There is so much in the writing that makes Vedha unique and different, but it is one of Sethupathi’s best roles because the actor also adds so much to this character. In a scene where Vikram thrashes Vedha after the latter murders another cop named Simon, the character shouts in pain every time he is hit, he is breathless after all the running but also quips energetically in between. And every time this happens, you can also see how the actor loosens up and changes his body language. While he retorts with many famous Tamil dialogues like “Ungalukku vandha ratham, engalukku vandha thakkali chutney ah”, his character has also added to the pop culture with his  “Oru kadha sollata sir” act.