Sanjay Dutt on iconic Bollywood villains and the comeback of larger than life films

Over the course of his over four decade long career, Sanjay Dutt has essayed a wide range of characters in films across genres, including some memorable villains as well. Despite his illustrious career, the actor is still hungry for good work, and recently opened up about how excited he was to see the dawn of a new era in the film industry.

In conversation with ETimes, Sanjay spoke about how Bollywood had witnessed some iconic villains, citing the examples of Gabbar Singh from Sholay (1975) and Mogambo from Mr. India (1987). Calling them legendary figures in pop culture, Sanjay spoke of how there had been a phase in Bollywood where villains seemed to have disappeared from cinema completely. “But I feel larger-than-life films are making a comeback, and the villains will be back in a bigger and better avatar”, he said.

Sanjay went on to talk about how antagonistic characters in the past were complex and layered. But a lot of it was lost on the people who chose to view them in a one dimensional way.

Sanjay made his Kannada debut last year in Prashant Neel’s K.G.F: Chapter 2, in which he played the role of the antagonist, Adheera. The actor will also be seen playing anti-hero and antagonistic roles in his upcoming projects as well. Talking about the same, the actor said that each negative character he did was written to suit the story of the film, and he also tried to play them in a way that each of them stood apart.

The actor is all set to make his Tamil debut in the Venky Atluri directorial Leo, which stars Thalapathy Vijay in the lead. The film will be released in Tamil and Telugu on February 17, 2023.

There are also reports that Sanjay will play an antagonist in the upcoming film, Hera Pheri 4 as well.