Jaideep Ahlawat says villain tag degrades well-written characters in cinema
Actor Jaideep Ahlawat reflected on the Hindi film industry’s obsession with the word “villain”. He argued that it was insulting to the character.
At a time when Hindi cinema is increasingly exploring morally ambiguous anti-heroes – as seen in gritty, dark films like Animal and the recently released Dhurandhar – actor Jaideep Ahlawat is questioning traditional screen labels. The actor, who is known for playing a powerful antagonist in the series – The Family Man Season 3, believes that the industry should completely remove the word “villain” from its lexicon.
Jaideep, in an interview with Hindustan TimesReflects the Hindi film industry’s obsession with the word villain. He said, “We should remove one word from the dictionary of our cinema, which is villain.”
The actor said, “Only in India, we are obsessed with the words ‘hero’ and ‘villain’, it is not used anywhere else in the world. We should avoid these words because you automatically insult a wonderfully written character.”
On ignoring apprehensions while agreeing to play a negative roleThe Family Man Season 3 The actor highlighted, “The idea never crossed my mind. I just had a great opportunity to do this acting that was so different, and to work with one of the best actors we have, with some of the best crew, and to join his legacy.” The Family Man,
Jaideep concluded, “Thinking why I am doing a negative role when I have my own show is silly. It’s about new challenges.”
The 45-year-old’s recent spy-thriller series, The Family Man 3 also starred Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Nimrat Kaur, Ashlesha Thakur, Vedant Sinha, Shreya Dhanwantri and Gul Panag in lead roles. The show is available for streaming on Prime Video.
Jaideep will next be seen in Siddharth Anand’s film KingWhich includes Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and her actor-daughter Suhana Khan. The film will also star Rani Mukherjee, Abhishek Bachchan, Abhay Verma and others in lead roles.
King is scheduled to release in 2026. The official date is yet to be confirmed.
