Nani as serial killer in 'V': 12 onscreen heroes who played the villain

Nani's 25th film, V, will see the actor playing the antagonist for the first time. And not just any villain but a serial killer, if the buzz around the film is true. The trailer suggests that Nani will be playing a psychopath who challenges a cop to catch him. Directed by Mohana Krishna Indraganti, the film will release on Amazon Prime Video on September 5.

Most actors, once they play the lead, are reluctant to take on negative roles. If at all they do, they may play a hero with negative shades but not the outright villain even if they may have experimented with the antagonist's role at the beginning of their career. However, there have been a few times when established stars have chosen to play the villain.

Here's a list of such stars and their films.

Fahadh Faasil: Fahadh is known to take up any and every kind of role though he's among the biggest stars of the current generation and usually plays the lead. However, he's played the villain in films like 22 Female Kottayam, where he lures young women into a rape and blackmail racket, and Kumbalangi Nights, where he plays a controlling, patriarchal psychopath. In Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, he plays a nameless thief who is pitted against a young couple (Suraj Venjaramoodu and Nimisha Sajayan).

Vijay Sethupathi: Like Fahadh, Vijay Sethupathi is also known for taking up different kinds of roles despite his stardom. He famously played the villain in Vikram Vedha, a film where he's pitted opposite a police officer played by Madhavan. Vijay Sethupathi also played one of the villains in Petta, which had Rajinikanth in the lead. He's playing the antagonist in Vijay's upcoming film Master, too.

Rana Daggubati: Who can forget Bhallaladeva from the Baahubali franchise? Rana played the chief villain in both the films which had Prabhas playing the larger-than-life Baahubali. The actor played the jealous cousin who plots a beloved king's murder.

Sudeep: The popular Kannada star has played the villain quite a few times in other industry films. His portrayal of the villain in Eega especially came under much praise. He played an evil corporate boss who is annoyed a great deal by the hero who takes the form of a fly (yes, you read that right). He was also the villain in Salman Khan's Dabangg 2 and is part of the third film in the franchise too.

Prithviraj: Prithviraj has acted across industries and mostly plays the hero. However, his role in Mumbai Police, where he plays a police officer with memory loss who's investigating a crime, was highly acclaimed. It turns out that the criminal he was hunting was himself. Prithviraj has been revealed to be the villain in other films of his such as 7th Day, Ezra and 9. He also played the villain in the Hindi film Naam Shabana. In Ayyappanum Koshiyum as well as Driving License, he played a privileged man who is pitted against the underdog, with the scripts giving equal importance to both.

Rajinikanth: The actor has played the villain in several films before he became the Superstar. And post that, he's played the hero with negative shades. But for him to turn a proper villain again, the hero could only be Rajinikanth! His act as the 'bad robot' in Endhiran was a delight for fans who relished seeing their Thalaivar back as the antagonist.

Tovino Thomas: Tovino has played a wide range of roles in the Malayalam industry including the hero with negative shades. He made his Tamil debut playing the villain in Maari 2. He played a character called Gangadhar Beeja, who's out to seek vengeance for his brother's murder.

Varun Tej: In Gaddalakonda Ganesh, the Telugu remake of the Tamil film Jigarthanda, Varun Tej played a gangster who makes a fool of himself. He believes he's starring in a biopic glorifying his life but ends up looking foolish because of the way in which the film is made. The role was played by Bobby Simha in the original.

Kamal Haasan: The actor is known for his versatile roles and has also played the villain. He was the psychopath in Sigappu Rojakkal and Aalavandhan. Other antagonist roles include Indrudu Chandrudu and Indian (where he plays the corrupt son to a principled father).

Ajith: Ajith's dual roles in Vaali are among his best performances so far. The actor played a man with speech and hearing disabilities who lusts after his brother's girlfriend and later wife. The other Ajith is ignorant of what's happening though his wife has her suspicions.

Vijay: Vijay played the dual roles of Guru and Prasad in Azhagiya Tamil Magan, where the good character is able to foretell the future and tries to prevent the villain from harming his girlfriend. As the villain, VIjay played a corrupt womanizer who tries to outsmart the hero but reforms towards the end.

Suriya: In 24, Suriya played triple roles, a scientist, his evil twin and the scientist's son. In this film based on time travel, the evil twin, Athreya, kills his brother in order to take possession of a watch that can help people travel through time.

Watch the trailer of V here: