Rajinikanth has not had a formidable Tamizhan villain star opposite him in years. His next film, Darbar, will be no different. Hindi actor Prateik Babbar, who has starred in films like Ekk Deewana Tha and Dhobi Ghaat, has been signed to play the villain in Superstar’s next film.
Darbar is directed by AR Murugadoss, and will feature Rajinikanth as a cop after 25 years.
Babbar is elated, unlike Rajini fans. “It is such a dream come true to have bagged this project in such little time. This year is looking very positive for me and Sanya (Babbar’s wife, Sanya Sagar) has been such a great influence on my life professionally and personally,” he shared in an interview. “I can’t wait to commence shooting with Rajinikanth sir and AR Murugadoss sir this week and create some magic,” he added.
Initially, it was rumoured that SJ Suryah will play Rajini’s antagonist in Darbar. This got fans excited. The actor made a sinister villain in Mersal and Iraivi, and he would surely bring on the heat with Darbar. Alas, it was not meant to be.
Rajini’s characters have been faced with non-Tamil villains in his last few movies. Kaala, 2.0 and Petta all had Bollywood actors as the baddie, Kabali had a Chinese villain and Lingaa had a Caucasian one. Before that, in Enthiran, he himself played the antagonist. Perhaps his last terrifying Tamil-ish villain he encountered was Adhiseshan, played by Telugu actor Suman in Sivaji.
But you KNOW which villain of Rajinikanth was our favourite. Will a villain as fearsome as Neelambari ever be cast again opposite Rajini?
Darbar is set to his the screens in January 2020.
