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Jaideep Ahlawat calls out Bollywood's obsession with 'hero' and 'villain': Only in India is…
Jaideep Ahlawat talks about how the label ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ demean well-written characters and his association with The Family Man 3
With films like Animal (2023) and the recently-released Dhurandhar, Bollywood has been cashing in on the trend of anti-heroes in film. Not just the romantic heroes, but the Hindi film industry has been experimenting a lot with gritty, gory and dark characters who take the story forward as the lead.
Giving his take on the same, actor Jaideep Ahlawat who played the antagonist in The Family Man 3 recently, says, "Ek shabd to hamein nikaal Dena chahiye apni cinema ki dictionary se jo hai 'villain'. Only in India, we are obsessed with the terms 'hero' and 'villain', nowhere else in the world is that used. We should avoid these words as you automatically demean the amazingly written character with it."
Having his own show Paatal Lok on the same platform, where he plays the leading man, was he apprehensive of taking on a secondary role in The Family Man 3 alongside Manoj Bajpayee? “That thought never crossed my mind. I just found it as a great opportunity to act which was very different, and work with one of the finest actors that we have, some of the finest crew and join the legacy of The Family Man,” he responds.
Jaideep Ahlawat adds, "There's nothing to lose, so what will be the apprehension? To think that why am I doing a negative role when I have my own show, is idiotic. It's about new challenges." The Family Man 3 arrived last month with Manoj Bajpayee, Sharib Hashmi and Priyamani returning as the regular cast members and Jaideep and Nimrat Kaur joining in as the new entrants. The Raj and DK creation got positive reviews on its release, and has since been trending.
As for Jaideep, the actor played the antagonist in another film this year, Jewel Thief, opposite actor Saif Ali Khan. His dance in the film's song Jaadoo especially got the audience's attention, with him surprising everyone with his skills.
