Merry Christmas star Vijay Sethupathi says he is tired of playing the antagonist in films

Vijay Sethupathi is gearing up for the release of his mystery thriller film Merry Christmas. The movie also stars Katrina Kaif and will hit the big screen on December 28. Ahead release of the film, the actor opened up about playing the role of antagonist in movies. 

Why did Vijay Sethupathi start playing negative roles? 

In a conversation with Pinkvilla, Vijay Sethupathi spoke about taking on negative roles. The actor mentioned that he liked the way villains think which is why he said yes to playing the role of villain in Lokesh Kanagraj’s Master (2021). The actor played a villain in the Atlee-directed Jawan, which marked his debut in Bollywood. 

Speaking about the liberty that comes with playing a negative role, Vijay said, “I thought playing a villain is so much freedom. You kill people, and then you torture people, and you have fun in it, which you can't do in real life. Inside everybody, there's a big criminal, we control them, which I want to try. In the same way, why villain should have an angry face always? Why villain doesn't have comedy in his life? Why villain doesn't have fun in his life? So, I want to have all those things and perspective.”

Why is Vijay Sethupathi tired of playing the villain? 

In the same conversation, the actor went on to say that as soon as he accepted the role of a villain, he kept getting offers to play a similar character on screen. He added, “They started approaching me for regular kind of villain things. I already don't have time to listen to stories in which I'm playing a hero; now I have to sit and listen to stories for villain roles, and it becomes an emotional block because I meet everybody.” 

The actor further mentioned that he decided to take a break from the multiple offers of pan-Indian films he was getting. He added, “But slowly, I couldn't handle it; I got a little confused. So, I decided, let's not do it for some time; I need to relax; otherwise, too many approaches are coming for pan-Indian movies. Hence, I decided to stop and relax. Later, we will decide if something I really feel like, then I will start. That’s the reason, nothing else.” Vijay Sethupathi will be seen alongside Katrina Kaif in his second Bollywood movie, Merry Christmas. The film is directed by Sriram Raghavan and will release on January 12 in theatres.