Nikitin Dheer’s role as the tough antagonist, Thangaballi, in Chennai Express (2013) cemented his skills at playing the baddie. But even before that, the actor had played negative roles in Dabangg 2 (2012) and Ready (2011).

However, the recent release Shershaah gave Dheer a chance to break away from essaying similar characters, and play an Army officer. Ask him if he feels being typecast would hurt his career and he replies, “I don’t think anything is a roadblock as long as you are doing your job well. In other parts of India, be it Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, or Kannada, the villain is celebrated just as much as the hero, not only in the narrative, but also storytelling.”

Recalling some iconic villain roles Hindi cinema has produced previously, the 41-year-old adds that the trend has been missing in the industry for the last few years. “I really hope that comes back to life, so that young actors like us can aspire to be the next Amrish Puri or Praan saab. It is not only negative, but a whole range of characters they explored. People never treated Amrish ji as villain, they loved him as Mogambo (Mr India; 1987). Aise characters roz-roz nahin likhe jaate. Villains can be celebrated again,” says Dheer, who will be seen next in Antim: The Final Truth.

Talking about the need for variety in the characters he chooses to portray, Dheer says that he has just “started off”, and is trying his best to not be repetitive. “I see my career, whatever little I have done, and it’s all different from one another. I don’t repeat any character, and I’m in a space that I’m comfortable in,” he signs off.