Playing villainous roles never bored me: Govind Namdev

Govind Namdev has made a name for himself in Hindi cinema as a villain and the actor says with every project, he has always tried to play the negative roles differently.

The 68-year-old actor has played the antagonist in films such as "Bandit Queen", "Prem Granth", "Virasat", "Satya", "Sarfarosh" and "Oh My God!", among others.

Namdev says he is happy he decided to play negative roles early in his career.

"There is no similarity in the roles that I have played. I never felt bored playing the villain. Every character has a 'sur' (tone). I have always tried to bring newness to every character - be it language, body language or characterisation," he said PTI in an interview.

When Namdev made his foray into Hindi cinema, the actor says he observed there were only three main roles in a film - hero, heroine and a villain, everything else was secondary.

"... I wanted to be in the main circuit. I played villainous roles by choice. But today the focus has shifted to positive and secondary characters, who take the story ahead. And, I have played positive roles as well," he says.

"Playing multi-shaded characters and villain parts are more challenging any day. Actors have their own image. The way they portray (negative) characters audience tends to have soft corner for them. Villains are not portrayed or presented in scariest way, there is softness today," he adds.

Namdev has been in the industry for almost three decades, but the actor still gets excited for every film that he does.

"I give my maximum for everything I do - be it theatre or films. I have become more mature as an actor and try to keep doing better.

"I keep learning. I am a constant learner of cinema," Namdev, a National School of Drama graduate says.

Despite frequently essaying the role of villain, Namdev has displayed a diverse range having played light-hearted, hard-hitting and complex characters, in films such as "Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana", "Singham", "Heroine" and "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani", among others.

He has a string of new releases up his sleeve - comedy "Rangeela Raja" with Govinda, family drama "Time Nahi Hai", Bihar-based political drama "Dusshera" and thriller "Kaashi in Search of Ganga".