Suniel Shetty to play villain in Rajinikanth's 'Darbar'

Suniel Shetty will be seen playing the role of an antagonist in Rajinikanth's next "Darbar".

The cop drama will be directed by AR Murugadoss.

"He is playing the role of a villain, very stylised villain. In this action film he will be seen as a businessman," a source close to the actor told PTI.

The actor has earlier played a negative part in Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Main Hoon Na" (2004).

The 57-year-old actor will begin the shoot for "Darbar" in July in Mumbai.

Rajinikanth, who plays the role of a cop, started shooting for the film in Mumbai in mid-April.

This isn't Shetty's debut in south. He has previously acted in Malayalam movies. He recently wrapped up Priyadarshan's multi-lingual period drama "Marakkar: The Lion of Arabian Sea", which also stars Mohanlal.

Shetty will also be seen in a Kannada film "Pailwaan" alongside Sudeep.

Besides his south commitments, Shetty will be seen reuniting with Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal for the third installment of "Hera Pheri".