19 January,2009 06:41 AM IST | | S Suresh Kumar
When it comes to facing off with evil, super star Rajini wants none but the best in business. Danny Denzongpa, the man who played the chillingly suave villain in countless Bollywood films, has donned the greasepaint for Rajinikanth's hi-tech flick, Endhiran.
Man for all seasons
The sci-fi film, directed by Shankar, is the Tamil super star's current obsession. According to insiders, Rajini has been hunting for the perfect villain and found him in Danny.u00a0
You've got to hand it to Rajini. Every film of his featured a memorable villain and the super star doesn't feel a tad insecure even if the best lines are reserved for the bad guy.
Naturally, the chemistry is sizzling when good and evil come face-to-face on screen, and Rajini's directors have a tough time choosing the next bad guy.
Satya Raj, the villain of Mr Bharath, stunned audiences with his stylish dialogue delivery and diabolic smile.
Amrish Puri added a classy touch to villainy in Thalapathy as the smooth-talking politician with a twisted mind.
Raghuvaran, the good looking dude who meandered into villainous roles, excelled inu00a0u00a0 Basha, while Nepolitan excelled as Vallavarayan in Yejaman.
The women were not to be left behind. Ramya Krishnan's career highlight remains her role in Padayappa, where she looked and played her part to perfection. As the arrogant and unflinching zamindar woman, she matched Rajini, line for line and smirk for smirk.
Suman, who began his career as a hero but stumbled into villainy, was much appreciated for his role in Shivaji the Boss.
Jaishankar, Sendhama-rai, Radha Ravi, Prabhakaran, Vijaya-shanthi and Vijayakumar have special memories of the Rajini films they've acted in, where their roles had shades of grey.
As real as they come
Danny has earned his spurs in Bollywood in the literal sense. Every Danny movie was sure to have a thrilling chase sequence, where he rode horses in style. An equestrian sport enthusiast, Danny confessed that he had always wanted to join the Army but ended up at the National School of Drama, Pune.u00a0
The NSD graduate, who made villainy fashionable, has been honoured with Padma Shree for contribution to cinema.
His greatest regret till date is the fact that he missed playing Gabbar in Sholay because of date hassles. But gracious man that he is, Danny considers Amjad Khan's Gabbar as Bollywood's best villain ever.
Danny has shared the screen with Hollywood hunks like Brad Pitt in Seven Years in Tibet.u00a0
His self-imposed exile from films ended two years ago when he signed up for films like Frozen, Hat-trick, Big Brother, Chamku, Karzzz and now Endhiran.
