Actor, Jaideep Ahlawat Calls Out Bollywood’s Fixation With ‘Hero’ And ‘Villain’ Tags, ‘..Is Idiotic’

There was a time in Bollywood when the film industry was completely fixated with romantic heroes. Since then, however, recent films have seen a growing trend toward anti-heroes who are not only gritty, gory, and dark, but also lead the story forward. Some of the most well-known films to cash in on this trend are Ranbir Kapoor starrer, Animal, which came out in 2023, and the recently released Dhurandhar.  

Amid this, actor, Jaideep Ahlawat, who is best known for his intense performances and nuanced character portrayals, has come forward and called out the Hindi film industry’s unhealthy and outdated obsession with casting characters strictly as heroes or villains. According to him, this practice ‘demeans’ complex characters. Furthermore, it also stops the story from reaching its full creative potential.  

Jaideep Alhawat’s take on heroes and villains  

If you follow Jaideep Alhawat’s works closely, you might be aware that the actor recently appeared on The Family Man 3. On the show, he plays the character of ‘Rukma’, a ruthless drug smuggler. As the antagonist, his character often clashes with the lead, Srikant Tiwari, played by Manoj Bajpayee. Fans loved the richness with which Jaideep portrayed his ‘villain’ of a character. Following the praise he received from the show’s viewers and critics, he recently talked about Indian cinema’s fixation on characters who can be easily sorted into either the hero or villain category. According to him, terms such as ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ do a disservice to richly written characters. He said:  

“Ek shabd to hamein nikaal Dena chahiye apni cinema ki dictionary se jo hai ‘villain’. Only in India, we are obsessed with the terms ‘hero’ and ‘villain’; nowhere else in the world is that used. We should avoid these words as you automatically demean the amazingly written character with it.”  

Jaideep’s take on this issue comes at a time when morally grey characters and anti-heroes who defy easy classifications are being accepted with open arms by movie fanatics. This helps films and series, both in India and worldwide, showcase how characters can co-exist with all sorts of motivations, flaws, and virtues, essentially blurring the line between traditional protagonists and antagonists. A quick look at Jaideep’s own career reflects this shift. For instance, his character in Family Man 3 cannot be merely dismissed as someone ‘bad’. Instead, ‘Rukma’ is a character with so many layers that it should help viewers not only critique him but also empathise with him.  

Jaideep Alhawat’s thoughts on taking on ‘negative’ roles 

Before the fame he received with his portrayal of ‘Rukma’ in Family Man 3, he held the lead role in series such as Paatal Lok, which was also a huge hit with the audience. When asked if he felt apprehensive at all when taking on not only a secondary role but also a character that’s fairly ‘negative’, he dismissed the idea outright. He claimed: 

“That thought never crossed my mind. I just found it as a great opportunity to act which was very different… There’s nothing to lose, so what will be the apprehension? To think that why am I doing a negative role when I have my own show, is idiotic. It’s about new challenges.” 

In 2025, we saw Jaideep playing the antagonist in another film titled Jewel Thief. Here, he starred opposite Saif Ali Khan. What grabbed viewers’ attention in this film was not only Jaideep’s overall performance but also his dance to the film’s song, Jaadoo, which left everyone surprised with his skills. 

Do you agree with Jaideep Alhawat’s take on heroes and villains? Let us know.  

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