Jaideep Ahlawat Wants Bollywood to Drop the Word ‘Villain’ — And He Has a Point

As morally grey characters dominate Hindi cinema, the actor argues that outdated labels are limiting how we view powerful performances.

At a time when Hindi cinema is increasingly leaning into morally complex storytelling, actor Jaideep Ahlawat believes Bollywood needs to rethink the language it uses to describe characters. With films like Animal and the recently released Dhurandhar putting dark, violent and emotionally layered figures at the centre of their narratives, Jaideep feels the problem isn’t the rise of anti-heroes — it’s the obsession with categorising them.

Speaking in a recent interview, the actor suggested that Bollywood should completely eliminate the word “villain” from its cinematic vocabulary. According to him, India is one of the few film industries still fixated on dividing characters into rigid boxes of “hero” and “villain.” He pointed out that this habit automatically diminishes the depth of well-written characters, reducing complex personalities into simplistic moral labels.

Jaideep’s comments come at a moment when audiences are clearly responding to layered roles that exist somewhere between right and wrong. Whether these characters are driving the plot or opposing the protagonist, he believes they deserve the same respect as any leading role — not to be dismissed as merely “negative.”

The actor’s own career reflects this evolving mindset. He earned massive critical acclaim as the central figure in Paatal Lok, a show that itself thrived on moral ambiguity. More recently, he appeared in The Family Man Season 3, sharing screen space with Manoj Bajpayee in what many would traditionally call an antagonist role. However, Jaideep revealed that the thought of playing a “negative” character never even crossed his mind. For him, the role was simply an exciting acting challenge and an opportunity to collaborate with some of the finest talent in the industry while becoming part of the popular The Family Man franchise.

Jaideep has also been clear about not letting insecurity dictate his choices. He has openly stated that worrying about why one should play a darker role after headlining a successful show makes no sense to him. For the actor, growth lies in exploring new challenges, not in protecting an image built around outdated definitions.

As Bollywood continues to blur the lines between heroes and antagonists, voices like Jaideep Ahlawat’s highlight a larger shift — one where characters are judged by their writing and performance, not by labels that no longer reflect the stories being told.

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