Jagapathi Babu, a renowned actor known for his family hero roles in Tollywood, has made a successful transition from lead roles to villainous characters. He has garnered a significant following in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam cinema through his performances in negative roles. Recently, he received the IIFA Award for Best Villain for a Kannada movie, sparking a heated discussion in the Indian film industry. His remarks were unexpected coming from a seasoned actor like him, causing quite a stir among netizens.
“Awards Only for the Foolish?”
In the Kannada film ‘Kaatera,’ where actor Darshan played the lead, Jagapathi Babu portrayed a villain. His exceptional performance in this negative role won critical acclaim, and the film achieved blockbuster success in Kannada. During the recent IIFA Awards-2024 event in Dubai, Jagapathi Babu was honored with the Best Villain award. Responding to this, he shared a video with the caption, “The more foolishly you act, the more awards you get,” which has sparked controversy among netizens. Some suggest that if he dislikes receiving awards, he should return them.
What Promoted Jagapathi Babu’s Remarks?
It’s well-known that Jagapathi Babu started his career as a hero and was particularly famous among family audiences for his roles in family dramas. Despite his success, he did not receive awards to the extent he expected. However, since switching to character roles and villains, awards have started coming his way, particularly for his performances as a villain. Films like ‘Legend,’ ‘Nannaku Prematho,’ ‘Aravinda Sametha,’ and ‘Manyam Puli‘ (Telugu dub), and recently ‘Kaatera’ have brought him numerous accolades, including Nandi, Filmfare, SIIMA, and IIFA awards. His comment might have been influenced by the irony of receiving more awards for negative roles than positive ones.
A Turning Point with ‘Legend’
Competing against stalwarts like Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Venkatesh, and Nagarjuna, Jagapathi Babu has had many hits. However, as the opportunities for lead roles declined, he shifted to character roles, impressing in roles like big brother and police officer, but still not achieving the recognition he desired. It was during this lull that he received an offer from director Boyapati to play a villain opposite Balakrishna in ‘Legend,’ which turned his career around. His powerful portrayal of a formidable antagonist won everyone over, and since then, he hasn’t looked back.
Future Projects
Jagapathi Babu is busy with pan-India projects such as ‘Pushpa 2,’ directed by Sukumar and starring Allu Arjun. His role is rumored to be a negative one, although details haven’t been officially confirmed. He is also involved in the Tamil film ‘Kanguva,’ starring Surya, which is set to release worldwide on November 14. With these projects, Jagapathi Babu is expected to gain national prominence once again.
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