Rajeev in a still from City of God.

The tall man with brown eyes, chiselled nose and well-developed abs visible through his thin t-shirt would send chills down the spine of any girl.

But the supermodel from Kerala, Rajeev Pillai, opens up with a smile and says, “I am just back from my monthly Sabarimala trip, so how are you,” in his perfect Valluvanadan Malayalam.

The ferocious image looming largely over him as the cunning villain of the City of God or even the fuming terrorist of the 1993 Bombay March 12 melts in seconds as he talks further. “Believe me, I am content with being a villain. With my physique and looks, I can’t ask for more in Malayalam cinema,” Rajeev quips.

Rajeev is the latest to join the brigade of villains who, even with enough potential to land the lead roles, are sidelined to be the punch bags for heroes, as their well-built frame proves a hindrance.

He says, “You are born an actor or trained to be one. Being muscular doesn’t affect one’s acting skills, but I have been hurt by some comments from the industry like, ‘He is a model and he can never be flexible’.”

As the handsome young man explains patiently what he thinks is one of the major misconceptions in the industry, another delusion crumbles; and the realisation comes to me, the villains on the screen are the sweetest to talk to.

Raising cheers to that is Nishanth Sagar, the striking young man who debuted in Malayalam cinema with Joker as a villain and immortalised his character. “Muscular men are the humblest lot you can ever see, that includes me too,” he says with a smile.

“If one needs to prove his mettle beyond his physique, he will have to move away from the typecast roles and approach directors for performing roles. But, humble souls like us rarely have the grit to convince them,” he says, indicating how that can be the possible reason for his isolation from the industry for some time.

Nishanth, anyway, is happy that with the rise of a new generation of directors, the trend is changing. So, he is hopeful that the Malayalis’ conventional concept of a hero will soon change. “Its testimony; the couple of good characters I will be performing in my upcoming movies,” he adds.

Browse actor Riyaz Khan’s name and pat comes a range of suggestions in Google, Riyaz Khan Gym, body, shirtless, hot and a lot more. One of the hottest sensations among the youth who struggle hard to ape him in fitness, Riyaz concedes that he’s going through a transition period to break the mould of a villain.

“Casanovva has kick-started that movement. Even without a body show or a single fight scene, if I could win plaudits for my role as an intelligent police officer, and am sure my fans are definitely looking forward to see more of my acting skills, which are much more than muscle power,” he says.

At the same time, Riyaz sees his body as a plus point which helped him shape a good career. “I was a fitness freak even before I became an actor and it has never been the other way round. But, today, our young heroes like Prithviraj and Unni Mukundan are keen on keeping themselves fit; which is encouraging.

An actor is highly responsible to the society in anyway and it is imperative that he be fit, whether he is a hero or a villain,” he sums up.