It has been 21 years since Padayappa released, and once cannot speak of the film without speaking of its antagonist, Neelambari.

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21 years of Padayappa: Recalling the strong female villains in Tamil cinema ever since

CE Features

Updated:8th Apr, 2020 at 3:27 PM

Neelambari is the most popular female villain in Tamil cinema; setting new standards for grey women characters. What better reason to celebrate some other memorable female villains?

Most of Simran's have seen her play the girl-next-door, the seductress, or enviable woman. But the actor has aced roles with negative shades as early as her second film Once More.

Parthen Rasithen sees Simran return back to this zone effectively, playing Bhanu who is in love with her best friend, and attempts to sabotage his relationship for the same.

Just like how Padayappa is incomplete without Neelambari, Dhool would be incomplete without Arumugam's nemesis Sornakka.

Played by Telugu actor Shakuntala, who quite packed the punch with her performance, the character embodied raw power. Corrupt, badass, and without a moral bone in her body, Sornakka meant business.

Sherin might have acquired a lot of fans after her stint on Bigg Boss, but it is impossible that any 90s kid would not remember Azhagiya Asura and the Naga story from Whistle

In a very surprising twist of events, Sherin went from being glam girl to a vengeful sister quite convincingly.

While Shriya might have made her debut with a special appearance in Samurai, but Thimiru proved to be the actor's first major role in Tamil.

And as the cut-throat loan shark, you can say Shriya quite made the impression. Breaking her glam avatar so far, Shriya held no punches back as the overbearing Eswari.

A woman who lusts her brother-in-law? That must sure be high on the grey scale. Sangeetha, in interviews, has admitted to being skeptical about taking up the role

But Uyir turned out to be a big break for the actor. The role is also of Sangeetha most memorable performances in her filmography.

Reema Sen debuted as the next pretty face in Kollywood and moved on to doing a lot of glamour roles. But the actor took an interesting turn with Vallavan where she plays crazily-obsessed girlfriend.

Not to mention, Reema Sen made a comeback of sorts as cunning Anitha Pandian in Ayirathil Oruvan. Trust Selavaraghavan to write a good flawed character.

Jyotika had so far made a career out of playing the bubbly love interest, was slowly branching out. And Pachaikili Muthucharam was her first negative (and only one so far) role

While reviews were mixed for this Gautham Menon film, it was refreshing to see Jyotika break stereotypes.

Nobody expected Trisha, a leading heroine, to take up a role with negative shades. But Rudra ended up being the best thing about Kodi.

A strong-headed politician who kills her own lover to secure her career interests? Kodi's Rudra was a pleasant surprise in an industry which makes only angels out of women.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Varalaxmi, one of the more diverse heroines we have today.

Thus, it isn't a surprise that the actor picked grey characters in Sandakozhi and Sarkar, but also hit them out of the park with effective performances, despite limited screentime.

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