Actors typically start playing relatable roles before moving onto larger-than-life characters. Arjun Das has a different problem, thanks to his unique grey-shaded roles in star vehicles like Kaithi, Master, and Good Bad Ugly. The actor realised that he needed to shift gears when he went for theatre rounds and interacted with the audience. “The most-repeated feedback I got was that I should do more films for family audiences. I think they were tired of watching me in the middle of bloodshed and violence. So, Con City is my attempt to entertain the family audience,” says Arjun Das, who plays an employee at the TNEB (Tamil Nadu Electricity Board), who goes on to orchestrate crores worth of scams. 

Dismissing comparisons to films like Lucky Baskhar, Arjun Das adds that Con City isn’t a morality tale about the corruption of greed. He says, “It is more about how situations force people to take alternate paths, and how it snowballs into increasingly tricky situations. The focus is entirely to provide an out-and-out fun family entertainer.” However, the actor doesn't deny his affinity towards darker roles. “I would say it’s more fun to play a bad guy,” he says but corrects himself. “I wouldn’t say any of the darker roles I played were inherently bad. The society and circumstances pushed them. Even while listening to Good Bad Ugly script, I told Adhik that I didn’t think my characters were bad people. Their childhood trauma made them that way.” Interestingly, his favourite on-screen antagonist is someone you couldn’t extend this empathetic lens to. “Heath Ledger’s Joker from The Dark Knight is my all time favourite movie villain. But we don’t get his backstory, only his anarchist philosophy. And yet we connect with him because Joker is a character we have been familiar with for decades, he’s larger than life."

Arjun Das doesn’t believe that audience would be receptive to completely unredeemable villains. “We don’t have moustache twirling villains anymore, and that’s for a good reason. People want depth. It’s hard to believe that someone would be bad just for the sake of it,” says the actor. Such absolute statements about audience expectations immediately crumbles once he talks about reception to his portrayal of the main antagonists in Good Bad Ugly, the twins, Johnny and Jammie. “Interestingly, after that film I got a lot of comedy roles and I heard that a lot of children liked my characters in GBU,” he says.

Even as he speaks about his love for playing villains, Arjun Das reveals that his next couple of films are commercial entertainers aimed at family audiences. But, the actor is looking forward to his new phase, and his efforts to entertain a new demographic. Aware of the responsibilities, Arjun Das says, “It is always tough to play the hero. I have been blessed with a number of good anti-hero roles. In those films, the audience will come to watch their favourite star playing the hero, so I don’t have the pressure, and I can freely perform. But, when I’m playing the protagonist, I feel the weight of extra responsibility. On the other hand, it pushes my boundaries and gives me new and exiting experiences. In Con City, I played a father for the first time, which was a refreshing experience. Acting with veterans like Thambi Ramiah sir and Vadivukkarasi ma’am taught me discipline and how to improvise. I’ve learned a lot from playing a protagonist in a family entertainer.” He also clarifies that this doesn’t mean he will stay away from dark roles. “I love playing the hero but I wouldn’t say no to villain roles as well.”

Speaking of which, Arjun Das responds to the question of whether he will be part of the reported reunion of Adhik Ravichandran and Ajith Kumar. “My character in GBU worked really well and I got a lot of positive feedback. All of that credit entirely goes to Adhik and Ajith sir. So, if and when Adhik calls, of course, I’ll be ready.”