Sayaji Shinde's face gives the vibe of a cruel villain, says Ram Gopal Varma

Actor Sayaji Shinde, who is known for playing negative roles in Hindi and regional films, once again plays an egotistic politician and influential landlord in Ram Gopal Varma's crime drama web-series Dhahanam, which is helmed by Agasthya Manju and written by Varma himself.

Speaking about his character, Shinde, at a recent media interaction, said, "He is an egotistic landlord who holds a lot of power and influence over the village and has never been questioned in his life. If someone insults him even by mistake, he will punish the whole family of that person. He is an unpredictable guy also."

Shinde had played a similar character of an egotistic politician in Varma's acclaimed production Shool (1999), directed by E Nivas with Manoj Bajpayee and Raveena Tandon in the lead.

Varma, who was present at the event, shared an interesting anecdote from his first meeting with Shinde. "A very senior journalist recommended Sayaji's name for the villain's role in Shool (1999)," he said. "When he came to my place, the moment the door opened and he stepped in, I knew this person was a great actor. Immediately I said he is the actor we were looking for. I don't know why, but even his face gives the vibe of a cruel villain. Though in real life he may be completely the opposite (laughs)."

The filmmaker also recalled how there was initially some uncertainty about Shinde's performance among the film's crew. "I remember the film was being shot in Bihar and I started getting calls saying we had made a huge mistake and this guy is so overdramatic. But when I saw the footage, I was like bloody, what are you guys talking about? Man, this guy is the best, He has literally saved the film."