Actors who won national awards for negative roles. Eversince Allu Arjun won the national award as the best actor for his role in Pushpa The Rise, people have been up in arms and they are going ballistic criticizing the jury members as to how they gave the award to the actor who played the role of a smuggler and idolized the acts as a smuggler indulging in criminal activities.
But what many forget is there is no rule that actors who portray negative roles or criminal characters shouldn't be given the award. The jury only sees the performance of the actor in such a role and does not look at the wider perspective. Allu Arjun during his interaction with the media shared that he asked the makers of Pushpa, not to send the film to the best film category at the national level. This highlights his social responsibility.
Even earlier, actors who played criminals and murderers won the wards. Universal Hero Kamal Haasan won the award for his performance as Don in Nayagan directed by Mani Ratnam in 1987. Though he played many impactful roles like Sagara Sangamam and Swathi Muthyam, he won the Best Actor award for his role as inspired by an underworld don Varadarajan Mudaliar.
Suresh Gopi also won the Best Actor award for his performance in Kaliyattam in 1997. In the film, he played the role of a person who suspects his wife and brutally murders her. Seema Biswas won the Best Actress award for her role in Bandit Queen, where she played the role of bandit Phoolan Devi in 1994.
Big B Amitabh Bachchan won the Best Actor award at the national level for his performance in Agneepath. He played the role of the criminal Even in Hollywood, Marlon Brando won the prestigious Oscars for his performance in the mafia based much acclaimed classic The Godfather.