Rawther to Nayudamma: Vijaya Rangaraju was best known for his terrifying villain roles

Actor Vijaya Rangaraju who passed away in Chennai a week after suffering from a heart attack, had acted in over 400 films, in a career spanning over four decades. Though he made his debut in movies with the Telugu film 'Seetha Kalyanam', it was his role in Mohanlal-starrer 'Vietnam Colony' that made him popular. He then made a mark in Telugu and Tamil films. Here's a look at some of his most popular works.

Vietnam colony
Who can forget Paravur Rawther, the terrifying villain from Siddique-Lal's superhit movie 'Vietnam Colony', immortalised by Vijaya Rangaraju? Vijaya once revealed it was action choreographer Mafia Sasi who recommended him for the role of Rawther. Malayali audiences will never forget the introduction scene of his character in the movie.

Bhairava Dweepam
Vijaya was cast as the villain Bhairavudu opposite Telugu superstar Nandamauri Balakrishnan in the movie 'Bhairava Dweepam'. Though filmmakers reportedly planned to cast big names from the Hindi film industry to play the villain, one of the producers decided to cast Vijaya after seeing his performance as a villain in 'Vietnam Colony'. Though he acted in Telugu films before 'Bharaiva Dweepam', it was this film that gave him a break within the industry.

Yagnam
Vijaya's performance as Nayudamma in 'Yagnam', which hit theatres in 2004, won him critical acclaim. The actor played the archrival of a gang leader Reddappa (Devaraj) who unites with him after the latter's daughter falls in love with a man named Seenu played by Gopichand.

Magarayudu
Though Vijaya kept getting back-to-back films after his successful debut in Malayalam and consequent success in Telugu, he had to take a break for nearly two years after which he returned with 'Maga Rayudu,' in which he played Jinnah. The film was directed by E V V Satyanarayana and stars Karthik, Babu Mohan, and Brahmanandam.