Oh, hell! Look who's turning bad on screen. The innocent-faced Sammir Dattani plays a ruthlessly ambitious politician in Vikram Bhatt's Life Mein Kabhi Kabhie.

And he isn't alone.

Lots of our goody-goody heroes are turning villainous in the next few months.

It's the snow- ball effect. After Saif in Omkara and Hrithik Roshan in Dhoom 2 being wicked is again cool in Bollywood. As the Big B unleashes a feast of fury in Ram Gopal Varma's Sholay, Anil Kapoor will get incorrigibly bad in Yashraj Films's Tasal.

Naseeruddin Shah, fresh on the heels of his triumph as a bereaved Parsi father in Parzania, is all set to get seriously evil in Rajat Kapoor's Mithiya.

"I play the villain in the film while Ranvir Shorey plays the hero," says Naseer who also played the caricatural villain in Rakesh Roshan's Krissh. "I'm no stranger to villainy. I was the antagonist in Rajiv Rai's Vishawatma long ago."

However the season of diabolism is upon us. In Apoorva Lakhiya's Shoot-Out Lokhandwala Viveik Oberoi and Tusshar Kapoor are cast as hit-men trapped in a building in Lokhandwala. In Suneel Darshan Shaka Laka Boom Boom Bobby Deol goes grey with a vengeance. He plays a jealous embittered musician who's go to any lengths to thwart his protege's talent.

"It's a new experience for me," laughs Bobby. "Since I'm such a good guy in real life I get a chance to vent all my inner demons."

We had a prolonged spell of heroic diabolism two years ago when everyone from Shah Rukh Khan ( Darr) to Akshaye Khanna (Humraaz) played dirty on screen.

Interestingly everyone who's someone wants to play Ravan in Raj Kumar Santoshi's adaptation of Ramayan. The director has cast his favourite Ajay Devgan (who played a baddie in friend Anees Bazmi's Deewaangi) as Rama. Many top actors are in negotiation for Ravan.

Santoshi is in a jam as to whom he should cast as the ultimate khal-naayak.

Says Sammir, "I really enjoyed going grey in Life Mein Kabhi Kabhie. It gave me a chance to do things which I wouldn't dream of doing in real life. Being ruthlessly ambitious doesn't come naturally to me. But even Abhishek played a guy who thinks the end justifies the means in Guru. I guess we're in for a time when morals are no longer that sharp-focussed."