Chennai, March 12 (IANS): After starring in a host of multi-starrers like "Saroja", "Goa" and "Mankatha", actor Vaibhav Reddy, who will soon be seen in a lead role in Tamil dark comedy "Damaal Dumeel", says he's willing to take up negative characters provided there's a scope for performing.

"I don't mind doing any performance-oriented role. It could also be a villain's role. I'm keen to do different films and roles instead of doing the regular commercial ones. That's why I've become choosy and I have been avoiding many films," Vaibhav told IANS.

Even as a villain, he doesn't want to play stereotypical roles.

"A villain's role should be a la Heath Ledger in 'Dark Knight'. Although he played the villain, he had a great scope for performance. I would love to do such roles," he said.

"I was really happy to be part of Sekhar Kammula's film. I don't play the lead in that film, but my characters gave me a lot of scope for performance. These are the kind of films I would love to be associated with," Vaibhav added.

He is playing an important role in Kammula's "Anamika", the southern remake of "Kahaani".

"Damaal Dumeel" marks Vaibhav's debut as solo lead in Tamil. He waited nearly six years for it.

"I've been a little careless over the last few years. I've been playful and missed some opportunities. They say only when you get hurt, you will learn from mistakes. That happened with me, and since then, I have been grabbing opportunities coming my way," he said.

He plays a techie in "Damaal Dumeel", which he says is an important film in his career.

"This is my debut solo lead in Tamil. I'm extremely happy about it. It's a story about a techie who gets embroiled in unwanted problems. This film is important because for the first time I will be shouldering a film all by myself," said Vaibhav.