Villains or men with evil intentions, in fiction and movies, in particular, should be a by product of the circumstance they are in. They should be in effect, an output of their reaction to a situation, there by ending up in whatever miserable state they find themselves in. This will help the viewers to appreciate and sympathize with the character as all characters need to breathe and live on the screen rather than look like cardboard caricatures dangling from the roof. Viewers are so discerning, they will be able to see even the threads attached to such made-up characters.

If there is a need for conflict to be established between any set of characters there should be a major or minor situation where there is scope for a seed of misunderstanding or mistrust. In some scenarios, both the opposing characters might be correct from their respective positions and as such unwilling to vacate their chosen stances or premises. Or they might be in a distracted state and unbeknownst to them leave a trail of agony and confusion. In movies, owing to the paucity of time,  first impressions are accorded far more importance than they deserve. Characters too often, and for far longer periods, hold onto overt impulses and prejudice laden perceptions.

The scene of confrontation should be situational and a realistic possibility in congruence with the character’s basic profile but not as a tool to get the screenplay flowing in whatever direction the writer decides to steer the story. The basic motto being – always stay true to to the character’s innate desires and instincts. And if the evil intentions of a character are justified from their point of view, let them go through a denial or self rumination process. Let there be a battle with their conscience about the necessity of the harm they plan to trigger.

Later in the story, when the situation arises to reconcile the differences which were based on initial perceptions, let the resolution be borne not out of convenience but a similar predicament that the other protagonist also has to encounter and then slowly shake off their bias and gradually move on to the other end of the aisle. This mainly applies to main and central conflicts/characters of the story. Not all characters can go through a cause and effect experience in the limited time provided to drill down the story. Some pre-manufactured good and bad elements  that support the story have to be still indulged in for the duration of the screen or story time as they might not directly impact the main conflict.

Sometimes, resolutions can also be an off-shoot of the supporting or secondary characters being in a similar situation and due to primary characters being in close proximity to these secondary characters, they are influenced and there by are prone to a gradual change in their perceptions. This is not a commonly employed screenplay tool in the stories that we are exposed to in both hollywood and bollywood storylines. This can be used to both clear the confusion about a particular situation and also to gain unknown and possibly genuine behavioral traits of the opposite sex with whom main protagonists often have a seemingly irredeemable and deadlocked conflict.

Resolutions can also be hard to come by, owing to a character’s stubborn nature or holding onto a grudge or under the influence of  a real promise made under pressing circumstances or the most common of all – class, caste, religion or racial hierarchies that are difficult to be broken or run away from. These circumstances, however cliched still find a way to dominate our perceptions and our stories.