Villains
There is a special place for villains in Indian cinema. Especially in the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s before the Hum Apke Hain Kaun phenomenon, our writers created iconic bad guys. Amitabh Bachchan would have never succeeded as the Angry Young Man if he didn’t have equally dynamic enemies to defeat. Personally, I always found villains to be way more interesting and perhaps more real than the shudh, sacha heroes. So I figured, ok why not list my favorite 25 negative performances in Indian cinema. I’m not claiming that this is a definitive list, because it’s MY list, and I obviously have not see every single Indian film out there. Here goes:
25. PINKY – Paresh Rawal, “Daud” (1997)
RGV has (had) a twisted sense of humor. Either you get it, or you don’t. That’s probably why “Daud” bombed at the box office. But among a select bunch of RGV fans, the film still has a following, largeley due to its sadistic, comic villain Pinky. Pinky was evil and relished it. He relished it so much, he became a child at the opportunity to kill. So brilliant was Paresh Rawal in the role that sometimes I myself would stop laughing and wonder why I was laughing at such morbid, evil thoughts. One of the most memorable funny baddies. Twisted, but funny nonetheless.
24. KATYA – Danny Denzongpa, “Ghatak” (1996)
Rajkumar Santoshi’s violent, formula action entertainer tried to recreate Sunny paaji’s dhamaka of Ghayal, but fell short. The writing team did however manage to create a terrifying villain for the Punjab da puttar to go after. The dynamic Danny was ruthless, chilling, and downright disturbing as Katya. The most memorable, and terrifying scene for me was when Katya brings Amrish Puri out onto the street, puts a leash on him, and makes him beg like a dog for his son’s life. I don’t know what is more frightening, the humiliation of Amrish Puri’s character or the coldness with which Katya abuses him.
23. DR. MICHAEL DANG – Anupam Kher, “Karma” (1990)
Subhash Ghai’s patriotic epic is a favorite among many Hindi movie fans. I personally could never take a liking to it because I found it way too dated and melodramatic. Despite its stellar cast, the only performance that really hit a nerve other than Dilip Kumar’s was Anupam Kher’s as Dr. Dang. The scenes between Dilipsaab and Anupam Kher are perhaps the most memorable from the film. In a strange way, it’s perhaps one of Anupam Kher’s worst written characters, yet at the same time, despite the over-the-top acting, on of his more memorable negative performances.
22. HILAL KOHISTANI – Jackie Shroff, “Mission Kashmir” (2000)
“Bachchaaaaaa….” Eerie, unidimensional, and cold blooded, Jackie Shroff’s sing-song dialogue delivery was spot on for the brain-washing terrorist Hilal Kohistani. Chopra’s starry writing team of Vikram Chandra, Abhijit Joshi, and Suketu Mehta wrote this character almost lovingly, with a captivating back-story that spoke of this monster having been captured by the Russians and survived a slit neck by holding his throat back for weeks. If I was casting this role, I could never have imagined Jackie Shroff playing it. After watching the film, I cannot imagine anyone other than Jackie Shroff playing it. And ohh, the eyes! “Bachchaaa…..”
21. GAJENDRA – Pran, “Ram Aur Shyam” (1967)
While on menacing eyes, few are more terrifying than Pran’s in this classic tale of twins separated at birth. The anger, the disdain, the pure hate never gives in. A rock solid bad guy with a rock solid resolve to eliminate Ram, Pran’s performance remains unmatched by counterparts in subsequent reworks of the story, be it “Seeta Aur Geeta”, “Chaal Baaz”, or “Kishan Kanhaiya”. These were eyes that could scare the living daylights out of any kid.
20. SURAJ NARAYAN SINGH (BAAPJI) – Om Puri, “Narasimha” (1991)
Another Sunny Deol dishoom flick, another memorable villain. Even in such a routine, done-to-death, evil thakur role, Om Puri has the ability to shine like it’s being done for the first time. Puri played Baapji with a comic annoyance. The black overcoat, the white scarf and the dark glasses gave him a great look. Puri was loud and over the top. Yes he was evil, and oppressed those less powerful than him. The additional touch given to the character was he looked at life in general as an annoyance. Everything turned into a peeve, and in the process, Puri let out some hilarious one-liners in an otherwise luke-warm film.
19. LANGDA TYAGI – Saif Ali Khan, “Omkara” (2006)
Saif Ali Khan’s career was going great guns. He was selling at the box office, the more discerning viewers and critics took a liking to him as well. Post DCH, Hum Tum, a suprising National Award, Saif shocked the industry by taking on a negative role. Vishal Bharadwaj fans like myself were intrigued, but also scared. Was Vishal star-struck? Will Saif botch the role…the film? Thankfully, the image he had established for himself so far had been shed. He brought himself to the role, but also created another dimension to it. The sly, comic streak synonymous with SAK was all over Langda Tyagi. But it was the ease with which the actor and director combined those qualities with Tyagi’s jelousy, insecurity, and vulnerability that made it such a blast. Saif carried the film, and villain ended up becoming the hero of the movie.
18. SHYAM GOPAL BAJAJ/TEJA – Paresh Rawal, “Andaz Apna Apna” (1994)
Paresh Rawal is the god of comic villainy. As the evil twin, Teja or Shyam Gopal Bajaj as he later reveals, Rawal is hilarious as the fumbling baddie with the worst luck in the world. The chemistry between Rawal and his two useless sidekicks, Shezaad Khan and Viju Khote had audiences in splits. One of Rajkumar Santoshi’s best films, and perhaps also his most criminaly unsuccessful. The film and Rawal have earned themselves a cult following however. Unforgettable one liners – “Main Teja hoon. Mark idhar hai!!!”; “Kiske mama ki gun hai?” ; “Saala plaaaaaannn!!!”; “Bread ka baadshah, omelette ka raja…hamaara Bajaj!”
17. SHAKAAL – Kulbhushan Karbandha, “Shaan” (1980)
Post “Sholay” Ramesh Sippy’s bad man Shakaal couldn’t quite live up to the mighty Gabbar Singh. But in this Bond-style masala thriller, the style of Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor was no match for that of Karbandha. The sets designed for his abode were phenomenal, relative to the standards and production values of Hindi movies of the era. The cold and calculating Shakaal was carried with oodles of confidence and a smirk by Kulbhushan Karbandha. He toyed with role. The image of Shakaal stroking his bald head, sitting in his swivel chair, surrounded by swimming sharks seen through the windows! Classic. This is one of those that would make for a kick ass remake with the money and technology available today. Oz could quite easily play Shakaal!
16. SUBEDAR – Naseeruddin Shah, “Mirch Masala” (1985)
Ketan Mehta’s art-house hit represented India at many film festivals world wide. A very important and significant part of Indian film history, Mirch Masala’s most dynamic quality comes from the chemistry between the hypnotic Smita Patil and an explosive Naseeruddin Shah. Shah is both comic and merciless as the lecherous Subedar who kidnaps women he fancies and oppresses local villagers by usurping their land. At the film’s climax, as the women revolt throwing chilli powder into his eyes, Naseerbhai lets out a scream that resonates even today in the minds of viewers.
15. RANVIJAY SINGH – Irrfan Khan, “Haasil” (2003)
Irrfan may have played his share of interesting characters long before debutante director Tigmanshu Dhulia cast him, but it was “Haasil” that got him noticed in the mainstream. The film, though directed with a keen eye on realism, didn’t quite work for me. Yet, Irrfan’s brilliance kept me glued onto the screen. The ease of his delivery, the vulnerability of his character, the desperation his character faces which forces him to act the way he does was exemplary. In a way, it was a rebirth for him on the Indian screen, with the role not only fetching him awards, but also leading to dream roles like Maqbool. Ranvijay Singh will be remembered as a very important role for Hindi cinema, because it gave us Irrfan Khan as we know him today.
14. GOKUL PANDIT – Ashutosh Rana, “Dushman” (1998)
Whatever happened to that Ashutosh Rana who stormed into the silver screen as Gokul Pandit, the serial rapist postman in this loose adaptation of “An Eye for An Eye”. Rana had already won over audiences through his roles on television. Cast alongside Kajol who played a stellar double-role, Rana surprised and disturbed audiences with his creepy, psychotic act made all the more real because he portrayed Gokul as an average, everyday guy you would encounter on the street. Despite a double-role, Kajol could not prevent Rana from stealing the show from her.
13. LION/DIN DAYAL – Ajit, “Kalicharan” (1976)
“Saara sheher hume LOIN ke naam se jaanta hai”. The unforgettable line, the unforgettable villain who couldn’t pronounce the word Lion right. Nobody’s complaining. The dialogue became one of the most famous in Hindi film history and has gone on to personify Ajit. The man who played wonderful roles in Naya Daur and Mughal E Azam turned an all out villain in the 70s. In effect, Ajit played the same, rich, evil tycoon in every film, and yet, he made each version interesting in his own signature style. A style that simply cannot be aped even by his son Shezaad Khan (Andaz Apna Apna). His caricature looks and style have inspired many a mimic in the following decades, also setting of a genre of Ajit jokes. I can’t resist, so here is one:
ROBERT: Boss, is gaddaar ka kya kiya jaaye?
AJIT: Use tadpa tadpa ke maaro.
ROBERT: Kaise boss?
AJIT: Raaaberrrt…is ko liquid oxygen mein phek do.
ROBERT: Kyon boss?
AJIT: Simmmpal. Liquid isse jeene nahi dega, oxygen isse marne nahi dega!
12. THAKUR RANJIT SINGH – Danny Denzongpa, “Dhund” (1973)
The legendary BR Chopra had initially cast Amitabh Bachchan in the role of Thakur Ranjit Singh, the crippled, evil, abusive husband in this timeless suspense thriller. “Anand” became a huge hit, and Amitabh was not keen on doing a negative role anymore. With a stroke of luck, when Shatrughan Sinha, the replacement did not report to set on time, Danny, still a struggling newcomer bagged the role. What makes this performance stand out is not just the fact that Danny was abusive and aggressive, but the manner in which the actor brought out the Thakur’s insecurity and shame. He was insecure, because he had a perfect wife (Zeenat Aman), but he could not walk and was impotent. That frustration led to his brutality. Danny layered the performance so beautifully that we as viewers in fact start feeling sympathetic towards him. A brilliant, expemplary thriller, directed by a brilliant filmmaker, and a role performed by one of India’s most underrated actors.
11. MUSTAFA MASTANA – Naseeruddin Shah, “Bombay Boys” (1998)
“Vhat I look laikk? Kirrminnall??” In this indie cracker, Naseer had audiences in splits with his comic villainry and broken English. He carried what would have otherwise been a very mediocre film with his spontaneous comic timing. With some brilliantly written dialogues, supported by some solid performers, Naseer towered in the role of Don Mastana. His scenes with Naveen Andrews playing Krishna Sahni, the struggling actor from NYC are perhaps the funniest in the film, with both seasoned actors playing superbly off each other. If only people would write more roles like this for Naseerbhai.
10. NIMMI – Tabu, “Maqbool” (2003)
In this multi-layered character of Lady Macbeth, splendidly adapted by Vishal Bhardwaj and Abbas Tyrewalla, Tabu was unnerving as the cold and calculating Nimmi who instigated Maqbool to overthrow the mob boss Abbaji, eventually leading to his own distruction. In a dream ensemble of some of the country’s best actors, Tabu held her own in a performance that was chillingly embellished with deceit and a hunger for freedom and power. Nimmi personified what is known in Hindi as a “meethi churi” (sweet knife).
9. KANCHA CHEENA – Danny Denzongpa, “Agneepath” (1990)
Danny Denzongpa and Mukul Anand brought style to the Hindi movie villain with Kancha Cheena. Kancha sat in a glass house in Mauritius, sipped champagne on the beach front surrounded by bikini clad women, conducted business over the phone wearing designer clothes. Danny was all style as even Amitabh Bachchan confesses to him, “Apna tailor ka bill bhi bhej dena. Yeh tumhara kapda pehenneka style apun ko bahut acha laga. Hainnn?” The role perhaps did not demand much from Danny as an actor, but it is the overall image and aura he created with such ease that makes Kancha Cheena one of my favorite villains. Who cares about substance? Sometimes all style works!
8. BACHCHOO YADAV – Sayaji Shinde, “Shool” (1999)
Shool banked on a routine honest cop vs. corrupt politician story, but stood apart because it revisited the gritty realism of Ardh Satya. A superb lead performance by Manoj Bajpai was matched if not bettered by a little known Marathi stage actor Sayaji Shinde. With certain characteristics based on Laloo Yadav, Shinde played a mean, heartless Bachchoo Yadav as downright crass. So crass he made you cringe at how uncouth he was. The character didn’t shy away from a little baffoonery either, as can be seen in the parliament scenes when Bachchoo’s stupidity is on display for all to see. The way Shinde performs that scene and handles people laughing at him is a treat to watch. Ditto for his introduction…”Mann mein has ke dikhao!” Another smashing villainous debut like Ashutosh Rana that led to nothing but both actors being relegated to stereotypical roles in B movies. Guess everyone’s gotta earn a living.
7. TIGER MEMON – Pavan Malhotra, “Black Friday” (2004)
After disappearing into the Telugu film industry for a while, Pavan Malhotra staged a comeback to Hindi cinema and how! Thanks to Anurag Kashyap, this bundle of talent resurged in an explosive performance playing the role of Tiger Memon, the main accused in the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts. Playing a real life character is no easy task, and Malhotra’s performance aided by some brilliant character development delves deep into the man’s psyche to explore how personal loss triggered him to orchestrate the murder of innocent people. Some of the scenes where he brain washes young, impressionable men into “fighting back” are so frighteningly real, one wonders how the actor and director worked on fleshing out the performance.
6. COMMANDER BHADRA – Ashish Vidyarthi, “Droh Kaal” (1994)
There is something with debut performances in negative roles that make them timeless. Add the diverse Ashish Vidyarthi to that list. Where has this amazing actor gone? As the captured leader of a terrorist cell, Vidyarthi and Om Puri face off in a series of mind games trying to outwit each other. Smart dialogues put together with the actors’ chemistry creates some scintillating scenes that couldn’t be matched even halfway in the film’s Tamil remake “Kuruthipunal”, played respectively by Kamalahaasan and Nasser. A standout scene from Droh Kaal is where Om Puri injects sodium pentathol into Vidyarthi in an effort to cajole the truth out of him. The way Vidyarthi plays the drugged terrorist trying desperately to fight the chemical to protect the truth almost evokes sympathy from the audience, in some twisted way.
5. RAMA SHETTY – Sadashiv Amrapurkar, “Ardh Satya (1983)
Ardh Satya was a landmark film on numerous levels. It was one of the early films in the parallel movement of the 80s that dared to depict reality and work as a social expose. Sadashiv Amrapurkar making his Hindi film debut set the standard for a character that would soon go on to become a staple in cop and gangster films in India. No caricature representation, no melodrama. Just plain, downright business – That’s all Rama Shetty was about. For his trendsetting performance, Amprapurkar won the Filmfare award for Best Supporting Actor. It’s a pity that the rest of his career was plagued with him repeating the same old villanous routine time and again.
4. LIYAQAT – Pankaj Kapur, “Roja” (1992)
Some of the greatest characters are those who undergo a change over a matter of time. Liyaqat is one such character who is particularly interesting because of how he changes. Kapur plays Liyaqat with wisdom instead of fanaticism. He is an educated, knowledgeable leader, blinded by his struggle. In his discourses with his hostage (Arvind Swamy) they talk of hatred, they talk of murdering the innocent, each man justifying his point of view. Kapur’s performance is a complex one where over the course of the story, he grows more and more into denial. Even at the point of a massive personal loss when his son is killed in a mission, he refuses to see reason in words, but in behavior and in his eyes, Kapur beautifully conveys the gradual understanding that the character undergoes. The gradual transformation culminates and takes form of a single word in the climax when Arvind Swamy is on the verge of a successful escape but is stopped by Liyaqat. “Po” (Go) he says to his hostage, and turns around. A powerful scene, a powerful masterpiece from Mani Sir, a powerful performance by Pankaj Kapur.
3. ANNA – Nana Patekar, “Parinda” (1989)
Vinod Chopra’s “Parinda” was the first great all out Indian gangster film. Even today it has a cult following that continues to grow. Few will refute that it is the director’s finest film to date, and perhaps Nana Patekar’s greatest performance. Some elaborate writing solidified the character of Anna and Patekar devoured the role with a madness that set the trend for the kind of performance directors started demanding from him henceforth. The calm nonchalance and matter of factly demeanor with which Anna dished out hit orders was new to Indian viewers who were used to more stylish, caricature villains. And then when Anna would sit face to face with fire, his phobia would creep in for it would remind him of how he burnt his wife and child alive, and the man would go into a fit. In the climax of the film, Jackie Shroff burns Anna alive on a swing. It is one of the most famous scenes in all of Indian cinema. Patekar reportedly suffered severe burns during the filming of the sequence. The performance won him a Filmfare award for Best Supporting Actor, and is yet to be bettered by the actor.
2. MOGAMBO – Amrish Puri, “Mr. India” (1987)
Every child feared him. Everyone who watched Mr. India hated him for what he did to Arun bhaiyya and his kids! Everyone wanted Mogambo dead. And boy did they cheer when Mr. India blew him up with his own missiles, in his own abode. Mogambo was legendary and when he was happy, it meant the worst for humanity. He was over-the-top, he was loud, he was larger than life, and the one and the only Amrish Puri is the only one who could have played this role. Salim-Javed created a character that once again overshadowed the hero. And who can forget “Mogambo…khush hua!”? Mogambo gave me nightmares when I was a kid. The last iconic bad guy Hindi cinema has been able to create. Shekhar Kapur – you can make all the Elizabeths you want, but Mr. India and Mogambo will always remain the greatest characters you have ever had in your cinema.
AND
THE
GREATEST
VILLAIN
OF
ALL
TIME
IS….
…
..
.
1. GABBAR SINGH – Amjad Khan, “Sholay” (1973)
Well ain’t this a no-brainer? What can I possibly tell you about Gabbar Singh that you already don’t know. So great was Amjad Khan in this role that was originally turned down by Danny Denzongpa that even Amitabh Bachchan after decades of accolades could hardly match up to a fraction of Khan’s menace. Gabbar was the hero of Sholay. There’s a reason his picture on the film’s posters is bigger than any of the other actors. Darth Vader aint got nothin on Gabbar! If you don’t know who Gabbar Singh is…get the hell outta here!
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Commander Bhadra for me… right after Gabbar Singh… where is THAT F-ING POWERHOUSE OF A PERFORMER “ASHISH VIDYARTHI”… where did he disappear????
wow! what a definitive list!
Pinky, Doctor Dang, Baap Ji, shakaal, subedar, Ranvijay Singh, Lion, Mastana, Kancha Cheena, Bachchu Yadav, Rama Shetty, Anna…priceless!
I would add
Chuniya(Saudagar)
Rahul/SRK’s character(Darr)
Danny’s character(Hum)
Babu(Road)
Lallan Singh(Yuva)
Sanjay Dutt’s character-Khalnayak
oz // ashish vidyarthi is alive and kicking, playing different shades of the same evil idiot in every other tamil/telugu movie.
vijay // what a blazing post man! awesome. i would have put mogambo at #1 and gabbar in the second place though. :-)
btw, babban ke bina yeh list adhura hai ;-)
wb, Babban kho phakadney khe liyey hemney RGV ki Aag ke saare phrints kho search khiya, per kuch nehi milaa…;)
And, he is back with a bang!!! Loved the list, now I have some ideas of what classics I need to catch up on this weekend….
Yes,without Ravana, Ram could not manifest his glory and there wont be any Ramayana..Quite an exhaustive and pertinent list Vijay..Excellent..IMO Kanhaiyalal as Laala from Mother India also desrves to embellish the list!
Great post Vijay sir. You covered almost all of them in my memory and more. For me its Gabbar Singh all the way and Paresh Rawal as the funniest villain ever in AAA… “Teja main hoon, main Teja hoon, mark idhar hai” :d:d:d
great list…… nostalgic:) tabu was amazing, so was Paresh and ofcourse the reinvented and rediscovered Saif Ali Khan..
krysh… great example… that role should be on the list… on the first few weekends of the release of Mother India, I’ve read that after each show the crowd used to gather out of a theater in Bombay (forgot which one) and throw their shows on the Kanhainyalal’s face in the poster of Mother India.
few more
-Paresh Rawal- Naam
-Amrish puri as chuniya in saudagar
-Nana patekar in Angaar
-Amrish puri as chadhdha in Damini
-Vinod Khanna in mera gaon mera desh
-Danny as bakhtawar in Hum
-Kiran kumar and lotiya pathan in Tezaab
-Amrish puri as Balwant Rai in Ghayal
-Amrish Puri as Bhujang and Ajgar Zurrat in Tridev and Vishwatma respectively
-Amzad Khan in Muqaddar ka sikandar
-Ashok Kumar in Jewelthief
-Amrish puri as Dong in Tehelka
-Naseeruddin Shah as Gulfam Hasan in Sarfarosh
- Amrish Puri in Hum Paanch
Shailesh, Nana in Angaar was nothing… Nana in Parinda… ANNAAA… Bhai bhai ka pyar beech mein aye toh dono ko goli maar de
Oz bhai, u r true. Nana in Parinda was awesome but i also liked him in Angaar as caring person for family but cold blooded villain for outside world.
also Angaaar had some great moments. Kadar Khan’s voice was changed and he gave superb performance as god hearted don- Jahangir.
I can remember the scene where Kadar Khan, nana and mazhar khan are eating together, theri conversation.. superbly shot and written.
super post.. shaadi karte hi villains yaad aa gaye.. kya baat hai
hehehe
I thought there was a lot of confusion in director Shashilal Nair’s mind about Kader Khan’s character… make him good… make him bad… it showed on screen – atleast to me… don’t know about the voice change… Angaar to me was my attempt to connect with Shashilal Nair’s movies and after it I gave up…
yes the movie had some few memorable scenes like the having dinner from one plate that you mention and the other was where the late Mazhar Khan (can you believe this??? he’s no longer there) and Nana having fast food at a favorite joint that Nana liked… the father screaming Jaggu where are my shoes was another one… but I thought it was stretched too far
In Angaar, Signature tune was also great! may be inspired from some english tune. i can rememeber when i saw promos where only signature tune and jackie dancing with other guys in yellow dresses were shown.
I agree that the film was stratched. but it is shashilal nair’s best. Grahan started well but then messed up. One 2 ka 4 aur Ek chhoti si love story ki to baat na kare wohi behtar hai..
@well written article but why “Abbaji” of Maqbool is not in this list????
I think sometimes it’s even the name of the character that makes him immortal. Because the name is so innovative and has been screamed so many times in the movie in so many different ways, that it makes an everlasting impact on audience. few examples:
Bakhtawar (Danny) from Hum
Balawant Rai (Amrish Puri) in Ghayal (remember how Sunny Deol screams “Balawant Rai ke kutton”)
Ajgar Zurrat (Amrish Puri) in Vishwatma (what an innovative name)
There are many more.
I believe Anupam Kher (with Anu Kapoor) was bigger and better than Danny in HUM.. an unusual and unforgettable pairing of Girdhar and Arjun not only was successful in bringing the house down with their cominc timing but were really great in a greedy villainish act.. Can forget Bakhtawar’a tevar but not “Arjan singh teer meet sod”.. “baabi ji baabi ji..”.. Missing you Anupam..
will write more shortly as soon as time permits..
A remminder of few names from the History books.. KN Singh, Ulhas, Jayant, Nemo (Two unforgettable performances in 420 and Jaagte Raho), Premnath
Some of the biggest Let Downs
1. Manoj Vajpayee : AKS
2. Manohar Singh : Main Azaad Hoon
3. Kiran Kumar : Khuda Gawaah
4. Babban?
More soon…
Jeevan in Naya Daur & KN Singh (Howrah Bridge), Rehman (Pyaasa). Also Paresh Rawal in Arjun.
Shailesh> agree with u on Ashok Kr in Jewel Thief.
Some other mentions for collective villainy, no 1 particular role: MacMohan, Ranjit, Sudhir, Prem Chopra, Utpal Dutt…
spcl mention: Nigar sultana as Bahar in Mughal-e-Azam
Great list.
Could have included Amir Khan for his performance as Dil Navaz in the movie Earth.
“Could have included Amir Khan for his performance as Dil Navaz in the movie Earth.”
I sooooo second that! Quite an underrated performance, and if ever a literary character was brought uncannily to life then this is one of the best. Btw, great list Vijay.
The Jungle Crew! Durga Narayan Chaudhary! Then there was Vijay Raaz and Raj Pal Yadav.
Rashid of Sarkar; the chai scene and the death scene said it all.
Gangu Tai, you gotta have her, she is an iconic goondee. She did not have any punchiness, but for her sheer acting..
Very good list..Vijay but…
1. Pran in Chalia
2. Pran in Jis des mein Ganga behti hai (awesome)
3. Raghuvaran in Shiva (yeh shiva kaunn haiii)
4. Prem Chopra in Bobby (Prem naam hai mera!!)
5. Amjad Khan in Muqqaddar ka Sikandar (Joraawar)
6. Pran in Madhumati (Perfect villain!!!)
7. Ajit in Zanjeer (first of the lot)
8. Amol Palekar in Khamosh (Shabana….)
9. Yashpal Sharma in Gangaajal (Very underrated)
10. Utpal Dutt in The Great Gambler..ta..na..tana
I can go and on…but lets give it a breather..BTW watch KN Singh in any movie!!!!
oh yeah..Shashi Kapoor in Utsav..Tremendous!!!!
Tell you what, Indian cinema has more interesting and amazingly-acted-out villains than the heroes. The heroes bend to the “star” culture, the villains don’t and therein lies the reason why we have great actors doing great villainous roles. Your list above is just a demonic tip of the ice-cold-villainy-berg.
There is a marathi movie (very old and whose name I cannot remember), where Nana Patekar plays the leader of a youth gang, who are cold-blooded murderers (I think its based on a true story of some murders in Pune ? Or so I heard), and he is so fuking chillingly evil in that, your hair stands on end. In one of the scenes I distinctly remember, some female is standing and flirting with him and she is showing off ample cleavage and Nana Patekar is staring at her cleavage and smiling with all his teeth on full display – he conveys such lust that you actually squirm in your seat. Damn, if I could remember the name of that movie. And damn, if I can find it somewhere in New Jersey.
One more role is that of Irfan Khan as ‘Mamu’ in that bullshot movie ‘Ghaath’. The scene where he is in bed with Om Puri’s wife, and Om Puri returns home and Mamu coolly says to him something like “batake aana chahiya tha na” .. he does not get up from his position where he is in bed with Om Puri’s wife and she is drooling over some piece of jewellery that Mamu is holding out to her and Om Puri is just watching – betrayed and disgusted. I thought it was very well-acted by Irfan.
And I have to say this – I read a lot of blogs and a lot of oneline stuff (particularly since my current project does not stretch me in terms of work :d ), but there is no place like PFC. Every writeup I read here is so interesting, that I cannot stop myself from commenting. And I don’t know where and how to express my thanks. So I am doing it here – thanks oz. Thanks PFC.
And then maybe you should also include SRK in Darr, because it was novel and a trendsetter.
Conflating Hindi cinema with Indian cinema?
@ Vinayak & night
1947 Earth was Aamir’s most underrated roles of his entire career. I wouldn’t really term Dilnawaz as a villanous character, more grey than black really. But still, an awesome performance. That movie is a gem! The last scene is spine-chilling.
I want to add one more in the list – Prasad Purandare (Zameer) in Ab Tak 56 (and where the hell is he now????). He was a revelation!
While helping his girlfriend pick out a bra :
) )
Girlfriend (picking out a bra) : This one?
Zameer : Haan, take.
Girlfriend (picking out another one) : This one?
Zameer : Haan, take, take. Arre, mere ko pehanne ka nahin hai. Mere ko sirf utaarne ka hai. (
He might not scare the balls out of you. But he was effective in that role as a baddie.
@shatrughan – I didn’t include Abbaji because for me, he was a victim of the story. He was a victim of Nimmi’s conspiracy. A great performance by Pankaj Kapur but in my opinion, it didn’t quite fall in the category of villainy, relative to the other characters.
@Vinayak – Aamir was awesome in Earth and the climax was heartbreaking. I guess I didn’t include him because I never saw it as a majorly villainous role. He was a perfectly normal, funny guy throughout the film, and in one moment following personal loss, combined with jealousy, in the heat of the circumstances, he loses sanity. Great performance, very complex.
@Vijay
True.
And that was the beauty…Squatted Aamir smoking Beedi.
In life, one doesn’t get to see many black and white characters. On Indian screen, one only gets to see B&W characters.
awesome post vijay….mazaa aa gaya….. I think Raghuvaran (bhavani from shiva) and Bhau Thakurdas Jhawle (from satya) should have been there some how….
^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^
@Varun – Bhau Thakurdas Jhawle…good one, but personally doesn’t make my top 25.
Raghuvaran in Shiva was amazing! Don’t know how that one slipped my mind! Certainly should be in there. Been AGES since I watched that movie.
what about shahrukh khan – in darr, anjaam,
and BAAZIGAR?
the way he throws shilpa off the terrace…
that was pure evil…
regards’
Barring DDLJ, Swades, and Chak De, I cannot stand SRK. Hence the absence from the list.
What about Prasad Purandare (Zameer) in Ab Tak 56 ?!!
My dark horse who has missed the list for some quirky reasons has been Spot Nana [Raami Reddy] of
Indraneel –
One more Raghuvaran gem from Shiva [The ORIGINAL:d/]
Shiva kya bakwan hai….kya bakwan hai wo Shiva…..
I don’t know how big a hit Shiva was in hindi, but for ppl like me who grew up in south india..this list is definetly incomplete with Bhavani..
somebody here pointed about Rami reddy’s role in prathibandh..that too was one of the landmark villiany in telugu..the movie’s name was “ankusam” and his one liner “spot pedatha” was insanely famous during that period..The director of this movie (kodi ramakrishna) used to be very famous for creating scary villian roles back in late 80’s and early 90’s..
Good post…
I think u missed one!! me
http://www.flickr.com/photos/viloo/1307542130/
kidding man.. nice post.. great details
@Vasan man those dialogues are soo cool in telugu ,
Rami reddy in prathibandh was great but not sure of top 25….But in ankusham he was simply superb
Raghuvaran is most under utilized actor in south…..wonder where he is gone….
“@ Vinayak & night
1947 Earth was Aamir
also Nana patekar in Apharan
and what about Naseeruddin shah as gulfam hasan in Sarfarosh? both were superb.
Amjad Khan also did a wonderful turn in “Hum Kissi se Kum Nahin”..spouting some amazing one liners…and in Dev Anand’s “Lootmaar”…actually I can go on and on about 70’s villiany. My Dad used to be in Central Govt. Services and every Sunday we used to see movies for free. So, I am a freak from very far back. Villians were more remembered becoz they had the best dialogues that we spouted the next day in school.
Vimal .. all you need to do is add the dialogue “Bacccchhhhaaaaa .. ” (Jackie Shroff in Mission Kashmir) to your photo.
:-b
There is one tamil movie villain from the movie MAHANADHI, whose character still brings chills to me. In that one Kamalhassan, a villager accidently meets this character on the side of the road. This guy completely swindles Kamals’ character and goes onto do untold horrors to Kamal’s family.
I think Amrish Puri as Mogambo would any day beat Gabbar Singh as the No.1 bad guy in Hindi Film Industry.
Maybe Sholay is back in lime light that’s why?
@Machchar! NEVER! Gabbar is the ultimate villain, and will always remain so! The menace of a thousand Mogambos couldnt match up that of a single Gabbar.
I tried thinking about Villainous woman of Hindi cinema. Not the usual aging scheming Saas character or scheming sexy vamps but
Well, I was more scared of Mogambo than Gabbar, and this includes almost all of my friends. Hail Mogambo became the “coolest” word in school.
Inspite of 12 year difference between both the villains, we all were aware of Sholay.
The scene where Mogambo’s soldier jumps into the acid pond to prove his loyalty to Mogambo sent a chill in our spines. On the other side, Gabbar’s followers try to find excuses by telling him that they have eaten his salt! (Humne aapka namak khaya sardar)
Mogambo….Khush Hua…brings goosebumps…Agreed Sholay was a iconic movie and it all worked as a package. Gabbar individually does not do much…Usually, over the period of time, the hype increases so much, we tend to associate more with such stuff. And the recent events only increased the “Sholay” hype, and hence Gabbar Singh.
There might be thousand mogambo’s but Gabbar is class apart….
Gabbar anyday….you can believe in gabbar, mogambo is more fictional to me…everything that gabbar says in sholay is classic, every single dialogue is classic….Mogambo might be dull in some scenes but Gabbbar….
Gabbar Gabbar Gabbar……that’s fucking it….case closed….^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^
Amitabh was good in Parwana (and Namak Haram, where he played a villain to a great extent).. Had Anand not been a hit, he might have been one of the biggest name in villains (He was offered Dhundh (the role later played by Danny, after Amitabh opted out after Anand’s Success)
@Vijay
Abbaji was definitely the villain in Maqbool.. If a villain gets killed by someone, does he becomes a dharmatma? Remember he did the same to his boss, what Irfan laid for him..
“Kamare me sirf teen aadmi the”….
In any other film you’d have said Nimmi got saved from the clutches of Abbaji thru Irfan.. but Tabu was brilliant in portraying the greed and lust of nimmi
Turtle..
I havent watched mission kashmeer.. yet .. i will add.. hehe:d
we may have had a dearth of heroes, but we indian cinema goers were always lucky enough to have had the best of villains. few master performances that never made the list.. rai sahab from johnny mera naam, kesariya vilayati from ram lakhan, pasha from hero, jeevan from blackmail, maharani from sadak, gulfam hassan from sarfarosh, jagmohan from the catastrophic roop ki rani …
another one
Amrishpuri as “Tau” in Ajay Devgan starrer divya Shakti
Sreeram Lagu in Magroor…I freaked out man!..Rajesh Khanna in Red Rose!!!
@Indraneel
Is that the one in which Sreeram Lagu had specs the size Mr. Magoo could use?
@Vinayak…Ha..ha..no..not that..but he had a pair of specs in Magroor too. actually it was a deception role…and his real “chehra” comes out in the last..and in that movie too..that far back…he simply does a Nana kinda dialogue..something like “phenk do paani mein..macchiyan nigal jayengi..!!”:)))
I would like to add one more: Raghuvaran in Rakshak.
He was scary , especially his transformation from a simpleton
to a menacing villian
one more:
PRAN in Heer Ranjha
aae guys anyone seen the movie loootere with sunny deol, how come nobody mentioned the role of anupam kher from the movie lootere as changez lala, anupam kher was a real menace in the movie, one of my favorite movies also great acting by anupam kher as the villain.