My past few days have gone in giving a lot of CET papers. As I finished today’s paper and switched on my not-so-idiot box(I mean c’mon, you cannot call them Smart TV and Idiot Box at the same time) an iconic movie Tezaab was being aired, As I saw that movie I realized how important the roles of Anupam Kher and Kiran Kumar who played Lothiya Pathan were! Then I thought of compiling the top 5 deadliest, dangerous, loathing, lecherous, treacherous, lubricious, lascivious and salacious people who have adorned the 70 mm screen! (Vocabulary credits:- Word Power Made Easy by Norman Bhai)
5) Gulfam Hassan by Naseeruddin Shah– I mean tell me one guy who was not impressed by this movie and the “muhajir” as was made famous by Naseeruddin Shah. He held stage shows and carried out terrorist activities with ease and natural serenity. The scene in which he kills the cat still lingers on my mind. I believe there are very few who could have done justice to that role. Kudos!(Another role by the same actor which deserves a special mention- Jindal from Mohra. Deadlier than Hassan in all aspects but a better role along with a suave personality made me mention Hassan’s role here)
4) Langda Tyagi by Saif Ali Khan – I must admit I am not a fan of Saif Ali Khan. In fact i still sometimes wonder why he even got a National Award for the Best Actor! But then I think of Langda Tyagi and all my inhibitions are put to rest. I do not remember Ajay Devgan or Vivek Oberoi. All I remember is Tyagi oozing out envy and evil nature through his notorious grin. One of my favourite negative roles by a lead actor.
3)Shakaal by Kulbhushan Kharbanda – Oh my god was the reaction when I had seen the movie. Automatic door, sharks swimming nearby and his hand self-massaging his own scalp, Shakaal was every tapori, punter and gundaa’s idol. His charisma came out despite having bigwigs like Amitabh and Shot-Gun. Shaan movie would not have been the movie that it is without this character!
2) Mogambo by Amrish Puri – This is heartache. Not giving this character a numero uno position is killing me but I cannot help it. Amrish Puri is my favorite actor of all time and this role was nothing short of a dream. “Hail Mogambo”!With that brown hair, ability to create terror at will, making bombs and missiles and yes, having an army of his own.(Please don’t mention Pralaynath Gundaswami here, he was just a poor villain’s Mogambo) Along with the person who is ranked first, both of them are certainly the greatest villains Bollywood has ever produced. Mogambo Khush Hua! Other characters played by Amrish Puri which deserve a mention
Indrajit Chadda from Damini, Ajgar Jurrat from Vishwatma and Balvant Rai from Ghayal!
1) Gabbar Singh by Amjad Khan – So, the list ends with a bang, doesn’t it? Gabbar Singh is the character which was immortalized by one of the greatest actors of all time, Amjad Khan. Several years and many films later, many locals villains like Jageera from China Gate have tried to copy his revenue model of taking money/grains from the villagers, but no one could surpass the fear that Gabbar had created. Moreover his trusted line of lieutenants, Sambha and Kaliya only added to his clout. Despite having Sanjeev Kumar and Dharmendra in the movie, Sholay will always be known for Gabbar and his dialogues. “Joh Darr gaya samjho marr gaya” is applicable for every mba aspirant who will be facing an interview while “kitne aadmi the” will be the question on every body’s mind when a candidate comes out of the interview room. Vengeance, ruthlessness and evil at its dirty best, Gabbar Singh is the best villain Bollywood has gifted us!
Other notable negative characters which deserve mention– Lion from Kalicharan(Ajit), Anna from Parinda(Nana Patekar,definitely 6th on the list) and Sunil Malhotra from Darr(Shahrukh Khan)
P.S– 1)Special thanks to Salim Javed duo. The top three villains were their “brainchildren”. They captured the true importance of characterization in all their movies. 2) I am sure there are many Bollywood fans here at pagalguy! Suggest improvements in the list and let me know if I have missed any one!
3) Special thanks to Pagalguy editors for increasing the word limit to 1000 words!