Sunday, March 30, 2014

Guest Post: Good ole’ Villains in Hindi Movies



The best way to face the so called "writers-block" is to bug your friends for a guest post :P ... so here I'm with a post from a blogger friend. 

This Sunday, let me introduce an avid blogger who writes everything from fiction to poetry, a journalist by profession and also a friend, Vishal Bheeroo, who was kind enough to grace his presence here. 

Without much blabbering on to him.... 
  
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Good ole’ Villains in Hindi Movies.


Hindi movies are undergoing a transition where the good old villains have gone into oblivion. Gone are the days when the archetypal villain would pack a punch and scare the hero to death. Yeah! We miss the villains mouthing hard-hitting dialogues like Amrish Puri scaring kids with epic one liners, ‘Mogamba Khush Hua’, Prem Chopra with his classic, ‘Prem Naam Hai Mera, Prem Chopra or Pran Saab in Zanjeer, ‘Iss Ilaka mein Nayaa Aaya Saab..Varna Sher Khan ko kaun Nahin Janta’ or ‘Michael Daroo peeke Danga Karta Hain.’

Villains were alter ego of our mainstream heroes by re-defining character roles as they delivered power-packed performances. One is tempted to ask whether the likes of Amitabh Bachchan in Zanjeer or Anil Kapoor in Mr India would have the same impact on the audience had there not been actors of the caliber of Pran or Amrish Puri playing havoc amidst high octane action scenes. I mean, the villains gave the heroes such as tough fight throughout films that audience learned the art of loving to hate the villains. How can we forget Gabbar Singh who would scare every child, ‘Kitne Aadmi the…Jab Bacha Rota hai Raat Ko Maa Kehte hai so ja Munna Nahin to Gabbar Ayega.’? I wonder whether Jai and Veeru could exist in Sholay without Gabbar Singh.

Being an ardent and self-confessed fan of Masala movies, I feel it hard to digest that we hardly see villains in movies. The crass but larger than life villains that stood tall among charismatic heroes such as Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Anil Kapoor, among others, made movies an event to look forward every Friday. It was an experience watching the villain battling the hero and, at one point, you started to doubt whether the hero will be able to overpower the villain.

Villains defined heroes as the ‘audience’ looked up to the saviors who would protect an entire village or the victory good over eveil. I feel that a movie couldn’t have the same impact on the audience without the power packed performance of the bad guys. Just imagine a flick with a weak villain that makes life a sundry affair for the hero? Bland performances and boring movie! You bet!

However, actors such as Gulshan Grover made powerful villains with lines such as, ‘I am a bad guy’ that would make the audience break into splinter of laughter not without a chill running down the spine. Among the recent lot, Prakash Raj has managed to tower above the rest by infusing maniac laughter and menacing dialogues in the moniker that made the audience wanting more from the man. Prakash Raj weaved his magic and became an overnight sensation in movies like Singham, Wanted and Buddha Hoga Tera Baap. Truly an affair to remember!


I wonder whether 100 years of cinema can be celebrate without yesteryears villains such as Ajit, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher, Pran and the not so recent actors like Gulshan Grover and Prakash Raj. Glorious years of cinema and a fading era, one is tempted to say. 



17 comments :

  1. Agree...what would the heroes do without the villains...Even though the villains do not have any power packed dialogues to mouth the dread has not died completely. I do see some really doing a good job.
    Nice article.

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  2. Pran was the best villian ever, in my opinion. The evergreen anti-hero! Interesting post, Vishal!

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  3. Oh yes, what would be our movies without the villains... the people whom we love to hate!! While most villains are very dramatic, be it their costumes or dialogues or mannerisms, I prefer the subtle and realistic villains :D

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  4. Thanks ton, Kajal and agree! There are some who are doing a great job and so well said, what would heroes do without villains?
    @Beloo: Agree with you and Pran Saab is the best villain and, of course, actor. Evergreen anti hero and he'z been a sheer delight to watch.

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  5. Thanks a ton, Sheethal Susan for giving me the honor to write on your space:) I am honored::)

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  6. Villans of yester years did add punch to a movie. Pran was my favourite.

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  7. I'm not a great movie buff but I thoroughly enjoyed this post, Sheetal and Vishal! What would movies be without the 'bad' gys!

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  8. Amrish Puri, Gulshan grover were my favourite yesteryear Villians. Never feel Anupan Kher had a villianish streak in him! :D

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  9. Every movie must, must have a good villain!

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  10. Thanks @Geeta, I wonder what films and heroes would have been without strong villains packing a punch.
    @Corinne: Thanks a ton and bad guys gives the added edge to the films.
    Red Handed: My fav remains Pran Saab and Amrish Puri.. Yeah, for Paresh Rawal and Anupam Kher, the audience see them more as comic actors that cloud their villainous streak..hehe

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  11. Though what you say is true, we must realize that whether the entertainment factor is generated or not. Unlike bollywood, hollywood tends to keep villains in a very important position, like the Joker in TDK. I simply praise Heth Ledger's acting on that one.

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  12. Now it is very easy to find youtube movies, and hindi movies. You can watch free new movies online, watch movies online and watch movies online free.

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  13. @Sanved: Agree the entertainment quotient matters and that's why I say packing a punch. I wouldn't like to compare Hindi cinema to Hollywood and believe both of them are brilliant in their own ways. Thanks ton for commenting:)

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  14. @Michelle: Thanks a ton and villain matters..evil is good:)

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  15. Thanks a ton Shilpa and couldn't agree more. What's movies without villains?!!! hehe It makes our films cult classics and an affair to remember.

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  16. You have listed practically all of them.
    I think Pran was a villain whom everyone "loved"
    But the best villain was Kanhaiya Singh. In his own words "after the premier of 'Mother India' when I came out, the ladies started throwing sandals at me. I think that is the best compliment that I got as far as acting is concerned"

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