DNA takes you through a string of actors who immortalised the archetypal 'bad man' in Hindi cinema through their dazzling performances and dialogues.
Amjad Khan
Sholay's Gabbar Singh, played by Amjad Khan, will live forever as the bloodthirsty bandit who was evil personified. His menacing "Tera kya hoga, Kalia?" is among the most famous dialogues in Hindi cinema.
 |
| Amrish Puri The late Amrish Puri was known for playing evil characters with aplomb. His Mogambo in Mr India was intimidating like few others. "Mogambo... khush hua!" was a line that instantly captured the imagination of the masses. |
| |
| Pran Pran was the actor who set the benchmark for the Hindi film villain's personality and temperament for several decades. Though he played positive roles, too, in the span of his six-decade-long career, he came to represent the quintessential rogue with a wicked mind and intent. |
| |
| Prem Chopra "Prem naam hai mera... Prem Chopra." This self-introductory line from the blockbuster Bobby was quintessential Prem Chopra, one of the enduring baddies of Hindi cinema. The malicious grin that he always sported in films confirmed the immorality of the characters he played. |
| |
| Kulbhushan Kharbanda The bald-as-an-egg Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Shakaal in Shaan was the ultimate tech-savvy blackguard of Hindi cinema. The calculated silence that Shakaal used in the film was far more intense and murderous than the force of his sporadic dialogues. |
| |
| Ajit Ajit aka Hamid Ali Khan as the inimitable 'Loin' in Kalicharan — "Saara shehar mujhe loin ke name se jaanta hai" — was the exemplar of the money-minting, influential bad man of Hindi cinema. Ajit, whose film career had more or less spluttered to a halt in the 1960s, became one of the most sought after villains in the 1970s, garnering the adulation of the masses with lines such as "Lily, don't be silly." In fact, his dialogues spawned a whole range of 'Ajit' jokes. |
| |
| Danny Denzongpa Danny Denzongpa's tall frame, taut muscles, firm jaw and deep voice often bagged him villainous roles which he would play with ease. Films such as Krantiveer and Vijaypath featuring him as the bad guy won him awards for his stellar performance. |
| |
| Shakti Kapoor Shakti 'Aauu' Kapoor is one actor who can carry off comic and villainous roles with equal aplomb. His character Balma in Chalbaaz was seen to be forever mouthing the lines 'Mein chhota sa, nanha sa, pyara sa baccha hoon,' something that he is identified with even two decades later. |
| |
| Gulshan Grover From Bhabhi to Criminal to 16 December, Gulshan Grover essayed the role of Bad Man to the hilt! His performance as the goon Thakral in International Khiladi is as delightful as his oft-repeated dialogue, 'Dil garden garden ho gaya.' |
| |
| Manoj Bajpai Manoj Bajpai's Bhiku Mhatre in Satya was a revolutionary character because it symbolised Mumbai's local gangster replete with tapori looks and lingo. His 'Mumbai ka king kaun? Bhiku Mhatre' was a ground-breaking line. |
Naagin 7
Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai
Writers Corner: Books, Stories & Poems
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
0