Changing face of villains in Indian cinema

From the era of silent movies to the spectacular world of 3D/4D, Indian cinema has evidently registered its presence world over. With the advent of globalization, today’s Hindi cinema (popularly known as Bollywood) is on transforming verge in terms of thoughts, contents, artistes and technologies. As a result, our contemporary movies which were earlier stuck between the good and the evil have now started looking beyond the concept, which is closer to realism and not based only on hero vs villain.
Our larger than life villains have now lost their relevance and are replaced by grey shaded characters coined as anti-heroes. Unlike villains, these anti-heroes don’t want to be stereotyped. We have examples of Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Khanna and John Abraham to name a few, who have successfully performed both heroes and anti-heroes on silver screen. However, this trend has posed a threat to the existence of reel life villains, forcing them to play character roles only. Needless to say, those days have almost gone now when you could make your kid fright with just mentioning the name of a Hindi film’s baddie.
On the eve of 100 years of Indian cinema, let’s take a look at some yesteryears baddies, who set new trends with their on-screen wickedness and changed the face of Hindi cinema’s villains.
Kanhaiyalal
A shrewd, crafty and greedy moneylender as he is known in his films like Mother India, Ganga Jamuna, Ram Aur Shyam and Upkar, Kanhaiyalal represented the true face of the cunning middleman of Indian agrarian society. Many critics have even attributed him Shakespeare’s Shylock of rural India. Although he played many characters but his villainous role as Sukkhi Lal in Mother India and Lala Dhaniram in Upkar were more famous amongst all.
Jeevan
He became prominent through his roles in 60s, 70s and 80s. In fact it was he who started playing the comic villain. This trend was later followed by many villains like Prem Chopra, Shakti Kapoor and Kader Khan. His distinctive voice and manners of dialogue delivery kept him apart and unique. From an evil villager to a shrewd Zamindar to an opportunist politician and later on an urbane, sophisticated smuggler- he played almost all type of villainous roles. Naya Daur, Dharam Veer, Amar Akbar Anthony, and Johny Mera Naam were some of his best movies.
Pran
The popularity of Pran as a villain can be established through the fact that parents of his era had even stopped naming their sons ‘Pran’ because of his impact as a baddie. His looks and his mannerism used to invoke fear in movie goers and producers were ready to pay him higher than the supporting actors and sometimes equal to heroes. His on screen presence was often showed by cigarette’s smoke rings. He replaced the cruel rustic moneylender to city’s suave but crafty villain, who could mould himself from soft spoken to stern. It was he who started donning different getups and this trend was later followed by Gulshan Grover.
Ajit
The (in)famous ‘boss’ of Hindi cinema, Ajit was known for his famous dialogues such as "Mona darling", "Lilly don't be silly", “Smart boy” and “Sara shahar mujhe Loin ke naam se janta hai”. From dacoit to businessman, he brought fame to mafia after Zanjeer. He portrayed a smuggler who accompanied with gorgeous females, used to live a lavish life with stylish westernwears and accessories. His white and checked suits, shining leather shoes and big framed sunglasses depicted him a sophisticated but insensitive villain onscreen. His menacing nasal voice attributed him one of the most famous villains in Indian cinema. His best can be viewed in Mughal-e-Azam , Zanjeer, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Khote Sikkay, Charas and Kaalicharan.
Amjad Khan
The credit of bringing a purely ruthless villain on Indian cinema goes to Amjad Khan, who with his portrayal of dacoit Gabbar Singh in Sholay stole the show. The accomplished actor gave rise to a wild, visceral monster, who is still unbeaten by any character. His eccentric looks, eerie laugh and spouting dialogues are even fondly remembered by today’s generation. Amjad Khan was the first villain who even endorsed products in Gabbar’s getup. Superseding Ajit with his popularity, he continued playing more sophisticated and urbane criminal roles however couldn’t create Sholay’s magic again.
Prem Chopra
A charming, soft spoken but shrewd, stylish but womaniser - Prem Chopra epitomised the western culture inspired young generation on screen in Hindi films. In fact, it is believed that Prem Chopra started the trend of sexual molestation, polygamy, illicit relationship on screen which was followed by Ranjeet and Shakti Kapoor. He was at his best while playing the character of a sleazy, manipulative younger brother or a leery uncle. Bobby's - "Prem naam hai mera... Prem Chopra" - this one linerhelped him to show his over-the-top villainy. His best was seen in Upkaar, Do Raaste, Kati Patang, Do Anjaane, Aas Paas, Dostana and Phool Bane Angaarey.
Amrish Puri
The last baddie of Hindi cinema who had the power to terrorise audience with merely his roaring voice and rigorous looks was Amrish Puri. He was the face of a cruel, ruthless landlord (Thakur), who left no stone unturned to fulfill his desires. In 80s, he became a staple in Hindi films and rose to an iconic status after the release of Mr. India. In the film, he played a super villain Mogambo and his phrase Mogambo khush hua became one of the best recognised lines in Hindi Cinema like Gabbar Singh’s Kitne aadmi the. Puri also had a brush with regional as well as Hollywood movies. He worked in Steven Speilberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. After Danny, he was the only villain who also sang songs for few of his films, which was later picturised on him.
Shah Rukh Khan
A trendsetter of anti hero in Indian film industry, although Shah Rukh started his career with successful movie Deewana but it was Yash Chopra’s Darr which made him a villain out of a hero. The movie created a history and Shah Rukh became a heartthrob of millions despite his villainous character. The movie also made him YRF’s favourite star. Later on, he appeared in negative roles in movies like Bazzigar, Anjaam and Don series. However, he started refusing purely anti hero’s role after the failure of Anjaam but the trend commenced by him was alter followed by many stars including Akshay Khanna, Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt to name a few.