There was a time when a Bollywood movie could never be complete without its quintessential villains. If you were to remove Gabbar from Sholay, or Mogambo from Mr. India, the movies would not stand a chance of survival. There was a clear demarcation between the good and the bad, the black and the white, the hero and the villain. Times have changed now and the movies are no longer black and white but also have an essence of grey with the advent of the anti-heroes. But, we will never forget some iconic villains of Bollywood who through their performance were so bad that they were good.
Here are a few of them:
Amrish Puri
When we think of Amrish Puri, the dialogue “Mogambo Khush Hua” still echoes in our mind. Amrish Puri has certainly been one of the most successful villains over the years. As Mogambo in Mr.India, Durjan Singh in Karan Arjun, Pasha in Hero, Amrish Puri has surely given his viewers goosebumps. A versatile actor, he was always the evil badass boss. Steven Spielberg had said that Amrish Puri was his favourite villain after watching him as Mola Ram in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Amjad Khan
“Kitne aadmi the”, this dialogue of Amjad Khan in Sholay as Gabbar sent shivers down the spine of every viewer. Amjad Khan was always a cruel and arrogant villain in all the roles that he played. Be it Dilawar of Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Gabbar in Sholay, Shahani Seth in Kaliya, his reel notoriety is indeed unparalleled.
Ajit
The royal, well dressed, sophisticated villain in all the roles that he played- Ajit. His famous dialogue “Mona, Kahan hai sona?” is still remembered by all the viewers. Ajit generally played the role of the evil mastermind, the don of the underworld, who was sophisticatedly cruel. He also was evilly comical. His dialogue, “Sara shehar mujhe loin ke naam se jaanta hai” sent us all into splits of laughter. He surely was the Loin, oops, sorry, Lion of Bollywood.
Prem Chopra
Prem Chopra was the kind of villain who made every viewer want to get into the silver screen and throttle him. Yes, He was that good. His portrayals of the villains Prem Chopra in Bobby and Kailash in Kati Patang are iconic. He was like the sly fox- cunning, sly, crafty, tricky, with a complex brain. And oh yes, he always leered at women in the films and no woman character was ever safe with him. “Prem naam hai mera, Prem Chopra” was his famous dialogude from the movie Bobby.
Pran
Awarded “Villain of the Millennium” by Stardust in 2000, Pran was certainly one of the most crooked and notorious villains of the silver screen of all times. His role as Gajendra in Ram Aur Shyam and Moti in Johnny Mera Naam are immemorable. His eyes were his best feature and when he looked at the victim with those ice-cold eyes and uttered dialogues such as “Main teri maut itni kharaab kar dunga, ke tujhe dekhkar maut ka farishta bhi kaanp uthe;” (I will give you such a violent death, even the angel of death will shiver seeing your corpse), it certainly sent shivers down the spine of the viewers.
Bollywood may have a new clan of anti-heroes and villains, but most of the Bollywood buffs surely miss the hardcore conventional Bollywood villains like the aforesaid.
