The Hero we all remember. But it takes a villain to make a Hero, Hero. The truth is, a Hero is only as strong as the Villain. If the bad guy is not something the audiences fear, the hero will not be able to do something out of ordinary and become a hero. I hate movies with weak bad guys as the film then ends up as a damp squib. Here are our picks for the top Bollywood villains.
Bollywood Villains from the 70s and Later
70s Bollywood cinema was very different than the moveies that we get today. Most of these were family dramas and the villain was an equivalent to today’s negative characters in the Saas-Bahu dramas that play out the TV. But that still needed special skill to invoke all the hatred that audiences can spare.
1. Gabbar Singh – Sholay
Gabbar Singh has captivated generations of audience and is without doubt one of the best and most dreaded villains of all time. No matter how many Gabbars come and go, Amjad Khan will be the only Gabbar in Bollywood.
Iconic Line: ‘Kitne Aadmi The’, ‘pachas pachas kos door gaanw me jab bachcha raat ko rota hai to maa kahti hai beta soja ..soja nahi to Gabbar aa jaayega’.
2. Mogambo – Mr. India
Almost every movie has a negative character, but some get etched in our minds and become apart of our lives. Amrish Puri‘s Mogambo in Mr. India was one such character. People from the 90s still use his signature dialogue in a mischievous context.
Iconic line: ‘Mogambo Khush Hua’
3. Kesariya Vilayati – Ram Lakhan
Gulshan Grover has given us many stellar negative roles. But his performance in Ram Lakhan as Keseriya Vilayati is unforgettable. The menacing look and the characteristic limp were enough to tell you of his evil intentions.
Iconic Line: ‘Bad Man’. These two simple words are forever attributed to Gullu in Bollywood
4. Majid Khan – Angaar
Nana Patekar has made many dialogues famous, but one of his best negative roles had no signature line. The raw simplicity of the character is what makes Majid a dreaded adversary in this crime movie of the 90s.
5. Shaakaal – Shaan
With Shaan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda made bald men evil. Shaakaal’s signature motion of hands massaging the scalp made this character that much more menacing. The slow dialogue delivery along with floating sharks added to the persona and made him a noteworthy adversary in this hit from the 80s.
6. Lajja Shankar Pandey – Sangharsh
Lajja Shankar Pandey is a serial killer who abducts children and kills them in the name of religious sacrifice. Ashutosh Rana will make you shiver and give you goosebumps with his performance in this movie, loosely based on Silence of the Lambs.
7. Inspector Giridhari – Hum
As a Inspector Giridhar, Anupam Kher plays the two sides and ensures that the enmity between the two rivals does not die down in this 90s movie that spans generations.
The background percussion music was his signature in this partly comic role, but was more devious than violent Bakhtawar.
8. Jageera – China Gate
The movie didn’t do too well, but the villainous character by Mukesh Tiwari was remembered for a long time. This was his debut role and he ensured that people would always know him as Jageera. The brutality of the character and his callous persona drove this villain into the Bollywood’s Villains Hall of Fame.
Iconic Line: Humse Ladne ki Himmat to tum Jootaloge, Magar Ye Kaminapan kahan se laoge!
9. Lotiya Pathan – Tezaab
Well, the name itself propelled Kiran Kumar on to the list of most remembered villains in Bollywood. Lotiya Pathan was a villain you could almost like. With ideals and principles, the character was menacing because of his unflinching belief in his rules.
Iconic Line: ‘Lotia jab deta toh ehsaan nahin karta … aur jab leta hai toh lihaaz nahin karta’.
10. Maharani – Sadak
Sadashiv Amrapurkar plays the role of an enunch – Maharani – who also runs a brothel in the lanes of Mumbai in this Romantic-Action movie. With his role of maharani, Sadhashiv Amrapurkar immortalized of a ‘Madam’ in the red light areas of India in the film industry.
Iconic Line: ‘Yehan ka raja, jism ke bazaar ka maharaja. Aur naam, Maharani’.
Which villain do you think is most memorable and a baddie in all of Bollywood?
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