Mumbai, October 02: Mo gambo dukhi hua! This would have been the iconic villain’s line if he had seen the clan of his bad men dwindling, actually, almost becoming extinct.
The villians of Bollywood have undergone a change of heart… they have either turned good or plain jokers! Now mothers can no longer say ‘Soh jao bete varna Gabbar Singh aa jayega’. Amjad Khan terrorised all as Gabbar in Sholay. He was evil and his laughter, even more devilish than the devil’s. His line Arre O Sambha, Kitne Aadmi The? is still the most mouthed dialogue. Later, he went on to do many films like Parvarish, Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin, Muqadar Ka Sikander as a villain, mostly opposite Amitabh Bachchan. But tinseltown had other plans for him. They reformed the villain in him and cleansed his soul. Amjad not only did unconventional roles in Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Yaarana, Laawaris and others, he also played comical characters in Qurbani, Love Story and Chameli Ki Shaadi.
Another actor, Gulshan Grover known as the Bad Man of Bollywood, no longer gets bad roles. The villain, who made an impact with Sadma, must have himself suffered one when he was no longer required to say ‘Bad Man’ to the trembling heroine. Gullu who had mastered the art of killing and raping with ease, has over the years, turned into the Good Man of Bollywood.
Even Shakti Kapoor laid down his arms. The actor who scared the daylights out of Sridevi in Chaalbaaz, when he made her forcibly call him “mere balma” was later seen roaming around in shorts as Govinda’s sidekick, gyrating to the song Aa Aa Ee Oo Oo in films like Raja Babu. Shakti, who has almost vanished from the scene, was last seen making people laugh with his histrionics instead of making them cringe in fear. Then there was also the great Amrish Puri, who with his bass voice shouted, “Mogambo Khush Hua” in Mr India. He continued spreading aatank in every second film but later gave up his tyrant image to play a doting grandfather or a strict old man. Anupam Kher, as the nefarious villain Dr Dang, eventually put an end to the bad man in him to play the cool dad to Shah Rukh Khan in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge and went on to do other feel-good films.
The same was the fate with yesteryear villains like Pran, Prem Chopra and Kader Khan. Pran, one of the most celebrated villains in the industry, after films like Apradhi, Madhumati, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hei, Ram Aur Shyam and others, went on to do character roles in Zanjeer, Amar Akbar Anthony and Majboor. Pran Sahab had such clout in the industry that he was paid higher than Big B for Don.
If Pran went through a radical change, so did the on-screen demon Prem Chopra. His cold-blooded roles in Upkar, Kati Patang, Woh Kaun Thi, Teesri Manzil, Jheel Ke Us Paar, Des Pardes etc, and his famous line from Bobby, “Prem naam hai mera, Prem Chopra,” won him accolades, but he too, with age, switched roles and played the loving father to many actresses. Then there’s also Kader Khan who once used to send chills down the spine of heroes but later played the bade bhaiya or the easy-to-bully-sasurji to mostly Govinda. Even Paresh Rawal changed his profession only to be crowned the highest paid comedian of today’s times. The actor has been liked more as the comedian Babu Bhai in Hera Pheri than the underworld bhai that he played earlier. The same goes with Rajpal Yadav. The actor had joined the industry as a sadak chaap goonda, but tasted success when he switched roles and made people laugh.
Whether these actors like playing the good man or not, Bollywood for sure, misses them. With the end of Gabbar Singh, Mogambo, Dr Dang and their likes, the heroes too get lesser opportunities to rescue damsels in distress from the clutches of rapists or avenge the murder of their father because of who their vidhwa maa is relegated to the chula preparing aloo ke parathe aur gajar ka halwa. Sigh!
—Agencies