Bollywood’s villains once looked massively, as their menting appearance as prestigious they protested as heroes. From Gabbar Singh’s chilling laughter to Mogambo’s horrific calm, these villains defined the ages and removed the stories. But over time, the role and relevance of the Bollywood villain undergoes a dramatic change-sometimes disappearing, sometimes develops, but really never disappears. What happened to these villains?
Bollywood villain’s golden age
From 1950 to 1970s, Bollywood villain The artist was depicted like he wanted him to be the main character. He was a symbol of social evil-corrupt moneylenders, oppressive landlords and ruthless dacoits. Actor like Pran, Amjad Khan who is Gabbar Singh in ‘Sholay’, and Ajit became a domestic name, his characters were clearly cut into his wickedness. The audience always knew against whom there are roots.
Gray of Gray in the 1980s and 1990s
As Indian society changed, it also became cinema. In the 1980s and 1990s, villains were getting more fine. Instead of being evil for evil, they were shaped by personal vengeance or social injustice. Mogambbo of Amrish Puri ‘ India ‘and Sanjay Dutt’s Ballu’ Khalanayak ‘brought complexity, even sympathy for their roles. The rise of the opposing hero blurred the lines between the good and the evil, with the audience questioning their own loyalty.
Talking with India today, Javed Akhtar said that the depiction of the villain in Hindi cinema has always reflected the social and economic realities of that time. He said that in earlier days, the villain was often a zamindar or Thakur, such as Sukhilala’s character in Mother India. These figures represented the oppressive feudal system which was in its final stages during that era. Akhtar said, “It was the time when the feudal era was taking his last breath.”
Disappearance
By the 2000s, the classic villain had disappeared as romantic drama and family-centric films and became somewhat mainstream style, and “Bad Man” was often often missing in the type of film.
In the 80s and 90s, many actors specialized in villain roles used to either infection in other film industries, play character roles, or their presence in Bollywood was seen to be low. For example, Mukesh Rishi is known for his villain roles in the early 90s and early 2000s, became less active in Hindi cinema and moved towards regional films. Similarly, Ashutosh Rana, who was famous for his chilling opposition roles, saw a decline in the villainous parts of the mainstream after the 2000s.
According to an Hindustan Times report, one of the final superstars of the role of the villain, Gulshan Grover explained to this development: “Reel reflects the real. The directors try to see what looks around him. Earlier, the characters were black and white from the beginning.
Modern Bollywood villains are less about mostache-twirting evil and more about psychological depth. They show contemporary concerns co-corporate greed, terrorism, political corruption and personal trauma. Ranveer Singh’s Alauddin Khilji is in ‘Padmavat’ and Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Faisal Khan has his environmental products in ‘Gangs of Wasipur’, which are the shape of circumstances rather than congenital wickedness.
Pran’s grandson Siddharth Sikand shared a few years ago in a conversation with Atims that the veteran actor would probably be disappointed at how the villain has been depicted in today’s Bollywood films. He shared that while Pran played a variety of roles in his career, who were really excited, he was playing the role of a villain and doing so with the infallible flair.
Siddharth said that this nature is missing to a large extent in present cinema in opposing roles. “In those days the producer did not only want to project the hero on a large scale. Today, I watch very big star movies, but the villain is either a newcomer or a struggle. The project may increase the business viability. But I am not saying that those people should not be cast, it is just that the opponent is more than that.”
Hero turn villains: The Rise of the Anti-Hero
An interesting trend is the number of prominent men adopting negative roles. Shah Rukh Khan’s anti-hero in ‘Bazigar’ and ‘Dar’, Hrithik Roshan’s thief in ‘Dho 2’, and Saif Ali Khan’s Langda Tyagi in ‘Omkara’ indicated the desire to detect the dark side to all, ‘
Contemporary villain
Despite the alleged disappearance, 2023 saw the revival of the memorable anti -memorable: Emraan Hashmi brought a clever, modern danger as Atish Rahman in ‘Tiger 3’ as Emraan Hashmi.
In ‘Jawa’, Vijay Sethupathi’s Kaili and John Abraham’s gym in ‘Pathan’ offered different colors of the villain, which is a ruthless with a tragic backstory. The much -awaited turn in Bobby Deol’s ‘Animal’ shows that there is hunger for strong opponents.
