Dark is mysterious, it’s magnetic; it has the power to hook you. Heroism is back in Bollywood, so is the archetypical villain. So while we eagerly await to see Sanjay Dutt aka Kancha Cheena’s menacing look in Agneepath. Shah Rukh Khan is heavily promoting his superhero flick Ra.One, everyone is waiting to see how Arjun Rampal looks as Ra.One. In the past, Lord Voldemort’s character became as popular as Harry Potter.
We spoke to film buffs to know what is it about a true villain that remains etched in their memory.
An avid movie watcher Richa Yadav says, “A movie with a wicked villain is like a racy thriller novel. The more menacing he is, the thrill is that much more. It gives me a kick to know how low a villain can stoop to. And when we are watching them on a celluloid, their larger than life characters become entertaining. Gabbar Singh from Sholay, Mogambo from Mr India, Joker in Batman series and Katiya from Ghatak are some of the best examples. I don’t remember any gentlemanly and polite villains. These villains are legendary.”
Media professional Ayandrali Dutta says that films without villains would be lifeless and spiceless. “Their presence was always an obstacle to the hero. With changing time, even main stream heroes prefer to see themselves as villains just like SRK Anjaam (which failed) few years back. Today, it’s Sanjay Dutt and Arjun who are vying to get into the bad books of the audience. Villains have a larger than life appeal and women surround them. Sadly, they always have to be beaten to death by heroes.”
It’s not easy to steal the limelight from a hero, but filmmakers over the years, have given villain due importance. With huge budgets, glam costumes, a villain can be a psycho or a restraint performer onscreen. Ayandrali adds, “There have been times when they stole the thunder from the hero. We still remember Prem Chopra’s dialogue “Prem naam hai mera”, and Gabbar’s “Kitne aadmi the”, and who can forget Amrish Puri mouthing “Mogambo khush hua”. These actors have become legends with their performances. Danny Denzongpa is the original Kancha Cheena, yet Sanjay looks promising in the remake. The typical villains have physically disappeared from the scripts. The tags that villains used to carry for themselves no more exist it has become diluted as it is hard to recollect a full fledged villain name in today’s era.”
Most films today lack a real villain unlike previous films.
Humera S, a student, says, “I am excited to watch both Agneepath and Ra.One. I am curious to know how different are the villains in the films. Sanjay and Arjun are great, but will they over shadow Hrithik and SRK? I can’t recall exceptional villains except perhaps Voldemort in Harry Potter series. Back home, Salman Khan has the larger than life persona in the industry.