Bollywood HEROES who have emerged to be great VILLAINS on the big screen

Not only great heroes, but our Bollywood superstars have also been  amazing villains on the big screen

Gone are the days when the villainy of a villain was an important part of every Bollywood film, in the 80s and 90s India cinema had gotten some of its biggest villains, be it Mogambo, Shakal, Crime Master Gogo or even Gabbar. While the era of the villains has faded out from Bollywood, today we don’t have actors who have been specifically cut out for the villain’s role, in fact, villains have been replaced by anti-hero and these roles are also today played by our superstars. This transition has begun from years and with that our superstars have also managed to ace their craft with grey characters on the big screen. 

Here are some of them…

Saif Ali Khan

Actor Saif Ali Khan who was always seen as a poster boy of rom-coms sent chills down everyone’s spine with his daunting act in Omkara as Langda Tyagi. And after these glimpses, the actor also played yet another intense role in Laal Kaptaan. His latest as Udhaybhan in Tanhaji has also proven, how Saif is a pro at negative roles too. Now, he will be seen playing a menacing villain from Indian mythology in his next Adipurush. Saif will be playing Lankesh, the most intelligent demon who existed 7000 years ago. 

Ranveer Singh

While we saw Ranveer play a hopeless romantic both on-screen and off-screen, his crazy charm left many ladies floored. But with his performances, the actor also proved that he was much more than being Bollywood’s chocolate boy, playing his part in Bajirao Mastani to the T, his villain act as Alauddin Khilji also left the critics singing praises for him. In fact, Ranveer’s villain act was compared to that of Joker in Batman. 

Sanjay Dutt

The larger than life hero Sanjay Dutt left everyone in awe with his life story Sanju. While he has a heart of gold, Sanjay’s on-screen persona has been portrayed otherwise. Yes, from playing a daunting role in Vastav and Khalnayak to a loveable don in the Munnabhai Franchise, Sanjay Dutt’s film choices have been quite versatile. However, his villain act as Kancha Cheena in Agneepath has been modern days most deadly negative role. 

Shah Rukh Khan

From being a psychopath in Darr to being an intimidating mafia in Don and Don 2, Bollywood’s King Of Romance Shah Rukh Khan also proved how he can ace grey characters too. 

Akshay Kumar

Khiladi Kumar has always been celebrated for his action stunts, his sense of humour and his patriotic stance at the movies, but he never let these tags stereotype him. From a comedy and romantic avatar, the actor dabbled into a negative one effortlessly in Ajnabee. And this was not it, he also further left people impressed with his villainous avatar in 2.0. 

Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has always been appreciated for his craft. And right from Gangs of Wasseypur, the actor has been a prominent name in the grey character space, and amongst his other amazing negative performances, his role in Badlapur and Kick have been quite notorious. 

Riteish Deshmukh

Rithesh Deshmukh has left many of our jaws aching with his comic performances; especially his effeminate stints in roles have been amazing. And again stepping out of this image of being a funny hero who makes everyone laugh, Riteish nailed his act of being a serial killer in Ek Villain. 

Well, it’s true that Bollywood has a talented bunch of actors and as long as films are made, there is a lot more our stars will do to entertain us. 

Written by Nawaz Kochra (Entertainment Journalist, Mumbai)