While villains and their villainy are a common enough occurence in Hindi Cinema since time immemorial, they have always been painted more as buffoons and less as twisted geniuses. However, that is not to say there haven’t been negative performances that didn’t give you chills all the way down to your guts. Here are my five best performers in negative roles and their evil characters.
Pran has ruled unparallel over the 50’s and 60’s as the man whose very name created such terror in people’s hearts that it was rumored no parent wanted to name their kid "Pran". The fact that he was supposedly a real gentleman offscreen magnified the evilness in his roles. As the lecherous Raja in Madhumati, the dacoit Raaka in Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehti Hai, the exceptionally duplicitous Shyam in Mere Sanam and the spoilt rich kid in Munimji, Pran was probably the first villain to use his sophisticated charm for manipulation.
Nobody would have thought that the chocolate-faced Saif Ali Khan would in future enact some of the most despicable negative roles in recent years. His cold-blooded act in Ek Hasina Thi was just the beginning of things to come. Being Cyrus saw him as an expert con in conflict with his conscience and Omkara had him play the notoriously scheming Langda Tyagi.
The Late Amrish Puri was significant in changing the face of Bollywood negative roles. No longer were the villains just ordinary men with extraordinary greed. With Amrish Puri arrived a whole era of negative characters in the high strata of society. Eminent businessmen, politicians, highranking officers, zamindars, Judges, etc, Amrish Puri has played them all. His booming voice, ferocious gaze and the position of power gave his characters an all new menacing edge. Notable in Mr. India, Kishen Kanhaiya, Ghayal, Tridev, Karan Arjun and Dance Dance
Ajit is THE Don. No actor could come close to the coolness, elegance and style that Ajit brought to his roles of the Underworld Boss. He wasn’t shrieking series of curses, he wasn’t laughing maniacally, he wasn’t sending leery glances at our heroine’s bosom, but his evil force was present nevertheless. He and Amitabh Bachchan had one of the most intriguing antagonist-protagonist chemistries.
Ajay Devgan started off his career as the idealistic young man who’ll beat up anyone committing injustice. He slowly graduated into negative characters that are more on par with Hollywood standards. Motivated not by mere greed, his characters show a deeper psychotic tendency. Be it the highly intelligent killer in Deewangee or the crafty terrorist in Khakhee or the ambitious Gaurav in Shikhar, what strikes out are his unique acumen combined with an unstable personality. In the recent Omkara, his Omkara loses himself into a murderous rage fuelled by jealousy.