Vijay Dinanath Chauhan – Agnipath
Amitabh Bachchan got a National award for the powerful role of a Robin Hood-ish gangster avenging his father’s murder. For Vijay Dinanath Chauhan he changed his most important & recognisable asset, his voice. The film borrowed from Al Pacino’s Scarface and Amitabh from Al Pacino who had changed his voice for the film. The result was stupendous (He was also influenced by the real life don Vardarajan Mudliar). For someone like Amitabh to break free from his booming voice that draws people to the theatres and adds power to his dialogues must have been quite a risk. But it worked and how! He changed his look as well with kohl-lined eyes and white suits to go with his underworld don image. He spewed venom in the newly acquired gruff voice that highlighted the bitterness of the character. The result was truly sensational!
Munna – Rangeela
There have been many Munna Bhais in Hindi films but no one can touch the psychedelic Munna played by Aamir Khan. The character also boasted of Ram Gopal Varma’s creative wizardry. Though the film had people drooling for the made-over Urmila romping on the beaches in skimpy clothes, but every time Munna came on screen, he stole the show. Aamir as a Mumbai tapori armed with his witty roadside one-liners was a treat to watch. Dressed in bright yellows and reds, Munna endeared himself to the audiences with dialogues like “Fan on chalu kar. AC hai to mundi idhar ghuma na”, “Ek dum corner ka seat hai... ek yeh corner ka aur ek woh corner ka”, “Apun ka Happy Birthday nahin ho sakta kya”.
Mogambo – Mr. India
Amrish Puri’s menacing act as Mogambo was not just a turning point in his career but also the most memorable comic-book-villain-acts in Hindi cinema. The audiences were thrilled every time Amrish Puri glared down at them with his fiercely bulbous eyes sporting an atrocious blond wig and garish knee high silver heeled boots. They came back again and again to hear him mouth possibly the most repeated line of Hindi cinema (post 80s), ‘ Mogambo khush hua’ . Once out of the cinema halls they completely ignored Mogambo’s villainous streak and made his fun lingo a part of their own. Amrish Puri, on his part played the character with a great sense of fun endearing it to the audiences, specially the little ones. He found a permanent place as Mogambo in the Bollywood ‘Hall of (In) Fame’.
The role was earlier visualized with Danny Denzongpa in mind and it was given to Amrish Puri as a second choice. ‘Mogambo’ was a 1953 ‘jungle safari’ film starring Clark Gable.
Bhiku Mhatre – Satya
A character that made a star out of a ‘nobody’, Bhiku Mhatre was a no-frills-no-nonsense role portrayed brilliantly by Manoj Bajpai. The dreaded gangster Bhikubhai is not your regular formula baddie. He is a trigger-happy underworld don who doesn’t need a ‘get-up’ to look the part. Despite being a sadist he evokes sympathy and has a great sense of humour. Manoj Bajpai’s intensity was almost reminiscent of a certain ‘angry young man’ of yore. Bhiku Mhatre floored the audiences as an attitude ‘bhai’ with killer statements like, “ Mumbai ka raja kaun ? Bhiku Mhatre !” making him one of the most believable screen villains ever.
Gabbar Singh – Sholay
It’s a tad difficult to fit Gabbar into a single paragraph. He, who boasts of being the most- imitated character of Hindi cinema, a villain that people love to hate. He is unarguably the most legendary character of tinsel world. Had he been ‘born’ in Hollywood, we would have had kids playing with Gabbar figurines and memorabilia (he did surface in the desi version though; on biscuit wrappers and water bottles). Whether it’s his dialogues that are now folk-lore ( Pachas pachas kos door gaon mein jab bachcha raat ko rota hai to maa kahti hai beta soja ..soja nahin to Gabbar Singh aa jaayega ) peppered with his quirky vicious laughter showing his tobacco-stained teeth or the trademark ferocity ( Yeh haath mujhe de de Thakur ), Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh is a true blue cult-figure.
All Characters - Sholay
Each and every character of Sholay is a part of the cinematic folklore, but apart from Gabbar the other most popular characters are Hindi cinema’s best-known buddies, Jai- Veeru and Veeru’s blabbermouth love interest, Basanti. The two friends singing ‘ Yeh dosti hum nahin chhodenge’ makes the most enduring image of screen friendship. They stick together through thick and thin and in the end Jai sacrifices his life to save his Veeru. Hema Malini as the chatterbox Basanti was worth a laugh. Jai, spitting cool sarcasm asks Basant I “ Basanti, tumhara naam kya hai ” and Basanti goes hysterical chattering away, ’’ Yunki mujhe befuzool baat karne ki aadat to hai nahin , par phir bhi tumne poochha hai to ’’. Veeru is a playful character, best known for his water-tank scene in the film where he screams ‘sooside’ sending you rolling with laughter. The three share some of the most comical and memorable scenes in the film. Whenver we hear anything like Thakur we remember only Sanjeev Kumar. It was his effect. Else Jailor - Asarani, Surama Bhopali and even Ghodi ’’Dhanno’’ had become life time famous.