Characters are, being honest the most exciting part of any film. agreed, the film has to have a good screenplay, charisma and some good technical work, but its the characters who make all their hard work visible and do their bit to make the film memorable. here is the list of my most memorable characters which will stay with me as long as I live....
*note :- THIS SELECTION IS BASED ON THE FILMS FROM 1970 AND STRICTLY MY CHOICE.
- GABBAR SINGH inSHOLAY
this character is genuinely unforgettable. this role was challenging but also had some alluring dialogues and a great inroduction scene. AMJAD KHAN was perfect for it to a tee. that wicked laugh of his still lingers in my mind and the dialogue "KITNE AADMI THE ?" is the most recited one ever.
- DEVRAJ SAHAI in BLACK
that latent anger, that sublime pain, and those loud characteristics. what a complex man was DEVRAJ SAHAI ! mr. bachchan was just picture perfect from his very forst scene when he wails "OH ! IT HURTS !" he made this character even more enticing and eternal with his A-OK performance.
- SUNIEL in KABHI HAAN KABHI NAA
this character’s one-off quality is that any carefree teenager can relate to it. his love life, his father’s anger, his dreams, everything was so real. and I must say, only SRK could have done justice to this role. he fitted in this character like gloves, and performed excellently.
4. VIJAY VERMA in DEEWAR
one cant escape the charisma when he says "AGLE HAFTE EK AUR COOLIE SAWANT KE AADMIYON KO PAISE DENE SE INKAAR KARNE WALA HAI". the angry young man image of BIG B fully bloomed in this emotional saga of two brothers. some really great lines and vijay verma’s name will be written in golden letters in indian film history.who can forget his anguish in "MAIN AKELE SIGN NAHI KAROONGA, MAIN SABSE PEHLE SIGN NAHI KAROONGA."
- NAINA KAPOOR in KAL HO NAA HO
For the first time in indian cinema, here came an angry young woman , always upset with life and thus often behaving imprudenty. and how a man changes her life forever by teaching a basic lesson of living life fully is shown beautifully. all the goings-on in her life ever since and the way she decides to deal with all the complexities of her life are starkly engaging. this was a good change for preity too !!!
- BHEEKU MAHATRE in SATYA
"MUMBAI KA KING KAUN ? BHEEKU MAHATRE !" this one line sums up all the strength, arrogance, pride and power in the character. SATYA was largely character driven and manoj bajpai with a powerpacked porformance was the half of it. his life summing up of some upstart man fridays, a machievallen brother, an ever-arguing wife, and a pleasureful but fatal job that is never certain to last was intriguingly etched on screen.
- RASHMI in QAYAMAT SE QAYAMAT TAK
rashmi was the the sweetest and the most naive character I have seen on celluloid. her selfless love for raj [ though totally reciprocated later ] and her sweet confessions were very likeable. the scenes when she says " PAR YEH JAROORI TO NAHI KI TUM BHI MUJHSE PYAAR KARO" or "AGAR AAP HAMSE HAMARA NO. MAANGENGE TO BHI MANA NAHI KARENGE" is a sight to behold. juhi’s comfort level with aamir in this film was unparalleled.
- RAHUL in DARR
The obsessive lover in this yash chopra film came to life with an unprecedented performance from SRK. Her name written on chest, the walk on the slim terrace plucking petals and all those efforts to kill her fiancee. SRK made last 20 odd minutes of the flm one of the most thrilling sequences ever. this is SRK’s most intriguing performmance ever [ and the most popoular one too ]
NOW I CHOOSE TWO GREAT TEAM WORK PERFORMANCES :-
- MICHEAL MUKHERJI and LALLAN SINGH in YUVA
these extremely contrasting characters kept us on the edge of our seats throughout. lallan was a violent man whereas micheal is a suave one. lallan decided to be a gangster to rule the world while micheal chose to be a rebel for the same purpose. the ideologies of micheal clashing the power of lallan will be one of the most exciting chapters in indian film history.
- KARAN SINGHANIA and DJ in RANG DE BASANTI
Again, theses two characters stood out in this thought-provoking film. DJ’s youthfulness was balanced by karan’s subtlety. DJ’s silent confessions were balanced with Karan’s carefree approach as if he wants to say "I GIVE A DAMN TO THIS WORLD". but towards the climax, they all realise their duties and that what tugs at your heartdstrings. aamir khan and siddharth were simply brilliant.
SPECIAL MENTION -
all the cameos in the magnum opus SHOLAY were genuinely unforgettable. be it the non-stop chatter BASANTI [ actually, it was just a cameo ], the old timed jailor [ played by asrani brilliantly ], the sorrowful widow [ jaya bachchan made an impact ], or KHAN CHACHA [ YOU CANT FORGET THE SCENE WHEN HE, AFTER A LONG PAUSE SAYS "ITNA SANNAATA KYON HAI BHAI ?" ] everyone was unforgettable. this was the reason why sholay will be remembered forever - its eternel characters.*
hope u liked my review. comments and ratings eagerly awaited
till next time
harsh