Shades of villainy in the year gone by

By: Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFM
Monday, January 01, 2007
Gone are the days when there used to be one hero, one heroine and horde of villains in the film. With majority of films being character driven and situations as the villain more than an individual, it is hard to distinguish between black, white and grey. After all each of us have all the 3 shades, isn't that so!? This is the reason why each of the negative performances in 2006 had an interesting tale to narrate. Something that was unconventional, unpredictable and untold!

Saif Ali Khan - Omkara, Being Cyrus

It is difficult to ascertain if Saif Ali Khan enacted a character or was there Langda Tyagi himself on the screen with a face of Saif Ali Khan? Coming up with a truly astounding performance that may not just count as an act of the villainy of the year but even the best this century, Saif Ali Khan showed Bollywood how to ride against the tide. The yuppy dude who so far had been busy flirting with girls in his decade old career demonstrated an example of how love for power and jealousy within could make one turn blind to everything around! Another super performance of the year coming from him was in the title role of Being Cyrus. A role that started off as 'Being Saif Ali Khan' turned into remarkably into Being Cyrus as the drama unfolded. He shocked... and how!

Boman Irani - Khosla Ka Ghosla, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Don

His most successful film of the year may have been Lage Raho Munnabhai but his best performance of the year was in Khosla Ka Ghosla. It's a pity that the film saw the light of the day 3 years after it was ready. Though he had almost similar professions in the two films, he showed the wicked side of his character with finesse! These were the roles that come with a tagline of "You would love to hate him"! Flawless in both the films, he was also menacing in Don where he was shown in a different light as a sophisticated mafia head/cop! Watch him mockingly apologize to SRK in the climax and you know why he is such a delight to watch! He didn't die at the end of Don and hence there are always chances of him coming back in the film's sequel!

Yet another performance that was villainous but came with a strong light hearted favor, Irrfan Khan excelled in the title role of The Killer. A man who was just performing one of those 9-6 duties while bumping people around the city as a true blue professional, Irrfan Khan never even once made you hate him. In fact you rooted for more as he kept poor Emraan Hashmi on his toes from beginning till the end of the movie. Ditto in case of Deadline where he was just brilliant as a hapless father trying to teach an errant doctor a lesson on life, greed and more! He didn't kill physically as in The Killer but the mental games he played were killing enough!

Rajat Kapoor - Corporate

Rajat Kapoor taught you how to commit a cold blooded murder while wearing a business suit and never dirtying your own hands with blood. Call it professional demands but his performance as a 'Food&Beverage' head honcho who doesn't have many choices than to adopt unethical over illegal ways to kill competition and keep your own business banner fly high was the first of its kinds. This man deserves to be seen a lot more since he is capable of being a part of so many interesting roles!

He may have been termed ordinary in Family but an ordinary Amitabh Bachchan is 100 times better than any in-form superstar! There were expectations of sparks flying yet again with Rajkumar Santoshi-Big B combo returning again after Khakee. Though none of that happened, Bachchan senior was still menacing enough as he chewed his cigar with aplomb. And yes, his emotional side was visible too when the mafia don was seen in a shattered state as he walked around his once-occupied-by-his-family-and-now-barren house!

Mithun Chakravorty - Chingaari

For last 2 years, Mithun's fans have been witness to his innumerous comeback attempts that started with Elaan. Surprisingly his best performance so far has been in the film Chingaari which didn't even get a proper release, let alone being visible at the theatres. Agreed that the film itself was no great shakes but Mithun's 'swami' act was dark enough to send you shuddering. He is someone who deserves much better, especially when Bollywood is going through such an interesting change!

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