Good times for baddies
There was a time in Bollywood when most superstars hesitated to do a role that portrayed them in negative light. The reason, maybe, that the audience associated the character in a film with their real life personalities. And that was the reason why the constituency of negative roles remained an almost watertight compartment with seasoned screen villains.
But a lot has changed now with the distinction between negative and positive characters becoming quite blurred nowadays. Recent films like Special 26, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Again, Ghanchakkar and Sahib Biwi aur Gangster Returns; all have a negative protagonist. And many upcoming films like Gulaab Gang, Dhoom 3, and Bullet Raja are going to feature some big superstars in negative roles.
Filmmaker Kapil Sharma believes that though many actors did negative roles earlier too, the trend has been catching on due to the evolution of the audience. “This evolution has led to a more demanding audience that is no more entertained with just black and white characters. For this reason, filmmakers are also trying to create more complex characters with multidimensional personalities who’re neither entirely good nor evil. Look at Dabangg that tells the story of a corrupt cop as a hero,” he says.
Asked about the reason why actors are more open to negative roles now, he adds, “I believe all actors are open to trying something different. And if you talk about those who are in the industry for decades, maybe they want to reinvent themselves by doing different kinds of roles so the audience doesn’t get bored. I think that’s why now you see Sunny Deol in romcoms and Ajay Devgn doing comedies.”
Jimmy Shergil, who recently played a con artist in Special 26 and a royal Nawab with a strong negative streak in Sahib Biwi aur Gangster series, is no stranger to such roles. “For me, it’s nothing new. I have played many negative characters starting with Anand Rai’s Stranger, to an out-and-out negative character in Eklavya, to the role of Sahib. This is a change that has happened over time, but yeah, earlier we had very few such plots. Now more and more filmmakers are coming up with such stories,” he says.
Asked what more can be expected in the negative themes, he adds, “Evil might get more evil. We’ll definitely see more interesting plots and characters. And it’ll be challenging for the actors too whether they can live up to that. I’d love to do more such roles and am excited about scaring the audience.”
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