Top 20 Villains of Bollywood

2008 December 16
by Sujoy

They are the meanest creatures ever born on this planet. They are the pain in the arse of our Bollywood heroes and have some of the most badass lines; lines which make them immortal. Sometimes these villains are so badass that they own the movie, and the hero becomes just a mere character. Of course, in Bollywood terms and conditions, the hero always wins, but from the audience perspective, the hero might have won the battle, but lost the war. This post is my tribute to those 20 immortal villains that have graced the Bollywood silver screen. Some are straight out of comic strips, others are downright evil and mean, and the rest just tickle you and force you to roll down the corridor. It is such a shame though that these characters are more known as the Villains whereas they actually are the Heroes of the movies they were in. It was very hard to arrive at the final top 10 list, but you know, I am a genius of sorts when it comes to matters like these. No hurt feelings for those who couldn’t get through. Maybe you could be featured in the next list coming up shortly. Special mentions to the ones who just missed the list by an inch. ROLL THE DRUMS…….

20. Lotiya Pathan (Kiran Kumar) – Film: Tezaab
Achievements and Activities: Ganglord, kidnapper who doesn’t believe in Villain fashion. No white shoes, no furs and no underground camps. Downright street stuff with local goons and badass street fights. Started the first onscreen gang-war things of sorts.
Why is he on the list: In a movie which has Anil Kapoor playing the angry young man Munna, Madhuri Dixit dancing to ‘Ek Do Teen’ and the whole country dancing to it, if you can still remember the name of the villain, job well done!!!
Youtube Reference scene (click here) :- Lotiya Pathan is enraged at Munna getting punished for only a year.

19. Gulfaam Hassan (Naseeruddin Shah)-Film: Sarfarosh
Achievement and Activities: Ghazal Singer who playbacks Jagjit Singh’s vocals perfectly and carries out terrorist activites from his ancestral fort in Bahid, Rajasthan. Keyword: Mohajir.
Why is he on the list? He can pull out the ear of a child goat just because he broke a vase. He made the word “Gunaah” as one of the keywords for all mimicry artists who want to copy Naseeruddin Shah.
Youtube reference scene (click here):- The climax scene of Sarfarosh when Ajay Rathod’s plan dawns on Gulfam Hassan, but its too late.

18. Sunil Malhotra (Sharukh Khan)- Film: Darr
Achievement and Activities: Just plain old psychopath who’s lovestruck. The usual stalker syndromes, tattoo works on the chest, oh that’s not a tattoo, that’s inscribed by some knife. He survives tetanus. Hell, he survives Sunny Deol’s grip lock. Bollywood’s Houdini meets Fatal Attraction meets Superstar.
Why is he on the list? One word– K.k.k.k.k.kkkkk….Kiran
Youtube reference scene (click here):- The knife inscribing scene.

17.  Laxmi Devi ( Aruna Irani) – Film: Beta
Achievement and Activities: The usual ‘maalkin’ activities who rules the henpecked husband. Steps in as second wife of rich guy Prem, stepmom of Beta Anil Kapoor, and grabs all the property. Makes the stepson to believe that she is the best mom in the world, and keeps her husband sedated. Has brilliant sidekicks as well.
Why is she on the list? The continuous power battle between Madhuri and Aruna Irani made Beta the successful movie that it is (apart from the famous Dhak Dhak song). This was so much a woman’s show that it is indeed ironical that the movie was titled Beta; should’ve been Beti, Bahu or Sasumaa.
Unfortunately, no Youtube clips to display the evils of Stepmom Aruna Irani. The only videos that I get of Aruna Irani are her earlier years item numbers. But wtf, enjoy Dhak Dhak (click here)

16. Sher Khan (Pran ): Film-Zanjeer
Achievement and Activities: The Original Pathan of Bollywood, the benchmark of the onscreen Pathani accent. Runs all kinda illegal businesses. Fought with the angriest onscreen character ever- Inspector Vijay Khanna (Amitabh Bachhan). Made peace and friendship with him after the fight. Could have saved on laundry bills if they had known about it earlier. But then, we would’ve missed the great scene.
Why is he on the list? I know he is not a villain throughout the film, but did you guys did not watch his first scene with Amitabh Bachhan?
Youtube reference scene (click here):- The entry scene which establishes the character of Sher Khan. “Sher Khan Kaale ka dhanda karta hai lekin imaandari se”

15: Anna (Nana Patekar): Film – Parinda
Achievements and Activities: Ganglord and Bully right from childhood, established as one of the first onscreen underworld characters of Bollywood. Has fear of fire and flips out every time he sees it. Has the whitest of shirts and is religious. But no burning of agarbattis please!
Why is he on this list? C’mon , its Nana. The cold blooded dialogues, and the eyes.
Youtube reference scene (click here) :- The climax scene of Parinda. You know what happens.

14. Langda Tyagi (Saif Ali Khan) : Film – Omkara
Achievements and Activites: Rural, rustic dacoit, and foul-mouthed. Has a taste for jewellery.
Why is he on the list? Tell me one guy who remembered Ajay Devgan or Vivek Oberoi after this movie. Landa Tyagi’s insecurity, envy and evil mean self oozes out in Saif’s portrayal.
Youtube reference scene (click here) :- Langda Tyaagi on the bridge drinking some desi. Look what happens next.

13. Rama Shetty (Sadashiv Amrapurkar) : Film- Ardh Satya
Achievements and Activities: He’s a Gangsta!! White Kurta, gold chain, gloying black eyes, Zero percent Fair and Lovely.
Why is he on the list? Sadashiv’s career begins and ends with this role. Every other role of a villain played by him has been just a low budget copy of Rama Shetty.
Youtube reference: Watch the whole movie on Youtube. Just search “Ardh Satya”.

12. Gokul Pandit (Ashutosh Rana): Film-Dushman
Achievements and Activities: Postmaster by profession, serial killer by …err. He has no reason to kill except for some bloody sense of achievement that he can. This is pure evil.
Why is he on the list? Didn’t you read what I said:- PURE EVIL
Youtube reference scene (click here): The murder scene.

11. Subedar ( Naseeruddin Shah): Film-Mirch Masala
Achievements and Activities: Subedar saahab as the name suggests, flaunts a moustache, rides horses and travels across the village, letches at ladies, torments villagers, owns a gramaphone.
Why is he on the list? There is no better payback scene in Bollywood than the climax of Mirch Masala where Subedar is treated with some raw spice. Yep, you guessed it right, red hot chilli pepper thrown right at the eyes. The scream still resonates.
Youtube reference scene: Just the trailer of the movie (click here)

10. Tribhuvan Das (Anupam Kher) : Film – Chaalbaaz
Achievements and Activities: Caretaker of twin Sridevis, tormentor, oppressor, greedy, mean and has funny nose and teeth. Has Amba (Rohini Hattangadi) as his accomplice cum wife and Shakti Kapoor as Batuknath Lalan Prasad Malpani as his brother in law.
Why is he on the list? Dentally challenged + Facially distorted = Excellent villain.
Youtube reference scene (click here): This is actually a song called Gadbad Ho Gayee. Anupam Kher dressed as Shikari Shambhu.

9. Loin (Ajeet) : Film – Kalicharan
Achievements and Activites: He is the friggin’ baap of all crimelords. White suit, black shades, white pants, white shoes. Peter, Mona and Robert are few of his zillion sidekicks. Owns a control room with diodes flashing,
Why is he on the list? Coz he spawned a different genre of Bollywood villains. Coz he created the line “Saara Shaher mujhe Loin ke naam se Janta hai” which is etched in golden letters in Indian pop-culture.
Youtube reference scene: Didn’t find any. Instead enjoy Reena Roy dancing to Jaa Re Jaa (Click here)

8: Kesariya Vilayti aka BAD MAN (Gulshan Grover) : Film- Ram Lakhan
Achievements and Activities: I can’t remember anything else but the dialogue-BAD MAN.
Why is he on the list? BAD MAN. In a movie filled with Bollywood’s biggest villains Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal, Dalip Tahil , maybe not Dalip Tahil, you end up remembering only the BAD MAN. That’s why.
Youtube reference scene (click here): Just check it out. Watch the whole video though. Just don’t get smitten by Lakhan’s HR and PR skills.

7. Indrajit Chadhha (Amrish Puri) : Film – Damini
Achievements and Activities: Criminal Lawyer by profession, scheming mind which can go to any extent. Extremely mean with the ladies and doesn’t hesitate from discussing rape in details or uttering words like ‘jaangh’. Hates his hair falling on his forehead, so jerks his head frequently to keep his hair to the side.
Why is he on the list? He is the reason why Sunny Deol keeps shouting “Taarikh Pe Taarikh”.
Youtube reference (click here): The court scene where he utters “Jaanghe aapko maalum hai kya hoti hai”.

6. Kancha Cheena (Danny Denzongpa) : Film – Agneepath
Achievements and Activities: Crime Baron, Takes over village Mandwa where hero Vijay Dinanath Chauhan is born. Just wants to keep his business flourishing, so that’s it. Oh yes, he has aviator shades on with clean gelled hair.
Why is he on the list? With a name like Kancha Cheena, he has to be.
Youtube reference scene (click here): Danny vs. Big B

5. Balvant Rai (Amrish Puri ): Film – Ghayal
Achievement and Activities: Illegal businessman who stops at nothing. Filthy rich and lotsa goons (some of them anglo-indians). Has good connections within the law and administration. Got busted by hero’s brother, hence kills him. Little did he know that Rajkumar Santoshi would cast Sunny Deol as the brother of Raj Babbar.
Why is he on the list? I hate Balvant Rai.
Youtube reference scene (click here): Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk

4: Dr. Dang (Anupam Kher) : Film- Karma
Achievement and Activities: Evil plans associated with spreading terror. Somehow gets easily captured by old jailor Dilip Kumar. Very sensitive about his cheeks being molested.
Why is he on the list? “Thappar ki Goonj”. Over the top dialogues oozing with negative energy. Hail Subhash Ghai. No Youtube videos for this one. Just have a look at the pic on the side, and imagine the sheer force of Dr.Dang.

3. Shaakaal (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) : Film – Shaan
Achievement and Activities: Owns a shark tank, sliding doors, moisturises scalp regulary. India’s answer to every Bond villain and Dr.evil as well.
Why is he on the list? Shaakaal’s style and charisma excels those of Amitabh, Shashi and Shatrughan put together. His gadgets, comfortable arm-wresting chair, sitting in his control room with buttons et al and surrounded by swimming sharks.
Youtube reference scene (click here): The climax scene of Shaan where Shaakaal takes on the 3 heroes. The background music is not in the movie, but uploaded by the video uploader.

2: Gabbar ( Amjad Khan ) Film – Sholay (as if you needed to know that)
Achievements and Activities: Dacoit, hates Ramgarh and hates Thakur. Has some of the most memorable names in his gang- Sambha and Kaaliya. Enjoys chewing tobacco. Has a taste for gypsy music with bonfire and Helen. Has to his credit some of the most immortal lines of Bollywood history , courtesy Salim Javed. Gabbar is all about lust for money and money for lust (Remember the Mehbooba
song, yeah, do you think Helen would have danced for free? ) Gabbar’s revenue model is money taxation from the villagers of Ramgarh. However , he has special affection for the Thakur’s
family. Having almost wiped the entire Thakur family (and well having killed Thakur’s wife and cut his hands -such a shame!) Gabbar didn’t foresee that Thakur would bring two gabrus to battle him. Moreover, he has the best lineup of sidekicks- Sambha , Kaaliya etc. Has special sentiments for Holi- the festival of colors.
Some really cool philosophies on life: Jo darr gaya, samjho marr gaya – the one who fears is dead.
Why is he on the list? What can I say about Gabbar or rather, what is left for me to say? He is the hero of Sholay. With a laughter that no one can match, even a spitting motion of Gabbar has been patented. We have had remix versions of songs with those dialogues of his fit in. Even Big B couldn’t pull it off to portray a believable Gabbar. That’s why! A salute to the real Gabbar.
Youtube reference scene (click here): There are numerous scenes, but this is just one of them, but the one we all remember the most. It is the “Kitne Aadmi The” scene.

AND THE NUMBER ONE ON THIS LIST IS…NO POINTS FOR GUESSING

1. Mogambo (Amrish Puri) : Film-Mr.India
Achievements and Activities: Terrorism, creating chaos and horror by means of detonating bombs in public places, stealing costly antiques. Owns an army of dedicated soldiers who keep shouting “Hail Mogambo”. Keeps an eye on the latest developments in science and technology, and is assisted by a Chinese scientist. Has golden hair but speaks perfect Hindi. Again, large den, with sliding doors, acid tanks, huge lounge area with a world map drawn on the floor.He even has got the missiles man. And the control room is bigger than that of Loin and Shaakaal. And yeah, it has the “don’t pull it” Lever as well.
Why is he on the list? Because he is straight out of some comic strip. Because when we speak of Amrish Puri or of any Bollywood villain, the expression “Mogambo Khush Hua” comes first. Because Mogambo overshadows all the other peeps in the movie.Because when you search for Mogambo on Youtube, you would first get the Mogambo Khush Hua clip first, and then followed by the clip of the Clark Gable starrer Mogambo, from which the name was taken. Because Mogambo is the largest of all the Bollywood villains.
Youtube reference scene (click here): MOGAMBO KHUSH HUA

PHEW!!!!!! That was a long one. So guys, what did you think about the list. Lemme know! Did you agree with most of them, or not at all. Whom did I miss, and whom did I not treat well? Comments section is open now. Cheers!

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Author: Sujoy

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  • I want a top ten bad boys heroes of bollywood list.... in saying that I've eliminated SRK because he's GOD in almost all the movies he acted in (except darr, hey ram and a few others) .....
  • Idea accepted, and in the Project design phase now :)
  • no way... Gabbar has to be no.1, I'll give it to the grandure of Mogambo, but Gabbar is the personification of fear itself 'Jab gaon me baccha rota hai naa, to maa kehti hai ki munna so jaa warna gabbar aa jaega...'. You can't give no. 2 to the chap form whom bogeyman cowers himself back to the closet.
  • Pankazzz... the debate between Gabbar vs Mogambo is a long ass one. It will take me an entire separate post to justify why I chose Mogambo over Gabbar. But yes, tumhara point bhi fair hai.
  • siddharthpandey
    i feel gabbar is the number 1 baddie and then followed by mogambo. but the list is good
  • Himanshu Manroa
    Pran in Jis Desh mein Ganga Behti Hai was far more menacing than Pran in Zanjeer.

    Some other notable additions could've been - Maharani from Sadak, Jagira from China Gate or Sushant Singh from Jungle.

    And by the way, how about Amrish Puri from Nagina? Wasn't he simply stunning?

    Ofcourse, it's odd to see Premnath, Ranjeet, Jeevan and K.N. Singh's absence from this list. But perhaps the good ol' rapists, smugglers and money-lenders were always a bit tame as compared to cold-blooded killers, terrorists and Pure-Dark-Black-Unapologetic villains of the later years.....
  • OMG...I have to watch Jis Desh mein...again. I was very little when Dad brought home the Shemaroo VCD.Certainly a must watch now.

    Maharani from Sadak has been a frequent mention in the comments; His/Her omission is because I haven't watched the movie. Which I will, and I will for sure do a Charitra Chitran of Maharani.

    Jagira from China Gate wasn't impressive to me at all. He was just a very hammed up version of Gabbar.

    And Sushant Singh was brilliant in Jungle. But I believe someone else to be more brilliant in that movie - Rajpal Yadav

    As for the biggies - PremNath, Ranjeet, Jeevan and KN Singh are concerned, their characters haven't been etched out as a single character role.
    They have been baddies and their characters seem to overlap across a lot of movies. Whachya say?
  • raaz
    Ya that sounds like a good idea too!:)....though I am amazed that you havent seen Sadak!...it had quite a few famous songs of that era..a Sunjay Dutt in all his glory & Pooja Bhutt in her Japanese School Girl traits!:)

    Looking forward!
  • @Raaz: Thanks mate for the appreciation. I am yet to watch Sadak, and probably then, I'd be able to judge the character of Maharani. How about a single post on her to compensate for her absence in this list?

    @Darshit. Hail Mogambo indeed.

    @TBF: Thank you hai jee :)
    Gogo will feature in a future post.
    By the power of the grayskull, I have the power !!
  • fullyfilmy
    My Top ten:

    1. Amjad Khan (Sholay, Muqadar ka sikander)
    2. Pran (Ram aur shyam, Bobby, Jis desh mein ganga behti hein),
    3. Amrish puri (Mr. India, Hero, Ram Lakhan, Tridev)
    4. Gulshan grover (Ram Lakhan, Mohra),
    5. Jeevan (Dharamveer, Dharmatma)
    6. Sadashiv Amrapurkar (Hukumat, Aakhree Raasta)
    7. Danny Denzongpa (Andar bahar, Agneepath)
    8. Ranjeet (Laawaris, Khoon Pasina, Dharmatma)
    9. Khader Khan (Coolie, Khoon Pasina)
    10. Shakti Kapoor (Satyameva Jayate, Qurbani, Jaanbaaz)
  • Brilliant thought out list dude. Applause.

    But this is more a list of actors in separate villainous roles rather than the cruel villains themselves.
    I guess you get the point. Nevertheless, your list is definitely a comprehensive one. Cheerio!
  • fullyfilmy
    Thanks for the applause, Sujoy !

    I also liked Ajay Devgan (Khaakee), Abhishek Bachchan (Yuva), Paresh Rawal (Naam) and who can forget our cool dude 'Billa' Sanjay Dutt in 'Musafir'.... "Jhar ke piche heroine ke sath nachne ki khujli nahi hoti tu villian ban sakta tha BILLA ban sakta tha"
    Mahesh Manjrekar's character of Luka in this movie was one of the most vulgar and crassiest screen finds ever..."Too bhi bathroom mein, Ye bhi bathroom mein, Dono mil kar bathroom ki tanki saaf kar rahey the ?"

    Btw, Sujoy, where r u from ?
  • ROFL. Your vivid memory and exact recreation of those immortal disgusting lines is very very kaabil-e-taarif :)

    I did watch Musafir, but the movie was way too sweaty for me :P You should know what I mean by that.

    And I am from India, but I stay in the UK
  • PS: This is a fantastic post, Sujoy. Well done! I haven't seen all the movies mentioned, but whenever I feel like I miss the evil ways of Skeletor, I'll check them out!
  • Yes, I'm with Darshit. HAIL MOGAMBO!!!

    Crime Master Gogo needs to be there, because he has qualities of ALL of the above :D Hail Mogambo's nephew!

    Also...Captain Russell!!!
  • *HAIL MOGAMBO* :-D
  • raaz
    Sujoy...u know the very reason i searched for Bollywood Villains was the character of 'Maharani' from Sadak...man that dark skinned actor(Sadashiv Amrapurkar?) was pure evil back in the days. I also remember his scenes from Akhri Rasta (Amitabh playing double role, Jiya Parada, Minakshi)...he had a classic rape scene and killer dialogues too.."tumharey ghar maa behan nahi hai kia? yehi kaho gi na?"..were his lines to Jiya Parada ;)

    Also, could you do a list of the movies where Heroin did suicide by either hanging by the ceiling fan or jumping in a well which was always in the middle of the basti! ;)

    And yeah, this post was Hilarious...thoroughly enjoyed it...keep up the good work!
  • Maa Kasam
    The Gabbar vs Mogambo debate is a never ending one. I am amazed by the stand that you have taken, but also I'd like to praise you for it. Am very impressed!
  • @faisal: hmm, my bad. I haven't seen Sadak. So, I guess, that makes my ignorance more of the reason for why that isn't included.

    @pitu: ghor atyachari, kalyug ke karmachari...ROFL. You have a way with your words.
    Gabbar vs. Mogambo is just an endless debate.

    Khakhi Dakoo suit vs. Bling Bling
    Khaini vs. Kingsome Throne
    Ramgarh vs. Secret Den
    Kalia, Sambha, et al vs. Hail Mogambo Suicide Squad...hmmm..
  • Loved this!! Or um... quaked in my boots upon remembering all this ghor atyachari, kalyug ke um.. karmachari! Also, yea, Gabbar is Number One, Mogambo can be second :-D And Maharani = Sheer Evil. She/he needs to be thr!
  • faisal
    why not just put gabbar and mogambo joint first place and put maharani from sadak in the list
  • @ Mayur, I really didn't understand your comment, coz Dr.Dang and Shakaal are featured on this list.

    @Aditya, yes, I have watched all of them. You should know better how many movies I can watch.

    @Shazia, Mithun da's Jallad deserves a whole post
  • Mayur
    Dude wat about dong and shahkaal ??
  • Aditya
    Mogambo's ranking is surely indisputable...

    Gr8 post Sujoy....wonder have you watched all these movies?
  • Aditya
    Mogambo's ranking is surely undisputable...

    Gr8 post Sujoy....wonder have you watched all these movies?
  • Shazia
    I would like to mention a few names which feels omitted here.

    Mithun Da--Jallad, he won the Filmfare for it

    Amitabh Bachhan -- Don

    errr. bas itna hi...baaki yaad aane pe likhte hai
  • @Arka,
    Bhai saahab, Ranjit, Kader Khan, Jeevan and Premnath will get their due credit in a sequel to this post. :)

    Rahi Baat Mithun Da ki,..unki to Leela hi Nyari Hai
  • arka
    buddy, how can u forget Premnath..remember Johnny mera naam...again Jeevan is also there...check out Dharamveer...or Rape specialist Ranjeet..it is said that Ranjeet don't used to sign any film if that film hasn't any rape scene featuring him.. or apna Mithunda Sr in Jallad..check out the dialogue when punnet issar asks him whom to kill..mithun cooly answers "Tohar Bhabi Ka" ...And Shakti kapoor in Ankhen...also Kader khan in many Padmalaya production's films featuring jeetendra or mithun da...the lists goes on and on....
  • Naresh
    I think Maharani from Sadak deserves a mention
  • The walrus
    Lol... Sujoy...only YOU can do this!! Mental, totally!! and i support Mogambo at no.1...far more entertaining!! brilliant post! keep them coming!
  • Vijay
    Dude !! Mogambo is no where near to Gabbar ... all the guys who r saying mogambo being number 1 must be on some substance ... they dont even fall in same class ... Gabbar is class apart from rest ...
  • sunder.... ati sundar. Gabbar khush hua...
  • Rave
    ... Need Grandmaster Gogo too...
  • ashish_uzumaki
    and wtf is tribhuvan das doing at number 10...dushman's gokul pandit is far more evil than him....
  • ashish_uzumaki
    hmm, i guess lotiya pathan should've been put at a bit higher post
  • avian
    hehe...gabbar vs mogambo...was pretty obvious it wud b controversial....but yes, i wud agree mogambo was/is/will b the most larger than life villain in bollywood's history

    gr8 post again!!!
  • And the eternal debate between gabbar and mogambo begins, i knew it would happen, magar mogambo se badhke kaun?
  • Buzzy
    Well done i'd have bombarded you with emails had mogambo not being Number 1, Nice Job well done
  • vijay
    Gabbar @ 2 !!!!! ...this is nonsense
  • Vatsal
    I wont disagree much with the list and numbering.
    I am satisfied, great Post

    Vatsal
  • Mogambo ki aisi ki taisi
    BTW, chappan tikli and grandmaster gogo, where r they?
  • Mogambo ki aisi ki taisi
    WTF, Gabbar at no. 2? BAD BAD BAD
  • Wachowski
    Great to see your posts rolling again. A nice post dude! Keep rocking.
    Please do write a review on the music of Lagaan
  • Hey Raam
    Wow, pretty exhaustive analysis guru. I couldn't have thought of anymore villains.
    Yeah maybe some.
    Well,errr, Ashutosh Rana in Sangharsh
    Arjun Rampal in Om Shanti Om,
    Amitabh Bachan in Deewar, Don
    The Lala in Mother India
    ....but then the question is whether they would be in the top 20..
    but great job
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